You can apply at any time. Your enrollment will process the Monday start date you select at the beginning of the application. Your credit card will be charged on this date as well.

You will be asked to enter your credit card information on the application page. The course will need to be paid in full to enroll. You are eligible for a refund if you notify Penn Foster directly at GMUAW@pennfoster.edu within 30 days of your enrollment date.

If you need to drop or cancel, you must email GMUAW@pennfoster.edu with your cancellation request within 30 days of the semester or course start date. Please include your student ID in the message, along will the full name that matches your enrollment.

Upon successful completion of all four courses in the STARC program, you can apply for entry to the GM-UAW Skilled Trades Apprenticeship program eligibility lists. To be eligible for consideration as an apprentice at General Motors, you must complete all steps in the GM Apprenticeship application process and receive a confirmation message to be considered. The STARC certificate is only one step in this application process. Stay tuned to this site for available application dates to complete the process.

Each course contains several modules, with information broken down into smaller, more manageable sections. Students must test at least once on each module exam, as well as the proctored final exam. All tests, including the module exams, will be part of your final grade. And remember, the proctored final exam can be done remotely as well.

Module Exams can be taken at any time; however, proctored Final Exams will not open for testing until all Module Exams for the course have been taken. Semester 1 allows you 16 weeks to complete all exams and Semester 2 allows you 24 weeks to complete all exams. If you’re enrolled in individual courses, STARC 1 and STARC 2 allow you 8 weeks each to complete, STARC 3 allows 10 weeks, and STARC 4 allows 14 weeks.

You’ll need a webcam, a microphone, and a high-speed internet connection to use Remote Proctor Now (RPNow). As such, it cannot be taken at a library or any public location. Use of any support material is prohibited. If the proctor review determines that support materials were used while taking an exam, a failing grade will be assigned to the test. If you do not pass the proctored exam and wish to continue in the program, you must re-take the course at your expense.

Please note that proctor exam grading takes 5-10 business days.

• Blank paper and pens/pencils are allowed.
• Any non-graphing calculator can be used during the exam, excluding calculators on a phone or computer. A basic scientific calculator like the TI 30 series is suggested.
• The help sheet provided at the start of the exam – you may print this out if you wish to have a hard copy.

Proctored exams for STARC 1, 2, and 3 are closed book. The proctored exam for STARC 4 is open book.

You must earn at least a 75% in each class to be eligible to receive a STARC completion certificate.
 
To be eligible to receive a skilled trades apprenticeship at all engineering facilities, you must have an 85% or better in each class.

This chart shows how lesson exams and final exams are weighted in each course:

If you fail an exam, you have the ability to retake it once. In that case, the higher of the two attempts will count towards the final grade. The final remote proctor exam cannot be retaken. Only one attempt is allowed.

You may only request an extension in the following circumstances:

• You have experienced a verifiable technical error within your student account that prevented you from completing your coursework.
• You have a verifiable extreme personal situation that has halted your ability to continue coursework (i.e. extended in-patient hospitalization, death of an immediate family member, loss of home, etc.).

If your request falls into one of these categories, you may submit a request for extension with documented proof of the circumstances to our Support Team GMUAW@pennfoster.edu. If there is no documentation submitted, your request will be denied. Each request will be reviewed on a case by case basis. If your request does not fall into one of the above categories, you may not request an extension.

If you have transfer credits you wish to apply to the algebra course, you will need to submit your transcript for transfer credit within the first 21 days of enrollment in order to avoid an invoice.

When you successfully complete the program you will be emailed your transcript and mailed a Certificate of Completion. You can submit these documents to GM-UAW as part of the apprentice application process.

To request an ADA form, please email us at GMUAW@pennfoster.edu and use the subject line "ADA Form Request."

For the remote proctor exams, please visit our proctor’s website for requirements such as what devices are supported, and what operating systems you should be running: https://helpdesk.psionline.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360054413452--RPNow-System-Requirements.

If your computer does not meet these requirements, you'll need to make arrangements to take the exam at a GM training facility, borrow equipment from a friend, colleague, or family member, or purchase this equipment at your own expense.

If you are a voucher student who completed a make-up course and are ready to enroll into your second semester of the GM UAW STARC program, you can go to the voucher application site and apply for your second semester as you applied for your first semester: https://partner.pennfoster.com/gm-uaw.