October 22, 2015

FLACS Meeting Notes

FLACS
Florida Association of Cambridge Schools
http://flacs.weebly.com

The annual FLACS meeting was held on October 22, 2015, at Safe Schools in Boca Raton.
Attached to this email is a copy of the PowerPoint used at the meeting, a copy of the new
AICE transcript, and a link to the FLACS website. As we grow, look to the website for
information and quick links to assist you with your work. Also, please share any ideas or
resources so that we may work together to create a powerful presence in Florida.
Legislative Updates
During the January session of the Legislature, a bill will be submitted that amends the cap on
AICE teacher bonuses to match AP and IB bonuses. To assist in the passing of this bill, teachers
are encouraged to email their area representatives regarding the need for equal bonuses. The
template for this email is on the FLACS website; this letter will be updated with the bill
information within the next two weeks.
School Funding
Florida Statute 1011.62(m) states that 80% of incentive funding must be returned to the
school that produced the results. Schools are awarded .16 FTE for every passing AICE score
and .3 for every AICE Diploma awarded. An AS Level course and an A Level course receive the
same weighted FTE, so no financial benefit exists for offering an AS and A Level course within
a one-year period. If, however, an AS Level exam is passed one year and followed by the A
Level exam the subsequent year, the school will be awarded the FTE each year.

Important Announcement
Cambridge has agreed to make an exception regarding awarding credit for the two AS History
classes, Syllabus 9279, through June of 2017. When this occurs, CIE examiners will check both
AS exams to verify that the students answered questions from two different subjects. After this
date, students will only receive credit for two history courses if one is an A Level course.
EOC Change
Students enrolled in AICE courses that meet the requirements or required courses with EOCs
are exempt from EOC testing. This is not a popular change as AICE students scores often raise
the schools overall scores.

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Cambridge News
Contacts
As AICE continues to create a larger presence in the United States, contacts are added to
assist coordinators. The new recognition manager is Vera Bagnyuk (Bagnyuk.v@cie.org.uk),
and her job is to contact universities in order to encourage acceptance of AS and A Level
courses. For questions regarding training, Abena Oni (Oni.a@cie.org.uk) will help.
When sending emails to Cambridge, please place your center number in the subject line!
Global Perspectives
The new Global Perspectives course is syllabus 9239. This project-based course replaces the
old GPR syllabus (8987).
ADIP Entries
In order for students to be awarded AICE Diplomas, they must be entered for the ADIP and at
least one other exam. Students must sit for an exam when they apply for AICE Diplomas!
Also, students previous center numbers and candidate numbers must be entered for each
exam session so that the exam results can be calculated for the awarding of an AICE Diploma.
The information of graduating seniors who applied for or were previously awarded AICE
Diplomas must be sent to Sherry Reach in August of each year so that she may notify Bright
Futures of the awards. Sherry sends a template to every coordinator that details the
information needed. (Juniors who are awarded the diploma should be listed on a separate
spreadsheet. Just to be safe, their names should be sent again when they graduate.)

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School Profile
Every schools academic profile should include the
Cambridge logo and a list of the courses offered.
Universities appreciate this.

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Common Application
The Common Application for university admission now has
a button for AICE Diploma candidates. To list classes,
however, students must record AICE classes as an
international student. Some students balk at this,
however, because they fear the designation may affect
their financial aid status.
New Transcript
CIE has issued a new transcript for the United States.
Coordinators must remove old links and add the new one:
http://cie.org.uk/images/241278-us-results-transcript-applicationform.pdf

When completing the transcript, students must list every

exam series by date (June 2015, November 2015, June
2016, etc.) with AICE Exams listed under
Examinations.
Malpractice and Inappropriate Writing on Exams
If Cambridge determines that inappropriate comments on
exams exceed what is appropriate, the offenders exam
credits may be withdrawn and the student removed from
the program! The schools must send all exams,
regardless of content, so that Cambridge may determine
the extent of the repercussions. If a school wishes to see a
copy of an exam, one may be purchased by placing an
enquiry.

FLACS News
The name of the AICE Coordinators nonprofit organization
has been changed to reflect representation of all
Cambridge participants. The new name is the Florida
Association of Cambridge Schools. This opens enrollment
to coordinators, teachers, administrators, and schools at
every level of examinations. Sometime this year, dues of
$25.00 will be collected from each participating school.
More information regarding this will be forthcoming.
Cambridge Advance Courses Meeting High School
Curricular Requirements
The following AS and A Level courses meet high school
curricular credit:
AS General Paper (EN)

AS and A Level English

Language (EN)
AS and A Level
Literature in English
(EN)
AS or A Level
European or
International History
(WH)
AS or A Level U.S.
History (AH)
AS or A Level
Economics (EC)
AS or A Level
Mathematics (MA)
AS or A Level Biology
(SC)
AS or A Level
Environmental
Management (SC)
AS or A Level Marine
Science (SC)
AS or A Level
Chemistry (SC)
AS or A Level Art and
Design (PF)
AS and A Level Music
(PF)
As and A Level
Physical Education
(PE)
The remaining AICE
courses serve as
elective credits.
Graduation
According to the Florida
Department of
Education, a student
may graduate after
completing the AICE
curriculum, which could
depending of the
individual district
exempt him from PE,
Fine Arts, and the online
course requirement.
However, no code
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currently exists to mark the graduation as such, so the

student may appear to be lacking the credits necessary
for university admission.
Bright Futures through AICE
In order to qualify for the full Bright Futures Florida
Academic Scholarship, a student must earn the AICE
Diploma and complete the community service
requirement. In order to qualify for the Florida Medallion
scholarship, a student must complete the AICE Diploma
CURRICULUM and meet the required SAT/ACT score and
the community service requirement. In order for the
curriculum requirement to be met, students must sit for
their exams.
Transcript Problems
Several students have complained that transcripts have
not reached the universities. That is not the problem.
What has happened is that electronic files were sent and
not all universities have signed the required paperwork
allowing them access. In such cases, the student or
coordinator should request that a hard copy be sent to the
university. For example, at UF the 2015 results were sent
as a hard copy, but earlier exams were sent digitally and
could not be viewed. Hopefully, this will be resolved.
General Education Changes
Many Florida universities are altering their required General
Education courses, which is affecting credits earned
through AICE, AP, and IB. Additionally, the University of
Florida and Florida State University are designated as
premier universities, giving them the right to reject 12
credits from accelerated classes/exams. Students should
be counseled to choose their universities carefully to gain
the largest benefit of the accelerated courses. Currently,
students who attend state colleges prior to a university, will
most likely earn the most credit for their exams. The new
General Education requirements and the State College
rules are attached to this email.

Global Perspectives and

Research (9239). These
credits must be earned
within a twenty-five
month period.
Some confusion exists
about the new Group 4
that now includes
General Paper, Thinking
Skills, and A Level Global
Perspectives. Students
may only use two exams
from Group 4 toward the
diploma; therefore, if a
student takes the A Level
Thinking Skills exam, that
will count as two credits.
If a student takes the A
Level GPR (not the AS
Level), that will count as
one of the credits from
group D. A student is
able to take AS General
Paper and AS Thinking
Skills and apply those
exam credits to the
diploma because AS GPR
is not part of Group 4; it
is its own entity as noted
on the chart:

The 2017 AICE Diploma Requirements

Beginning in June of 2017, AICE Diploma candidates must
earn a minimum of seven credits with at least one from
Group 1, one from Group 2, one from Group 3 and AS
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Jeff Brewer
(jeffery.brewer@marion.k
12.fl.us) has been
collating the exam data
sent by schools, and if
you would like to be
included, please email
your exam statistics to
him. He has pasted a
template on the Google
Group that should be
used to submit data. I
included the initial data
of 33 schools on the
PowerPoint, but access to
the actual school names
is denied to those who
chose not to share. This is
a powerful tool for
identifying possible
mentors, so reconsider
and submit your data.

Resources
The Executive Committee is attempting to collate resources
to post on the FLACS website so that teachers can access
additional help from one another. Other ideas include the
following: add a resource page to FLAAC website; identify
strong teachers as mentors through data; create a team
leader by subject in each school district; encourage
participation on CIE website; visit successful schools for
ideas and participate in the AICE Coordinators Google
Group. Anyone who is unable to join the Google Group
should email susan.cooperman@palmbeachschools.org for
an invitation.
Another issue concerns training. All new coordinators
should attend training as should teachers, especially new
ones. The training is invaluable and encourages a greater
understanding of ones responsibilities.
Data
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Bagnyuk; encourage
students to research
college policies and
requirements.
Marketing Create a
website; host a
showcase; provide
literature on the program;
write press releases;
make a video; create
business partnerships.
Preparing for and
Administering Exams
Create candidate
numbers that reflect the
year they began testing;
upload rosters and
required information to
save time.

Coordinator/Exam Officer Timeline

The attached timeline was created for my successor, but it
is a work in progress. If you would like to add any details,
please share. The final timeline will be posted on the FLACS
website.

Hot Topics
The remainder of the meeting was spent broken into
groups discussing topics of importance. Noted below are
the priority actions suggested by the each group:
Utilizing Data Post current data and collection information
again for June 2015; identify exams for courses taught the
first three years; use student testimonials to help with
recruiting; ask DOE to update courses for credit by exam.

Professional Learning
Committees Encourage
better awareness of CIE
Teacher Support site; ask
for more user friendly
videos on the support
site; require coordinators
to monitor teacher usage
of the site; create a
statewide Edmodo group;
post a resource list of
AICE schools, courses and
teachers.
Establishing an AICE
Program Determine
schools curriculum path
and plan; ensure that
everyone is on the same
page.

University Admissions Create a school profile with

Cambridge data; forward transcript problems to Vera

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