Dual Enrollment Helps Students Save On College Costs
Dual enrollment is a cost-effective way to earn college credit.
Students who earn college credit during high school generally have to take fewer classes in college to earn a degree. Career and Technical Education students who complete dual enrollment classes may also be able to enter the workforce sooner.
Dual enrollment classes cost between $0 to $400, according to Pearson, which is significantly less than the cost of a traditional college class.
Dual credit tuition costs may be covered by the state, the students high school district, the student or their parent, or some combination of these.
In nine states, the student or their parents are primarily responsible for paying dual credit tuition.
Families who have to pay for dual-enrollment credits may use a 529 plan to cover tuition costs.
However, 529 plan withdrawals used to pay for other dual enrollment expenses, such as books and supplies, are considered non-qualified distributions.
The earnings portion of a non-qualified 529 plan distribution is subject to income tax and a 10% penalty, and any state tax benefits claimed may be subject to recapture.
Dual Credit High Schools
COD has teamed up with high schools surrounding District 502 to offer dual credit courses at no charge. Dual credit courses are available in accounting, architecture, automotive, cosmetology, fire science, math, motion/picture television, nursing, photography and more.
Courses are taught at the student’s high school by high school teachers who have met the same hiring credentials as an adjunct professor at the College. Learning objectives and student learning outcomes for the class are the same as college courses, even though the class is being taught at the student’s high school.
Dual Credit At Collin College
Dual/Concurrent Credit Program
The Dual/Concurrent Credit Program at Collin College is a cooperative partnership between school districts and Collin College enabling high school students to earn college credits while completing the requirements for high school graduation.
Ready to Get Started?
What is Dual Credit?
High school students can take Collin College courses and simultaneously earn credit for both their high school diploma and their college degree. Courses may be taught on the high school or college campus by Collin College professors. High School/Homeschool Official approval is required for dual credit registration.
Students are responsible for determining whether their transfer institution will accept credit from Collin College. For detailed transfer information, please visit TransferU.
What is Concurrent Credit?
The process by which an eligible high school student enrolls in college-level academic or technical courses, while still enrolled in high school, and receives college credit without receiving high school credit for these courses. High School/Homeschool Official approval is required for concurrent credit registration.
Students are responsible for determining whether their transfer institution will accept credit from Collin College. For detailed transfer information, please visit TransferU.
Who Can Participate?
Students enrolled in a public high school, private, charter, or homeschool who…
Additional Dual/Concurrent Program Policies
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Dual Credit Instructor And Faculty Information
Getting Started
Interested in teaching Dual Credit at your school?
Any high school teacher who wishes to teach a dual credit course at their school will need to meet the qualifications *and* be approved as an adjunct instructor under the Dual Credit Program. For an overview of our approval process please refer to our Dual Credit Faculty & Course Approval Guide.
Faculty Approval Process
To obtain approval as a dual credit instructor, one must fill out the online application and submit the following credentials to the Dual Credit office for review by the appropriate academic department:
- Cover letter indicating the course for which teaching approval is requested
- Official transcript from each higher education institution attended
- Resumé and a Philosophy of Teaching
Once your online application has been received, we will reach out to you to request your official transcripts and any other required information in order for an interview with the academic dean and chair and/or coordinator to be set up.
Please forward all required information to: Triton College – Office of Dual Credit 2000 North Fifth Avenue, F-210 River Grove, IL 60171
If you have further questions, please contact the Office of Dual Credit at or 708-456-0300, ext. 3382.
Looking to establish a new Dual Credit course at your high school campus?
Current Dual Credit Faculty Members FAQ’s
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As a college-bound student, it may be worthwhile to try and earn some college credit while youre still in high school. You can do that by taking AP classes and/or higher-level IB courses, but you have to pass certain exams in order to get college credit from those courses. You could also take some classes at a community college over the summer or even during the school year, but you will probably have to pay to take those classes.
Dual enrollment, on the other hand, is a way for you to gain college credit without any of those other constraints. What are dual enrollment courses? Where do you take them? How does it work? For those answers and more, read on.
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Reasons To Take Ap Classes
Since 2008, more and more students are taking AP classes . In 2018, 1.24 million high school graduates took a total of 4.22 million AP exams. This is an increase of 65% over the number of students that participated in 2008. Moreover, more students from low-income families are also participating, taking a 30.18% share of all participants. This has doubled since 2008. This is because many feel that AP classes are a great way to give them a leg up on their college education.
AP courses are not only a great way to get yourself acquainted with college-level work, but scoring high on its exams will also give you the chance to earn credits and advanced placement opportunities.
Again, this depends on a particular institution. For instance, Augsburg University and Harvard University only accept AP Biology scores of 5 to earn credit or placement. On the other hand, Framingham State University in Massachusetts and South Carolina State University has a minimum score of 3.
How Can Dual Credit Courses Help Me Save Money Graduate Faster Or Offset Difficult College Semesters
- Save money: Dual Credit courses are offered at $70 per credit hour. Most colleges offer classes beginning at $100 per credit and in many cases much higher. Regardless of where a student goes to school, dual credit is a great way to begin saving money on overall college tuition.
- Graduate college faster: Friends University requires students to earn 124 credit hours to graduate. This equates to an average of 15.5 hours per semester over eight semesters . By taking college credits prior to entering college as a full-time student, students can better ensure they will graduate on time, or possibly early. Students who enter college undecided on a major, change their majors, or add an additional major and/or minor can benefit from dual credit courses for scheduling and staying on track to complete college faster.
- Offset difficult college semesters: College semesters can be very challenging, especially in later years as students are taking multiple upper level courses at the same time. By taking dual credit courses, students can better arrange their schedules to limit highly difficult semesters by taking fewer hours, mixing upper level and lower level courses, or by having a fewer number of highly difficult semesters. This will vary based on what courses students find challenging, the choice of major and many other factors. Regardless, it is easy to see how entering college with credits can be extremely beneficial.
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Why We Wrote This
The option of taking college courses while in high school is booming in the U.S. What will it take to transform dual credit learning into a true tool to advance equity?
Yet in much of the country, the courses still arent reaching many of the low-income, rural, and minority students who might benefit from them the most. Now, in the midst of a pandemic that is causing disproportionate numbers of low-income students to put off college, some states, colleges, and school districts are tackling those barriers head-on, lowering costs, relaxing strict entrance requirements, and aggressively recruiting underrepresented students into the programs.
Community colleges in particular have seen a rise in dually enrolled students, whose ranks grew by 11.5% this past fall, data from the National Student Clearinghouse shows. Some of those schools are now experimenting with offering young people a path to a credential.
When students have a sense of purpose, says the Aspen Institutes Josh Wyner, theyre more likely to finish their degrees.
Rafael Sierra, a high schooler in Baytown, Texas, has never been one to skate through life or school. When things get tough, hell hear his father saying ponte las pilas put the batteries in and knuckle down.
Can You Take Both Ap And Dual Enrollment Classes
Yes, you can. Although this depends on the availability and support for these programs, many schools offer both of them. Participating in both will allow students to explore different college and career paths. This is especially so when taking academic AP classes and vocational DE classes. Also, it is best to remember that AP courses are tailored for the test. DE classes, on the other hand, allow both students and instructors more wiggle room in exploring topics and other subject matters related to the course. If given the chance, and if you are up for it, it might be good to try out which one is or if both are right for you.
Again, both are college acceleration programs, and they do give you a good experience on what to expect. Also, succeeding in either one will look good on you. Colleges and universities will see students who succeed in both programs as people who can perform in highly competitive environments and are ready for the college-level work ahead. Thus, both earn you more chances of getting accepted to more prestigious institutions not just in the United States but around the world.
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The Best Dual Credit Options For Homeschoolers
So you know all about dual credit and why its probably a good idea for your student to get some. But as a busy homeschooling parent, youre already short on time, and lets face itfiguring out how dual credit fits into your homeschool journey is complicated.
Should your student take online classes or go to community college? Are CLEP or AP exams a better fit? Will the college credits your student earns even be accepted by their target university? In short: whats the best dual credit option for your student?
Its enough to make your head spin. We get it. So to make your life a little easier, weve put together this helpful list of some of the best dual credit options for homeschoolers.
Some States Have Guaranteed Credit Transfers For In
One example is Ohios College Credit Plus. The program has a Transfer to Degree Guarantee, meaning that many of the credits earned at an Ohio public college are guaranteed to transfer to any other Ohio public college.
Meanwhile, you arent guaranteed to earn college credit with AP exams, even if you receive a high score on your exam. Policies vary by the university and the course.
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In Order To Enroll In Dual Enrollment Courses You Have To Meet Certain Minimum Qualifications
In order to enroll in dual enrollment courses, you have to meet certain minimum qualifications. If you are a high school student and you have not yet graduated with your diploma or GED, then it is unlikely that you will be able to take dual enrollment courses. In order for students who are still in high school to take these classes, they must meet the following criteria:
- Be enrolled in a dual enrollment program at their high school
- Be enrolled in the 10th grade or above
- Have a GPA of at least 2.5
The Scope Of Recognition
Another difference is the scope of recognition. The College Board has 6,000 member institutions that recognize the AP program. Colleges and universities that are members of these institutions may choose to give college credits or advanced placement. The latter means you can skip to more advanced classes in line with your completed AP courses. This, however, differs from institution to institution. There are universities that only use AP exam scores as references for admission without awarding credits or advanced placements. Thus, it is best to check your target schools whether they give credit or advanced placement for AP classes.
On the other hand, as dual enrollment classes are being run by partner secondary- and tertiary-level institutions, students enrolled only get to earn credits and advanced placements in these institutions. Usually, college-level classes under these programs are not recognized by other colleges or universities outside the one that offered them. This practice, however, also varies from state to state and institution to institution. Hence, it is best to check whether that is the case for your target DE courses in your locality. What is sure, and unlike in AP courses, is when you pass a college-level DE class, you get college credits for it at the tertiary-level institution you enrolled in.
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Dual Credit Courses May Be More Difficult
For the student, the most obvious drawback is that a dual credit class will likely be more difficult than a similar high school class. Youre taking a college-level course, which means more time spent studying and working on papers and homework.
If you already struggle with a subject or have a difficult academic schedule, jumping to a higher level class could be hard and lead to a lot of stress.
The grades you receive are included on your college transcripts. So, if you dont adapt to the harder class, it may cause issues when you apply to colleges.
The more rigorous classes can also interfere with extracurricular activities. If you have to spend more time working on a college-level class, that leaves you with less time to focus on clubs and sports.
How Much Can Dual Enrollment Save
If youre considering dual enrollment as a way to save money, its important to know how much it can really save you compared to the cost of classes at a college.
Dual enrollment can cost as much as $400 per class, plus you have to consider the costs of getting to the classes, textbooks, and other class materials.
The average cost of a college credit hour is $559. That means that one dual credit class, which usually is worth four credit hours, is worth $2,336.
However, the cost of a credit hour varies widely from college to college.
If you go to a four-year public school, a credit hour only costs $396 on average, making the dual enrollment course worth $1,584. A four-year private school, on the other hand, tends to charge $1,492 per credit, making a dual credit course worth $5,968.
To figure out how much taking a dual enrollment class can help you save, start by thinking about the type of college you plan to attend. Before you count on the savings, be sure that the school will accept your dual credit.
Take the cost of four credit hours at that type of college, then subtract any costs you have to pay to take the course, including tuition and supplies like textbooks, to find the amount youll save.
Also consider the fact that if you take enough dual credit classes to graduate from college a semester early, you can also save on room and board costs. This will help reduce the amount youll have to borrow in student loans.
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Who Offers The Course:
Dual enrollment classes are college classes that are available to high school students. They may be offered at your high school, but they are often taught by college professors on campus or online.
Advanced Placement classes are taught at high schools, by high school teachers. Theyre intended to be taught at the college level but are organized by the high school.
What Is Dual Enrollment
Edwards, Hughes, and Weisberg , in their Different approaches to dual enrollment, published by the Community College Research Center defined dual enrollment as a program that allows high school students to take college courses and potentially earn college credit. As the researchers pointed out, DE programs were originally conceived to target high-achieving high school students. This is much like the AP program.
However, as the authors added, DE programs are also emerging as part of a promising college preparation strategy for a broad range of students. These include those who are struggling in high school, especially by offering courses with a deep career focus. This is one point of departure from the College Boards AP. AP programs are academic in nature. Thus, many find that DE is a great alternative.
In this regard, researchers point out that advocates for this approach contend that a thoughtful sequencing of dual enrollment courses, combined with appropriate student supports, could have a strong positive influence on students who are disengaged from high school and lacking the confidence needed to plan for college. A career focus in dual enrollment may be an important element for such students, because it may engage them through applied learning and help them see pathways through college to future employment.
Dual enrollment setups can be rolled out in different ways incorporating considerations of these features :
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