Through Christian Halls, eligible NCFCA students can enroll in Southeastern University’s COMM 1443: Fundamentals of Speech Communication for Fall 2026.
Students use their NCFCA curriculum, Foundations of Speech (or a curriculum of their choice), as the learning foundation, then adapt existing work – or design future NCFCA work – to meet the specific prompts and requirements in the existing COMM 1443 syllabus.
This is a practical “2-for-1” opportunity: the same research, writing, and speech preparation can contribute to both the student’s NCFCA season and three college-level assessments.
Apply to Southeastern University
View the NCFCA Syllabus Guide and Christian Hall Partnership Details
Important dates
Important Dates for Fall 2026
- New student application and registration deadline: August 26, 2026
- Study and assessment preparation begin: August 26, 2026
- Graded Fall B assessment window begins: October 21, 2026
- Graded Fall B assessment window ends: December 15, 2026
- Graded course length: 8 weeks
- College credit: 3 credit hours
- Section status: confirmed
Applications and registration remain open through the August 26 program start date. Students begin using the companion guide and preparing their assessment plan on August 26, before the graded Fall B deadlines begin.
The value proposition
Get a true 2-for-1 planning opportunity
Students can use the same research, writing, and practice to advance both their NCFCA preparation and their college assignments.
Adapt existing work or plan future work intentionally
Students may reshape a speech, debate case, research file, or apologetics study they already have. They may also design new NCFCA work with a broad COMM 1443 prompt in mind.
Meet the syllabus requirements without starting from zero
The university syllabus remains the standard. Students must satisfy the selected prompt’s learning outcomes and requirements, but they do not have to ignore the preparation already underway.
Use the NCFCA curriculum as the learning foundation
The NCFCA curriculum supplies the rhetorical, research, organizational, audience, and delivery instruction students apply to their college work. The additional books listed in the syllabus are supplemental only.
Follow an NCFCA-specific roadmap
The Christian Hall’s companion guide identifies the broadest workable prompts, recommends the most useful submission format for each assessment, and shows exactly where existing or future NCFCA work must be adapted.
Earn official college credit
COMM 1443 is an official Southeastern University dual enrollment course worth three credit hours. The Fall 2026 section is confirmed and guaranteed to run.
Course overview
COMM 1443 – Fundamentals of Speech Communication
3 college credits | Preparation begins August 26 | Graded Fall B window: October 21-December 15, 2026
This course covers the basic principles of public speaking. Students learn to research, organize, and deliver formal presentations; use verbal and non-verbal communication effectively; and adapt messages for different audiences and contexts.
The Fall 2026 course is organized around three major assessments:
- Rhetorical analysis – Analyze how a significant speech uses classical rhetorical principles and responds to its audience and context. The companion guide recommends completing this assessment as an essay.
- Delivery and audience adaptation – Demonstrate effective verbal and non-verbal delivery while tailoring a speech to a particular purpose or audience. The companion guide recommends a recorded speech and points students toward the broad audience-adaptation prompt when it fits.
- Research and organization – Develop and deliver a well-researched, clearly organized speech using credible sources. The companion guide recommends a recorded speech and helps students select a broad social-issue, worldview, or historical-figure path that fits their work.
Students also submit a prompt selection, three working outlines, and a final reflection.
These recommendations do not replace the syllabus. They give students a practical route through it while preserving the official prompt language and assessment standards.
How NCFCA work may fit
Platform speeches
Persuasive, Informative, Digital Presentation, and After Dinner Speaking may provide strong material for Assessments 2 or 3. Students must still adapt the topic, audience, organization, sources, length, delivery, and any written component to the selected prompt.
Debate
Policy or Lincoln-Douglas research and argumentation may support a social-issue or audience-adaptation prompt when reshaped into a stand-alone speech for a defined audience.
Limited preparation
Apologetics or extemporaneous preparation may become a starting point for a researched worldview or social-issue speech. The final college submission must still meet the course’s research, length, organization, and citation requirements.
Interpretation
Interpretation experience can strengthen delivery and audience awareness, but an interpretation piece by itself will not normally satisfy the analytical or research requirements of a major assessment.
Future NCFCA work
Students do not have to limit themselves to work already completed. They may use the companion guide to plan a future platform speech, research project, or other NCFCA preparation around a broad course prompt, then adapt the final artifact to satisfy both sets of goals.
What students submit
Students complete:
- one prompt-selection assignment;
- three working outlines;
- three major assessments;
- a final reflection; and
- the preparation and learning activities provided through the NCFCA curriculum, Foundations of Speech, and course.
For a presentation-based major assessment, the required submission is generally a video recording. Major assessments must follow the selected prompt and normally include at least three credible citations. Students choose APA, MLA, or Turabian and use the selected style consistently.
Typical major-assessment scope:
- approximately 8-10 minutes for a recorded presentation;
- approximately 1,000 words for an essay; or
- approximately 20-25 slides for a slide deck.
Combination assessments balance a speech with a required reflection or short essay.
A clear statement of expectations
Built to reduce duplication – not to remove academic rigor.
Students do not receive college credit simply for participating in NCFCA or submitting an existing competition piece unchanged. The student must accommodate the syllabus: select an official prompt, meet its learning outcomes, and satisfy the required scope, research, citations, organization, delivery, format, and written components.
The companion guide helps students identify the broadest workable prompt and adapt their NCFCA work underneath it. The opportunity comes from intentional alignment, not from changing or bypassing the syllabus.
Course foundation and supplemental texts
The student’s NCFCA curriculum, Foundations of Speech, is the primary learning foundation for this pathway. Students use it to study rhetorical appeals, credible research, speech organization, delivery, audience adaptation, and evaluation, and to develop work that can be adapted for the three COMM 1443 assessments.
The books listed in the assessment syllabus, including Aristotle’s Rhetoric and Bizzell and Herzberg’s The Rhetorical Tradition, are supplemental references only. They are not required purchases, are not assigned readings, and are not attached to the assessment requirements.
How enrollment works
Registration requires both Christian Halls setup and a Southeastern University dual enrollment application.
1. Join MyHallÂ
Create or access the student’s MyHall profile.
2. Join the Christian Halls Virtual HallÂ
Enter the Christian Halls learning community in MyHall.
3. Add the Fall 2026 NCFCA tutorial NCFCA to College Credit: COMM 1443 – Fall 2026.
Complete the SEU application as a dual enrollment student and use the program/location instructions supplied by Christian Halls.Â
4. Apply to SEUÂ and watch for confirmation
After the required steps are complete, watch for SEU confirmation and account-access instructions.
5. Begin study and assessment preparation on August 26
Use the NCFCA curriculum and MyHall companion tutorial to compare current or planned NCFCA work with the nine assessment prompts and identify the strongest route through the syllabus.
6. Complete the graded course during Fall B [Step by Step Guide]Â
Use the Southeastern University course environment for official prompt instructions, submissions, instructor communication, and grades from October 21 through December 15.
Apply to Southeastern University
Frequently asked questions
Who is this for?
This pathway is designed for high-school students participating in NCFCA speech or debate who are ready for an accelerated, college-level communication course.
Is this automatic college credit for NCFCA participation?
No. Students must enroll in COMM 1443 and successfully complete all official course requirements.
Can students submit a speech they have already prepared?
An existing speech may be a strong starting point, but it is not automatically a finished college submission. The student must adapt it to the selected prompt and meet the required learning outcomes, audience, structure, research, citations, length, delivery, and written components.
Can students design future NCFCA work around a course prompt?
Yes. This is one of the strongest uses of the pathway. A student can choose a broad prompt, plan a new speech or research project with that prompt in mind, use the work for NCFCA preparation, and then adapt the final artifact for the college assessment.
Can debate work be used?
Research and argumentation from Policy or Lincoln-Douglas debate may be useful for a persuasive or research-based assessment. The work generally needs to be reshaped as a stand-alone speech or presentation that meets the selected prompt.
Can Apologetics or Extemporaneous work be used?
It may provide a useful foundation, particularly for a worldview or social-issue prompt, but the final submission must meet the course’s full research, organization, citation, length, and format requirements.
Who grades the work?
Official course submissions are evaluated in the Southeastern University course environment according to the COMM 1443 syllabus and grading rubric.
How much work should students expect?
Study and assessment preparation begin August 26 and continue throughout the fall semester through NCFCA research, writing, and speech development. During the official eight-week Fall B assessment window, the syllabus estimates approximately 6-9 hours per week. Individual workload varies based on the student’s preparation and selected formats.
Which textbook do students use?
Students use their NCFCA curriculum as the course’s learning foundation. The books listed in the assessment syllabus are optional supplemental references, not required textbooks or required purchases for this pathway.
What format should students use for the major assessments?
The syllabus permits multiple formats, but the companion guide recommends an essay for Assessment 1 because it is primarily rhetorical analysis. It recommends recorded speeches for Assessments 2 and 3 because those assessments emphasize delivery, audience adaptation, research, and organization.
When does the pathway begin if the graded assessments are in Fall B?
New student applications and registration remain open through August 26. Study and assessment preparation begin that day. The graded Fall B assessment window begins October 21.
Is the Fall 2026 section confirmed?
Yes. The class has already met its cohort requirement and is guaranteed to run.
What is the difference between MyHall and the SEU course?
The MyHall tutorial provides the NCFCA-specific roadmap, pre-course preparation, planning support, and reminders. The Southeastern University course environment contains the official assessment instructions, submissions, instructor communication, and grades.
Will the credits transfer?
Transfer policies vary by institution. Families should confirm transferability with the college or university the student may attend.
Ready to Turn Strong Communication Work into College Credit?
Applications and registration remain open through August 26, 2026. Begin study and assessment preparation that day, align your NCFCA work with the syllabus, and complete the graded COMM 1443 assessments during Fall B. The section is confirmed and guaranteed to run.
Apply to Southeastern University
View the NCFCA Syllabus Guide andÂ
Questions?
Christian Halls Academic Team
Questions about enrollment, MyHall setup, or the NCFCA companion tutorial? Contact the Christian Halls Academic Team at gro.sllahnaitsirhc@eracremotsuc.
