Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) is an academic option open to high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 seniors and juniors in various US states, such as Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 and Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. The options allow students to take courses at the college

College

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

 level. It is possible for a student to graduate with both an associate's degree

Associate's degree

An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...

 and a high school diploma

High school diploma

A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED.-Past diploma styles:...

at the same time via PSEO. The PSEO program was created in 1985 by Minnesota, and later adopted by Ohio's Department of Education.

Minnesota

In Minnesota, the eligibility for PSEO is different than Ohio's. Juniors (11th graders) are required to be in the top one-third of their class to be in PSEO. Seniors (12th graders) are required to be in the top half of their class to be eligible for PSEO. In 2004 over 17,000 Minnesota High School students took PSEO classes.

Ohio

In Ohio, PSEO is actually known as PSEOP, for Post Secondary Enrollment Options Program. It was enacted in 1989 for 11th and 12th graders. Then, in 1997, the grades were expanded to include 9th and 10th graders. Because of this, the number of students in the PSEOP has almost quadrupled in size, with over 12,000 students attending in 2008.