North Dakota Homeschool Scholarship Transcript: SFN 60374 and the ND Academic Scholarship

Most North Dakota homeschool families know they can issue their own diploma. Fewer know that to unlock up to $6,000 in state scholarship money, they need to complete a specific state form — SFN 60374 — that has requirements most parent-created transcripts do not meet by default. If you are approaching graduation or the end of 12th grade without this form prepared, you may be leaving money on the table.

Here is what SFN 60374 requires, how to calculate the GPA it asks for, and how to build a transcript from the start of high school so that completing the form at the end is straightforward rather than a scramble.

What Is the North Dakota Academic and CTE Scholarship

The North Dakota Academic Scholarship and the North Dakota CTE Scholarship are state-funded awards available to North Dakota high school graduates who plan to attend a qualifying ND institution. The Academic Scholarship provides up to $6,000 and the CTE Scholarship provides up to $4,000 over four years of study.

Homeschool students are eligible. The eligibility requirements for the Academic Scholarship include:

• Minimum 24 composite ACT score or equivalent SAT score
• Minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale
• Completion of specified core course requirements (4 ELA, 3 Math including Algebra II or higher, 3 Science including 1 lab, 3 Social Studies, 1 World Language or CTE sequence)
• Enrollment in a qualifying ND institution

For the CTE Scholarship, the academic threshold is lower (21 ACT, 2.5 GPA), but the course requirements emphasize career and technical education sequences.

The scholarship is administered by the North Dakota University System. Homeschool applicants apply through the institution they enroll in, and the institution submits eligibility verification — which requires the completed SFN 60374.

What SFN 60374 Is

SFN 60374 is titled "Home Education Transcript for the North Dakota Scholarship Program." It is a state-produced form, available through the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction or directly from the university financial aid office. The form asks for:

• Student name, date of birth, address
• Homeschool provider name and address (your name and address as the parent)
• GPA on a 4.0 scale
• ACT or SAT composite score
• Course listing by subject area with credits earned and grades
• Certification that the student met the 175-day/4-hour daily minimum throughout high school
• A notarization — the form must be signed in front of a notary public and notarized

That last requirement is the one families most often miss. A standard parent-created transcript does not require notarization. SFN 60374 does. Plan for this in the timeline — you will need to schedule a notary appointment, which means you cannot produce the form the night before the financial aid deadline.

How to Calculate the GPA for SFN 60374

The form requires a 4.0-scale GPA. The calculation method is the same quality-point system used by schools nationwide: multiply each course's credit hours by its grade-point value, sum all quality points, and divide by total credits attempted.

Standard 4.0 grade-point values:

If you use plus/minus grading, include those in your transcript's grading key with their values (A− = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B− = 2.7, C+ = 2.3, etc.) and use those values in the GPA calculation.

Example calculation for a four-year transcript:

A student completed 22 courses totaling 22.5 credits with the following grades:

• 8 courses at A (4.0), averaging 1.0 credit each = 32.0 quality points
• 9 courses at B (3.0), averaging 1.0 credit each = 27.0 quality points
• 4 courses at C (2.0), averaging 0.5 credit each = 4.0 quality points
• 1 course at A− (3.7), 1.0 credit = 3.7 quality points

Total quality points: 32.0 + 27.0 + 4.0 + 3.7 = 66.7 Total credits: 8 + 9 + 2 + 1 = 20.0 (using actual credits, not courses) GPA: 66.7 ÷ 20.0 = 3.34

The 3.0 threshold for the Academic Scholarship is achievable. A student carrying mostly B work across core subjects will be close to or above it. The 2.5 threshold for the CTE Scholarship is well within reach for most students.

Course Requirements the Scholarship Checks

SFN 60374 asks you to categorize and list courses by subject. The ND Academic Scholarship has minimum core course requirements that the form verifier will check against. Make sure your course record includes:

English / Language Arts — 4 credits Titles that clearly reflect composition, literature, or language arts. "English I," "American Literature," "Composition and Rhetoric," "British Literature" all work. Vague titles like "Language Arts" at the high school level are less strong — be specific.

Mathematics — 3 credits including Algebra II or higher The scholarship requires at least Algebra II in the sequence. A student who completed Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II meets the threshold. Pre-Calculus, Statistics, or Calculus also count and strengthen the record. Algebra I and Geometry without Algebra II does not meet the requirement.

Science — 3 credits including at least 1 lab science Biology, Chemistry, and Physics are the standard lab sciences. Earth Science or Environmental Science can count if you documented lab components. If you completed lab work — observations, experiments, data collection — note that in the course description.

Social Studies — 3 credits Must include North Dakota studies and Native American history and culture at some point in the K-12 record. At the high school level: U.S. History, World History, Government/Civics, and economics are standard.

World Language or CTE Sequence — 1 credit The Academic Scholarship requires either 2 years of a single world language or a defined CTE sequence. If your student did not study a foreign language, a documented CTE sequence (career and technical education coursework in a coherent career area) can substitute.

If you have not yet finalized your student's 9th–12th course plan, align it to these requirements now. Discovering a gap at the end of 12th grade means either going back to fill it or losing scholarship eligibility.

Building the SFN 60374-Ready Transcript from the Start

The easiest way to complete SFN 60374 is to maintain a running transcript throughout high school — adding courses, grades, and credits at the end of each academic year rather than reconstructing everything in 12th grade.

At minimum, maintain these records each year:

Course log. A list of every course completed that year, with: the course title, the curriculum or materials used, the final grade (letter and percentage), and the credits earned (0.5 or 1.0 for most courses, depending on whether it was a semester or year-long course).

Attendance record. North Dakota requires 175 days and 4 hours per day. SFN 60374 includes a certification that this requirement was met. Keep an annual log — a simple spreadsheet with dates and hours works — so you can certify this truthfully.

GPA running total. After each year, calculate the cumulative GPA using the quality-point method above. Updating it annually prevents a large reconciliation project at graduation.

Diploma template. Your diploma is a separate document from the transcript. It should include the student's name, the homeschool name, a completion statement, the graduation date, and your signature. A template you fill in once is sufficient — no special state form is required for the diploma itself.

The North Dakota Portfolio and Assessment Templates at homeschoolstartguide.com/us/north-dakota/portfolio include a ready-to-fill transcript template built to SFN 60374 specifications, a GPA calculator worksheet, and an annual course log — so the running record you maintain each year feeds directly into the scholarship form at the end.

Timeline: When to File

The ND Academic Scholarship is applied for through your student's chosen ND institution, not directly with the state. The institution submits eligibility verification. Each school sets its own financial aid deadline, but most fall between January and March of the year your student enrolls.

Key dates to plan around:

• ACT: Sit in 11th grade (or early 12th). You want the score before submitting your application.
• Draft SFN 60374: Complete it in the fall of 12th grade, once all 11th-grade grades are finalized and you have a clear view of the full course record.
• Notarization: Schedule in November–December of 12th grade. Notaries are available at most banks, UPS stores, and courthouses.
• Financial aid application: Submit to your institution by their deadline — typically January or February.

Do not wait until March to start assembling the form. The notarization step alone requires coordination, and the course record review can surface gaps that take time to address.

What Happens If Your Transcript Has Gaps

If you are in 12th grade and realize your course record does not meet the scholarship's core requirements — missing Algebra II, no lab science, or short on ELA credits — there are a few options:

Dual enrollment. North Dakota allows homeschool students to enroll in community college or NDSU/UND courses while still completing high school. Bank of North Dakota covers tuition for up to two courses per year for eligible students. A dual-enrollment course taken in 12th grade can fill a gap in the transcript and may also appear on a college transcript, which strengthens the application separately.

Self-directed completion. If the gap is a half-credit course (health, a semester of economics, a language unit), completing it independently in the final semester and adding it to the transcript before the scholarship deadline is feasible. Document it the same way you would any other course.

CTE Scholarship as an alternative. If the Academic Scholarship requirements are out of reach, the CTE Scholarship has a lower academic threshold (21 ACT, 2.5 GPA) and may still provide meaningful funding. Review the CTE sequence requirements against your student's coursework.

The $6,000 maximum from the Academic Scholarship, paid over four years of enrollment, is worth the planning effort. Most of the work is building and maintaining the right records from the start of high school — the form itself is a summary of what you should already have.

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