Global Online Academy at Concordia

Concordia is a member of the Global Online Academy, a consortium of over 125 high-performing independent schools, representing 30 countries and over 30 states.

Established in 2011, the Global Online Academy (GOA) offers diverse and rigorous credit-bearing courses to students in member schools around the world. All GOA courses have synchronous components (when students collaborate together or work with their teacher at a set time, generally using video conferencing software) and asynchronous components (students choose when to participate). Students can discover, explore and pursue their passions through learning about relevant, real-world topics they might not otherwise be able to on the Concordia campus.

Concordia students who enroll in GOA courses experience a global and collaborative online classroom, studying alongside peers who have diverse backgrounds and experiences. Courses are designed, developed and taught by teachers from member schools. GOA courses are equivalent to an honors or AP course in amount of work and time necessary to complete the course.

Credit is awarded by Concordia for eligible and participating Concordia students. Summer courses are awarded elective credit and semester and yearlong courses during the school year are awarded either credit toward graduation requirements or elective credit, depending on the selected course.

FAQs

Interested in Learning More about GOA at Concordia? Contact Concordia’s GOA Site Director, Steven Sgourdos –steven.sgourdos

@concordiashanghai.org

Policies Regarding GOA Courses at Concordia

Site Director Recommendation

Enrollment in Global Online Academy courses that will appear on a student’s Concordia high school transcript requires the recommendation and approval of the Concordia GOA Site Director. The Site Director will evaluate the student’s academic background, motivation, and ability to succeed in an online course before making a recommendation.

Drop/Add Deadline

At Concordia, the policy for adding or dropping Global Online Academy (GOA) courses differs from the GOA policy itself. It's important to be aware that GOA permits a student to drop a course at any time during the term (fees imposed after the first drop date). In contrast, Concordia students are not permitted to drop a course after the first drop deadline for that term, typically approximately 9-10 days after the course begins. If a Concordia student does not drop the GOA course before the "GOA last day to drop with no penalty" deadline and fails to complete the course, they will receive an "F" grade (or 59%) for the GOA course on their Concordia transcript.

Incomplete/Fail

If a student does not complete their Global Online Academy (GOA) course and receives an "Incomplete" grade due to insufficient evidence provided by the student, an "F" (or 59%) will be recorded on their Concordia high school transcript. However, the student may be able to replace the failing grade with a passing grade by retaking the same course under the following conditions:

If the course is offered by GOA in a future term while the student is enrolled at Concordia
If the GOA site director recommends that the student retake the course
If the student successfully passes the course the second time
If the student/family agrees to pay for the course when retaking it
In order to replace the failing grade, all of these conditions must be met

Please note that this means a senior who fails a GOA course will not have an opportunity to recover the course credit by retaking the course.

Academic Calendar

Credit

All GOA courses are taken for credit which is granted from Concordia (on the Concordia transcript). GOA courses are typically taken as part of a student’s normal course load, not in addition to a full course load.

24-25 School Year GOA Courses which meet Concordia Graduation Requirements for Each Subject Area

English

Identity & Spirituality

Math

Computer Science II: Analyzing Data with Python
Computer Science II: Game Design & Development
Computer Science II: Java
Data Visualization
Game Theory
Number Theory
Linear Algebra
Multivariable Calculus

Sciences

Social Science

Intro to Psychology
Abnormal Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Neuropsychology
Positive Psychology
Business Problem Solving
Climate Change & Global Inequality
Entrepreneurship in a Global Context
Genocide & Human Rights
Investments I
Investments II
Race & Society

Visual Arts

Digital Photography
Filmmaking
Graphic Design

World Language

Arabic Language Through Culture I
Arabic Language Through Culture II
Arabic Language Through Culture III
Japanese Language Through Culture I
Japanese Language Through Culture II
Japanese Language Through Culture III
Spanish Language Through Culture I

Competencies

GOA courses are highly collaborative and provide opportunities for students to develop both core competencies and discipline-specific competencies. GOA’s six core competencies are:

Collaborate with people who don’t share your location
Communicate and empathize with people who have different perspectives from your own
Curate and create content relevant to real-world issues
Reflect on and take responsibilities for your learning and that of others
Organize your time and tasks to learn independently
Leverage digital tools to support and show your learning

Faculty

Student Qualifications

Summer Terms: Rising grade 10, 11, and 12 students are eligible to take courses through GOA for elective credit to be included on the Concordia high school student transcript and included in GPA.
24-25 Semester 1 & 2 Terms: Grade 11 and 12 students are eligible to enroll in GOA courses for credit to be included on the Concordia transcript and included in GPA. Students in grades 9 & 10 may enroll in Japanese or Arabic as a World Language course credit and included in GPA.
If a GOA course is also taught on campus at Concordia, students must select the on-campus course unless an exception is granted based on scheduling need