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Dual Enrollment In Your State
One of the most wonderful opportunities for many high-schooled homeschoolers is the chance to take one or more college courses while they are still in high school. Not only can it be a venue for “outsourcing” some of the more lab-intensive or collaboration-improved courses, but it also allows home schoolers to get a head start on their college degree since many states allow the courses to count as both credit for high school AND college.
Sadly, not every state offers a dual-enrollment program, but for those that do, it’s important to find out what the rules are for enrolling, how the credits are counted, and whether the courses are free to students or require tuition.
We’ve compiled the following list of links by state to help you start the research process for your own homeschool. We hope it will help you make the decision whether a dual enrollment program is available and right for you.
| State | Terminology | Link | Homeschoolers Eligible? |
Notes |
| AL | Early College Enrollment Program (ECEP) | Alabama Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | In addition to dual-enrollment opportunities, AL also offers Early College initiatives and the “Fast Track to College Academy” program. |
| AK | No statewide policy, dual enrollment is offered on an institutional basis | Alaska Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Qualified high school students 16 years of age and older may enroll in one or two UAS courses per semester while still in high school by providing the below documentation. |
| AZ | State has two programs: Dual Enrollment and Concurrent Enrollment | Arizona Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Arizona permits students of any age to participate in dual enrollment, and not just juniors and seniors as previously stated. |
| AR | State has two programs: Dual Enrollment and Concurrent Enrollment | Arkansas Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | In addition, the early entrant must submit the credentials required of high school graduates except proof of graduation. |
| CA | Concurrent Enrollment | California Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | The student will earn both high school and college credit. If the student wishes to receive high school credit for a college class, a 3.0 unit or more one-semester college class will earn one semester of high school credit (5.0 credits). |
| CO | State has two programs: Postsecondary Enrollment Options and Fast Track | Colorado Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Homeschoolers are not eligible for Concurrent Enrollment in CO. |
| CT | High school partnerships program | Connecticut Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | The Connecticut State University System (CSUS) and the Connecticut Community College System have developed a Transfer Compact which offers Dual Admission to students who are planning to enroll at a CSUS university after completing an associate’s degree. |
| DE | Dual Enrollment/Awarding of Dual Credit | Delaware Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | State regulation encourages school districts to offer dual credit courses. |
| FL | Dual Enrollment | Florida Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Public or non-public school students who have a 3.0 GPA can enroll in college credit courses, or students with a 2.0 GPA can enroll in vocational certificate courses. |
| GA | State has three programs: ACCEL, Dual Enrollment and Joint Enrollment | Georgia Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Dual Enrollment/Dual Credit courses are primarily available for any eligible 11th or 12th grade (in some limited cases 9th-10th) high school students. They may enroll full-time or part-time in approved credit-bearing college-level courses by the State Board of Education. |
| HI | Running Start | Hawaii Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Running Start and is offered on many college camp use. |
| ID | Postsecondary Enrollment Options | Idaho Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Both dual credit and dual enrollment through partnership between high schools and colleges. |
| IL | No statewide policy, dual enrollment is offered on an institutional basis | Illinois Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Dual credit is not mandated but integrated into the structure of education. All 48 community colleges offer some form of dual credit. Nearly three-quarters of all high schools participate. |
| IN | State has three programs: the Postsecondary Enrollment Program, Double Up for College, and Fast Track to College | Indiana Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Universities offer introductory levelcourses at the high school, often taught by high school teachers trained by the post secondary institutions awarding credit |
| IA | State has two programs: Postsecondary Enrollment Options and Concurrent Enrollment | Iowa Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | [July 27, 2011 – Des Moines] Governor Terry Branstad signed a bill into law allowing homeschoolers to show the academic proficiency needed for no-cost college classes—known as PSEO, or post secondary enrollment option—through any one of five methods: (i) the recommendation of the student’s supervising teacher, (ii) the student’s regular year-end assessment, (iii) a PSAT score of 141, (iv) an ACT score of 21, or (v) an SAT score of 990 (math + verbal). |
| KS | Concurrent Enrollment | Kansas Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | A student can earn up 24 concurrent hours while still in high school. |
| KY | State has two programs: Dual Credit and Dual Enrollment | Kentucky Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | |
| LA | State has two programs: TOPS-Tech Early Start Award, and Early Start. In addition, voluntary agreements between high schools and postsecondary partners are referred to here as Traditional Dual Enrollment | Louisiana Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | No state mandated programs, but many are found throughout the state |
| ME | No title. The state also has a smaller dual enrollment program not generated by policy, Early College for ME, targeted at high school seniors with college potential but no plans for college | Maine Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | A new initiative called College ReadyMaine is underway. |
| MD | No title. State allows high school students to be dually enrolled in a high school and an institution of higher education | Maryland Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | |
| MA | No title | Massachusetts Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Student participation in CDEP is at the discretion of the participating institution of higher education, subject to capacity constraints and state appropriation. |
| MI | State has two programs (no title for either program) | Michigan Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Post-Secondary Enrollment Options(PSEO) for eligible high school students. Eligibility criteria include: students must be in grades 11 or 12, enrolled in at least one high school course, and have taken the state assessment exam. |
| MN | Postsecondary Enrollment Options | Minnesota Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | State statutes mandate that schools must provide students with dual enrollment opportunities. The state has also set participation guidelines that include: students may not take more than the equivalent of two years of coursework through the program and schools may not offer students developmental or remedial coursework. Students pay no tuition or associated costs |
| MS | State has three programs (no title for any program) | Mississippi Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | High school credit is not currently awarded for dual enrollment. |
| MO | No title | Missouri Dual Enrollment Info | Offered ONLY in the public high schools | Permits high school students at any grade level to enroll in dual credit courses. |
| MT | State has two programs: Running Start and Class 8 Alternative License | Montana Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | A dual-credit course awards both high school credit and college credit for a college course taken by the high school student. |
| NE | State has two programs: Dual Credit and Concurrent Enrollment | Nebraska Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | UNO’s Dual Enrollment program allows academically talented students to earn college credit while still in high school. |
| NV | No title. | Nevada Dual Enrollment Info | Yes (Subject to approval of specific institution) | The state has many dual credit programs with community colleges as well as University of Nevada-Las Vegas and the University of Nevada-Reno |
| NH | No statewide policy, dual enrollment is offered on an institutional basis | New Hampshire Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | While there is no statewide policy in New Hampshire, dual enrollment is offered on an institutional basis. |
| NJ | No title | New Jersey Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Districts and postsecondary institutions may create partnerships in which college courses are offered to high school students on postsecondary campuses and in high schools |
| NM | Dual Credit | New Mexico Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Early Admittance Program for high academic achievers. There is a limitation on the number of classes that can be taken. Local institutions set entrance requirements. |
| NY | No state policy | New York Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Dual enrollment of high school students in college courses controlled by postsecondary institutions |
| NC | State has two programs: “Huskins Bill” and Concurrent Enrollment | North Carolina Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | State has two programs: “Huskins Bill” and Concurrent Enrollment. The Huskins Bill program provides that an agreement between a district and community college will allow students in grades 9-12 to enroll in college courses for college credit. Concurrent Enrollment allows a high school student who is at least 16 years old to enroll in community college courses for college credit. |
| ND | Postsecondary Enrollment Options Program | North Dakota Dual Enrollment Info | Yes (Only through ND Center for Distance Education) | North Dakota’s dual-credit program allows students in grades 10 through 12 to take college courses and receive college credit, which also may be used to meet high school graduation requirements. Tuition, fees, books and other costs are the student’s responsibility. |
| OH | Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program | Ohio Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program. High school students are allowed to take college courses for credit either at a high school or on a college campus. |
| OK | Concurrent Enrollment | Oklahoma Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Concurrent enrollment received “a shot in the arm” in September 2010 when the Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education (OSRHE) endorsed a two-year pilot program for the first time allowing an Oklahoma college to credential high school teachers to teach college courses in the high schools. |
| OR | Expanded Options Program | Oregon Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | A large program allows students to earn college credit while in high school. |
| PA | Concurrent Enrollment | Pennsylvania Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | The operation of programs is regionalized not centralized. |
| RI | No statewide policy, dual enrollment opportunities are being provided through locally and privately funded initiatives | Rhode Island Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Offers a summer dual enrollment program. |
| SC | Dual Enrollment | South Carolina Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Dual enrollment courses should be made available only to those who have mastered or nearly mastered the complete high school curriculum and who are capable of college-level coursework which, by definition, is more advanced than the regular high school curriculum provides. |
| SD | No title | South Dakota Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | The dual enrollment policy in South Dakota, which was enacted through a legislative bill passed in 1990, allows high school students to get a jump start on their college career while fulfilling high school requirements. |
| TN | State has two programs: Dual Enrollment and Joint Enrollment | Tennessee Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Joint enrollment refers to the enrollment of a high school student in one or more college courses for which the student will earn only college credit. The joint enrollment category is for the student who has completed the junior year in high school and is still enrolled in a high school program of study |
| TX | Dual Credit | Texas Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Courses are offered by accredited colleges and include both academic and career/technical courses. |
| UT | Concurrent Enrollment | Utah Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | “Concurrent Enrollment” is a Utah Valley University – High School partnership program, where qualified students can earn tuition-free college credit. College classes are taught at the high school by UVU-approved, high school instructors using college curriculum. |
| VT | State has two programs: Vermont State Colleges [VSC] Dual Enrollment and No Title | Vermont Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Eligible students may take one college course tuition free at designated Vermont colleges and universities while they are still in high school or during the summer after they graduate. |
| VA | Has 2 programs: Dual Enrollment and Concurrent Enrollment | Virginia Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Senior Year Plus initiative allows high school seniors to complete high school requirements while concurrently earning at least 15 hours of transferable college credit |
| WA | Running Start | Washington Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | The local higher education institution rather than the high school sets eligibility requirements. |
| WV | No title | West Virginia Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | State statute requires higher education to provide college learning opportunities to high school students; Guidelines have been developed. |
| WI | Youth Options Program | Wisconsin Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | State and local school district funding; Revised in 2004 so that school districts pay for students to enroll at no cost unless there are comparable courses at the high schools. State mandates that all districts participate. |
| WY | No title | Wyoming Dual Enrollment Info | Yes | Limited dual credit program; students must pay tuition costs |
December 31, 2014
Alabama also offers dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment through 2 and 4 year institutions. ECEP is a small program that some community colleges offer to a select few. Early college is specifically University of Alabama. Students have to be B students in 10th-12th grade and must have school approval in order to participate.