How Your School Can Offer AP Courses

AP courses each have their own curricular and resource requirements. You should consider your school’s culture and needs as well as budget when choosing which courses to offer.

An important step in offering AP courses is going through the AP Course Audit. See Step 5 below for details.

Here’s what you must do to offer AP courses at your school:

1. Choose Your AP Courses

• Familiarize yourself with all AP courses. Check for prerequisites—a few courses recommend preliminary coursework that your school should offer.
• Review the curricular and resource requirements for each AP course.
• Consider the costs for textbooks, supplemental reading, materials, and equipment.
• Identify students prepared and willing to take AP. Use AP Potential to help identify students.

2. Make Sure You Have a College Board School Code

Your school must have a College Board school code to participate in AP and other College Board programs. This is a unique six-digit code that identifies your school in our system. 

If your school offers the PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, PSAT 8/9, or the SAT, you already have a school code. Use the high school code search to look up your code. A school code is unique to your school and does not expire.

See how to get a school code.

3. Assign Staff to Roles

You’ll need to identify an AP Course Audit administrator for your school. This person will manage the AP Course Audit process to get your courses authorized.

You’ll also need to identify an AP coordinator for your school. This person will complete tasks such as creating classes in My AP and will oversee exam administration if your school gives AP Exams.

These two roles can be filled by the same person, but you should know that the two roles have different responsibilities and access.

Learn more about the duties of an AP Coordinator.

4. Get Your Teachers Ready

• Prepare teachers by registering them for a professional learning opportunity prior to teaching AP. College Board offers numerous free, paid, in-person, and online resources that will help both new and experienced teachers.
• Encourage your teachers to get familiar with the instructional resources available in AP Classroom. They’ll be able to access AP Classroom once their course has been authorized through AP Course Audit.

5. Complete the AP Course Audit

All schools wishing to label a course “AP” must go through the Course Audit process. This is a process that enables College Board to give AP teachers and administrators clear guidelines on curricular and resource requirements for each AP course. The Course Audit also gives colleges and universities confidence that courses labeled “AP” on students’ transcripts are designed to meet the same college-level criteria across high schools. 

Learn more about what to do as an administrator in the Course Audit process. 

Learn about what teachers must do to complete the Course Audit.