The Basics Slide 1 — The Basics

Greetings, AP coordinators!

Thank you so much for being part of this session of the AP Coordinator Tutorial for 2016-2017.

My name is Derek Kameda. I am an AP coordinator, and I’ve had the pleasure of doing this for over a decade at one of the top AP programs in the world.

Before I begin, please allow me to provide a quick overview of what to expect from these tutorials.

If you are a brand new or inexperienced coordinator, these tutorials provide a solid foundation.

You will receive a clear description of the role and responsibilities of the AP coordinator.

If you are an experienced coordinator, these tutorials provide the same review.

However, they also feature some best practices to improve efficiency and accuracy.

Thank you again for joining us. Let’s get started.

The AP Program provides willing and academically prepared high school students with the opportunity to study and learn at the college level.

Overall, there are 38 AP courses and exams.

Each AP course is modeled on a comparable college course, and each AP course culminates with an AP Exam.

This is a college-level exam developed and scored by college and university faculty.

A best practice would be to communicate this information to students, parents, and faculty.

It’s important to be clear that AP courses are designed to be college-level courses.

They are not just “hard” high school courses or honors-level courses.

Students can earn college credit and/or advanced placement based on their performance on AP Exams.

In the U.S., most colleges and universities grant credit or advanced placement.

Each college or university sets its own policy. These policies do vary quite a bit.

To help understand this further, the College Board has a website that details credit policies at most colleges and universities.

A best practice is to communicate the significance of the credit and placement policies.

This helps to encourage students and families to participate in AP.

The AP Program potentially allows students to save money in college.

This can be measured two ways:

The first way is the total number of courses student have to pay for. The second way is measured in the total amount of time required to earn a degree.

To begin, each school designates an AP coordinator.

The coordinator is responsible for organizing and administering the school’s AP program.

This includes all aspects of security, including receipt, distribution, administration, and returning of exam materials.

The coordinator may be a full- or part-time administrator, counselor, staff, or faculty member.

The coordinator may not be a current AP teacher.

Many coordinators also oversee the Services for Students with Disabilities — otherwise known as the SSD — program.

Many coordinators also oversee the AP Course Audit.

Neither of these are required duties for a coordinator, but they are often combined.

If you are a new coordinator, it’s important to know if either the SSD or Course Audit roles are also expected of you.

Slide 6 — Who Are AP Coordinators? (cont’d.)

Once again, the AP coordinator cannot be a current AP teacher.

AP teachers can assist with paperwork, collecting fees, and student registration only.

AP teachers cannot handle, or have access to, the actual exams at any time.

This includes after the exam has been completed.

In addition, the coordinator cannot have an immediate family or household member taking an AP exam that school year.

This restriction is enforced even if the family or household member does not attend the same school where the coordinator works.

The College Board defines “immediate family” as one’s parents, siblings, children, grandparents, and spouse.

This applies even if they do not reside in the same household.

Coordinators have access to all AP exams, which presents a conflict of interest. 

This is a screen shot of the AP coordinator homepage.

The URL is displayed at the top.

A quick and easy best practice is to bookmark this page in your web browser.

It will be used often throughout the year.

Slide 8 — AP Downloads: www.collegeboard.org/apdownloads

Another site that coordinators will use often is the AP Resource Library.

This web page features many brochures, reports, spreadsheets, manuals, and many other AP-related documents.

In addition, any of the downloads referenced in this tutorial are available on (or linked from) the Tutorial Page.

Most schools only have one AP coordinator.

As such, it’s often not possible to chat, plan, or share ideas with a colleague.

Many times, no one else at your school (except you) knows much of anything about role of the AP coordinator.

That’s where this fantastic tool comes in.

The AP Coordinator Community is an online collaboration space.

Coordinators use it to connect, share materials, and exchange ideas.

One of the popular features of the Coordinator Community is the ability to participate in discussions.

Coordinators, both new and experienced, should register for the Community.

This is a definite best practice!

It’s easy to sign up and there is no charge.

Please take a quick moment now, or immediately after this tutorial is completed, to register.

All coordinators receive the monthly email newsletter during the school year.

This is sent to the coordinator designated on the AP Participation Form.

The newsletter is a timely reminder of dates and deadlines.

It helps keep a coordinator on track throughout the school year.

And it provides policy updates or other procedural clarifications as well.

The College Board offers several professional development opportunities for coordinators.

First, there are regional workshops.

These one-day sessions provide a complete review of the AP coordinator’s role and responsibilities.

They are held throughout the year in a variety of locations, and they are hosted by current or former AP coordinators.

The National and Regional Forums are outstanding professional development conferences.

Over a 2–3 day span, they feature powerful keynotes and breakout sessions.

They are particularly beneficial to counselors and administrators.

The AP Annual Conference is generally held in mid-to-late July. In 2017, it will be hosted in Washington, D.C. It is the single largest gathering of AP coordinators each year.

During the conference there are specific break-out sessions for coordinators, counselors, administrators, teachers, and more.

It’s always an exciting event full of positive energy and information.

Slide 12 — End of “The Basics”

Thank you for joining this session of the AP Coordinator Tutorial.

This is just one of several tutorial sessions that are available.

For more information about the AP Program and AP coordinators, please visit the other tutorial sessions.

As a reminder, all of the downloads referenced in the tutorials are available on (or linked from) the tutorial page.

As an AP coordinator, you have the opportunity to positively impact your school’s AP program.

I strongly encourage you to be organized, secure, and committed to providing a great testing environment for your students.

Strive to give your students the best opportunity to maximize their academic abilities.