Before creating or editing course codes in PowerSchool, always refer to the SCDE Course Code Guide: SC-Satchel https://sc-satchel.commongoodlt.com/
Scroll down to the bottom and select the orange tile for SCDE Course Code Database
Each PowerSchool course code must have exactly 8 characters, broken down as:
Position Meaning
1-4 Base course code from SCDE manual
5-6 District-defined characters
7 Academic Tag (Credit Type)
8 Unit Tag (Credit Amount)
Note for the Seventh and Eighth Characters:
One of six different characters will occupy the seventh position: either the alpha character that represents the academic tag for credit-bearing courses, or the numeric 0, or the digit that represents the special education activity instructional approach.
One of five different characters will occupy the eighth position. In that position will be either the alpha character that represents the unit tag for credit-bearing courses, or the numeric 0, or the digit representing a specific instructional area for the following types of self-contained classes: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, multiage grouping, and special education.
The seventh character identifies each credit-bearing course as having one of five remaining academic weights:
Code Meaning
A Advanced Placement
I International Baccalaureate
C College Prep
H Honors
E Dual Enrollment
G Cambridge AICE
Eighth character identifies the yearly unit value for credit-bearing courses:
Code Credit
W 1 unit
H ½ unit
Q ¼ unit
D 2 units
0 No unit or non-credit
Grade Level Range
Non-Instructional 0000–0999
PK – 6 1000–1999
Grades 7–8 2000–2999
Grades 9–12 (Gen Ed) 3000–4999, 7000–9999
CTE (9–12) 5000–6999
************ VERIFY THIS INFO--Any Dual Enrollment course not already listed in the Activity Coding Manual must be reported to the SCDE’s Consolidated Oversight and Monitoring team. Please use the form titled Request for Addition at https://ed.sc.gov/districts- schools/stateaccountability/high-school-courses-and-requirements/ for approval. Return the completed form to CIE – [email protected] .
Once we receive approval from SCDE, we will provide this approval and create the course for you at the District level.
Activity Coding Manual – Grade Scale
5th Grade English: 10100000
7th Grade Math: 21100000
Biology I, 1 Credit, College Prep: 322100CW
LBA Course Example: 21990000 (xx99 = LBA tag)
State and federally funded CATE instructional activities must be approved by the SCDE’s CATE Office. CATE will continue to review and expand the CATE courses and programs offered in grades seven through twelve. The secondary CATE courses and programs that are eligible to receive state and federal assistance are listed and updated annually in the CATE Student Reporting Procedures Guide posted on the SCDE website. State-approved CATE courses and programs are organized by career cluster and are assigned course codes and Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) codes to ensure accountability for the uses of the state and federal funds
2020–21 Career and Technical Education (CTE) Student Reporting Procedures Guide
The Activity Coding System Manual will not list any courses in the “CATE” column without a process of review and approval of the course content by CATE. Activity codes assigned currently recognized by the CATE for state-approved CATE instructional activities are shown in Table 1.
From the Start Page, go to:
School > Courses
Under Scheduling, click Manage Courses
Use the Available and Unavailable tabs to activate or deactivate courses.
✅ Check the box to activate
❌ Uncheck to deactivate (only if students are not enrolled)
Click Submit to save changes.
Do not use retired or invalid codes—these remain in PowerSchool due to past records.
To deactivate a course, uncheck the course and click Submit to save. This will work if you do not have students enrolled in the course code.
To make a course available and active, check the box before the course name
and click Submit.
You can check the box for multiple courses (on multiple pages) before finally clicking Submit if you need to active several courses.
NOTE: Be sure that courses you are activating (either under the Available tab or the Unavailable tab) meet the criteria as set forth in the Activity Coding Manual.
If the course you wish to make active is not listed under the Instructional Activity Table 1 - 4 you will have to create a Local Board Approved course (LBA). For the district to create an LBA course code in PS, you will first need to obtain board approval at your school for the course name/number. The board approval should be notated in the board meeting minutes/notes. Please submit both, your school's board meeting minutes showing the approved LBA Courses and the completed Charter Institute LBA Course Information Forms.
Must be approved and documented in board minutes.
Use xx99 in positions 3 and 4.
Refer to Appendix K & L (pages 88–91 of the full manual) for LBA setup.
Creating Course Codes for Transfer Students: Do not utilize transfer course codes for dual enrollment courses without contacting the Office of Federal and State Accountability.
Use xx97 to represent historical courses.
Do not enroll students in active sections using transfer codes.
Transfer codes are to be mainly used when adding historical grades for a transfer student and transcript purposes.
There are courses which are no longer valid and are still listed in PowerSchool as they are associated with past records and cannot be deleted. DO NOT USE Retired codes or any code that does not adhere to the current in SC-Satchel https://sc-satchel.commongoodlt.com/
Contact your SPED Coordinator when selecting special education courses.
Contact the Charter Institute PowerSchool Team if a needed course code is missing, or you have any course code related questions.
Homeroom Codes:
PK – Grade 6: 0896-0897
Grades 7–8: 0896-0897
Grades 9–12: 0896-0897
Important Note:
The state does not provide separate course codes for different levels (regular, advanced, or honors) of ELA or Math in elementary and middle school.
For example, the SC-Satchel list for 7th and 8th grade Math includes only the following standard courses:
Course Names: Use the generic names exactly as they appear in the state’s application.
Level Identification: Use section numbers (not course names) to indicate advanced or honors levels.
Course Code Format: Ensure the first four digits match the state numbering system.
Aligns with state reporting requirements.
Prevents course code conflicts during data uploads.
Ensures consistency across all Institute schools.