Dual enrollment (college courses in high school)

Overview

What is dual enrollment?

In dual enrollment a high school student registers with a college, takes a college course, and receives a college grade on a college transcript. Many programs also count the course toward high school graduation. Federal education law defines a dual or concurrent enrollment program as a partnership between at least one college and at least one school district that lets a student without a diploma earn postsecondary credit that transfers to the partner colleges and applies toward a degree or credential.

Dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, early college and dual credit

• Concurrent enrollment is the name some states and colleges use for college courses taught at the high school. Federal law treats dual and concurrent enrollment as one category.
• Early college high school is a fuller model. Federal law describes it as a partnership in which students work toward a diploma and at least 12 transferable college credits as part of an organized course of study, at no cost to the family.
• Joint enrollment, in some states, means a college course that earns college credit only. Nashville State Community College in Tennessee uses dual enrollment for courses that earn both high school and college credit and joint enrollment for college credit only.
• Dual credit is used differently from state to state. At Nashville State it means earning college credit for a career and technical high school class by passing a college exam.

Where do students take these courses?

In the National Center for Education Statistics study of students who were ninth-graders in 2009, 80 percent of those who took college-credit courses took them at their own high school, 17 percent on a college campus, 8 percent online and 6 percent at a different high school.

Eligibility considerations

Who can dual enroll?

There is no national rule. States and colleges set grade levels, GPA minimums and test scores, and they can be very different:

• Ohio's College Credit Plus is open to students in grades 7–12 who are admitted by a participating college based on college readiness.
• Florida law requires a 3.0 unweighted high school GPA for college credit dual enrollment courses and a 2.0 for career certificate courses, plus demonstrated college-level skills.
• The University of Central Florida sets a higher bar for its own program: a 3.8 high school GPA and a minimum SAT (1340), ACT (29) or CLT (96) score.
• Nashville State Community College admits juniors and seniors with ACT subscores of 19 in math and reading and 18 in English, or qualifying Accuplacer results, plus written permission from the principal and a parent or guardian.

Homeschooled and private school students may follow a different process. Florida's statute covers home education students, and Ohio runs a separate funding application for nonpublic and homeschool students.

The process

How do you start?

• Talk to your school counselor about which colleges partner with your district and which courses count toward your diploma. Nashville State notes that you must arrange with your high school in advance to receive high school credit.
• Apply to the college as a dual enrollment student and meet its placement requirements.
• Choose courses that transfer. Ask the colleges you may attend after high school how they will treat each course before you register.
• After you graduate, send an official transcript from the college that taught the course to every college you apply to. Your high school transcript alone is not enough.

Who pays?

Costs depend on your state and school. Florida exempts eligible dual enrollment students from registration, tuition and laboratory fees and requires instructional materials to be free for public school students. Ohio's College Credit Plus aims for no or limited cost to families, and Tennessee's Dual Enrollment Lottery Grant is the only aid available to Nashville State dual enrollment students. Federal student aid is not available: the U.S. Department of Education says a student enrolled in high school is not eligible for Title IV aid, even if also enrolled in college.

Potential benefits

What are the benefits?

• Credit on a college transcript, which colleges evaluate like other transfer coursework rather than against an exam score table.
• Low or no tuition in states that fund dual enrollment, such as Florida.
• Experience with college-level work, deadlines and expectations before leaving high school.
• In early college programs, at least 12 transferable credits by graduation under the federal definition, and sometimes much more.

Important limitations

What are the risks and limits?

• Grades are permanent. UCF warns that dual enrollment grades become a permanent part of a college transcript and are considered by other colleges when you apply later.
• Transfer is not automatic. Credit transfers to partner colleges under the federal definition, but other colleges decide for themselves; Nashville State tells students to verify transfer with the receiving university.
• Credit may not fit your major. A course can transfer as an elective without meeting a specific degree requirement.
• You are usually still a first-year applicant. UCF requires dual enrollment students to reapply as first-time-in-college students rather than as transfers.
• Course loads can be limited. UCF's dual enrollment students attend part time with a maximum of six credit hours.
• The content is adult. Nashville State cautions that courses are designed for college-age students and adults.