The Advanced Opportunities program provides every student attending an Idaho public school an allocation of $4,625 to use towards Advanced Opportunities in grades 7-12. The funds can be used for a variety of offerings:

• Overload Courses
  An overload course is a high school level course that is taken in excess of the student’s regular school day. These courses are offered online, during the summertime, and before/after school. In the event that student incurs a cost for such courses, the Advanced Opportunities program can pay up to $225 for the cost of the course. Overload courses must be above and beyond the full course load (minimum of 12 credits) offered by the student’s local school, so a student must be a full-time student both semesters to utilize Fast Forward funds to pay for these opportunities.

• Dual Credits
  Dual credit are courses taken by high school students that are transcribed on their high school and college transcripts. The Advanced Opportunities program can pay up to $75 per credit. Dual Credit courses can be taken online, by virtual conferencing, or in some cases students can go directly to the college/university campus. More information on specific Idaho colleges and universities can be found in the Links tab below.

• Exams
  Students can utilize Advanced Opportunities funds to pay for a variety of college-credit bearing or career-technical exams. These include Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), or Career & Technical Education (CTE) exams and college admissions exams.

• Workforce Training
  Students can utilize Advanced Opportunities funds to pay for regionally approved workforce training courses at an Idaho public college in their area. View approved workforce training courses for more details.

Fast Forward Program Information 

• $4625 per student

• IDLA Courses, Concurrent College Credits, & AP Exams

• Portal open for ~6 weeks in Fall & Spring (deadlines set by the State Department of Education)

• Request college transcripts directly through the university be sent to the college you attend (NNU, CWI, BSU, or U of I)

• If you sign up to take a yearlong course for concurrent credit, you cannot transfer at semester or an "F" will be on your college transcript

IMPORTANT: Please note that failure to pass a course for which you use Fast Forward funds will result in frozen funds for ALL courses! To access additional future funds, students will be required to pay for the next course AND earn credit for that course (pass it) before ANY funds for courses can be accessed.  Your funds will remain frozen for ALL courses until both steps are completed! If you currently have a flag for an unsuccessful course for which the state has paid, the same is true in that you must pay for AND earn credit for/pass a course before ANY funds for courses can be accessed.   Failure to meet the AP exam requirements will cause an exam flag and will also freeze Fast Forward funds for all exams until you pay for and pass another one.  Please see the Fast Forward Flags-Unsuccessful Attempts for further FAQ’s.

Click HERE for directions on how to create an account and request funding.
Click HERE for a quick guide to Fast Forward/Advanced Opportunities.