with Cheryl A. Bastian
with Cheryl A. Bastian
We’re tackling some of the most common questions parents ask and sharing simple action steps to make it easy.
Question: What are Pros and Cons of Dual Enrollment?
My high school learner would like to dual enroll with some friends from her cooperative. They would like to attend in-person classes at the local community college or study virtually at a Bible college in our state. What should we consider when discussing dual-enrollment options with our learner?
D
ual enrollment allows students to earn college credit while in middle (in some states) or high school. Though dual enrollment continues to grow in popularity, it is important to take a step back and evaluate the learner’s needs and aspirations as well as the family’s beliefs, values, and seasons of life. The decision to dual-enroll is also dependent on the educational options available: venues, courses, and professors. Availability varies.
With all variables considered, whether to participate in dual enrollment can be a cumbersome question without uniform, one-size-fits-all answers. Let’s look at some of the variables families may consider as they make decisions.
Is the learner prepared and ready for postsecondary learning?
- Post-secondary learning requires personal responsibility, motivation, and time management.
- Professors expect students to attend class (in person as well as online meetings), be on time, follow a syllabus, navigate an online platform, turn in assignments when they are due, and work and write at a college level.
- Professor support varies greatly. While some instructors are readily available through email and office hours, others are not or rely on assistants to help students. If you know families who have utilized dual enrollment at the college or university of interest, ask for course and professor recommendations.
- Course pace is concentrated and condensed, particularly for 8-week courses, which are fast-paced and content-packed. Generally, more information is covered in college courses in one semester than in the same timeframe in high school.
- Delivery, assignment structure, and evaluative methods vary. While some professors deliver content via lecture, others may use pre-recorded lesson videos. Assignments may include discussion prompts and posts (students are asked to comment on or analyze a question or class content and post to their fellow students), quizzes and essays (in person or online), papers, presentations, or projects. Quizzes and exams for online courses may be proctored with a lockdown browser. These details may be specified on sites like Rate My Professor or on a professor’s past syllabi (sometimes searchable online).
- The learner’s age and maturity may differ from the other students’ ages and maturity levels in the class.
Does the high schooler have an intended career path?
- If there is an intended career path, does the college offer the courses needed for the desired degree, certification, or career pathway (specific courses and prerequisites)?
What does the learner anticipate gaining from the experience?
- Dual enrollment is the commencement of a post-secondary transcript. All grades earned will affect the GPA. Some students take only one or two classes in the first semester until they are familiar with the process.
- Dual enrollment may provide instruction in higher-level or degree-specific classes, such as Calculus or Financial Accounting.
- Some families use dual enrollment to enhance the rigor of the high school academic record and aid in the validation of the home-generated transcript.
- Dual enrollment can attest, depending on grades, to the student’s ability to successfully complete college-level work.
- Dual enrollment may offer a wider variety of courses and areas of study, perhaps Animal Sciences (helpful when considering veterinary medicine or animal-related careers), Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries (helpful for learners considering a career in athletic training, physical therapy, or kinesiology), Hospitality and Tourism (helpful for careers in hospitality or management).
- High schoolers who are athletes, employed, or mission-minded may desire online courses that can flex with game, work, and travel schedules. Still other learners choose to dual-enroll to finish a degree on a shorter timeline, aspiring to enter a specific field of work or to complete graduate work faster.
- Athletes may request dual-enrollment courses to take college-level coursework while playing a sport. This experience may help determine whether the scholar athlete would like to pursue collegiate athletics.
Does the college or university offer free or reduced tuition, free textbooks, or waived lab fees?
- While some families find tuition-free college necessary, others may choose to wait for potential scholarships and delay entrance.
Do dual enrollment credits transfer?
- It depends. Research the accreditation of the credit awarding institution as well as the receiving school’s academic policies. In addition, find out if the receiving college or university will transfer in credits from other schools. Some will. Others might only transfer a specified number of credits or courses, particularly for specific majors. Still others will not accept credits that have contributed to the student’s high school graduation.
The decision to dual-enroll is an individualized one with many facets to consider. The time spent researching and discussing options with your high schooler will be well spent.
C
heryl Bastian has been married to Mike for thirty-seven years and began homeschooling in 1993. A mother of eight children and Honey to four grandchildren, Cheryl knows the trials and triumphs of embracing each season of life and is passionate about equipping and inspiring parents who want to nurture a desire for life-long learning in their children and grandchildren.