Earning college credit while still in high school Dual Enrollment Earning college credit while still in high school

Mitzi Blackstone Counseling Department Chair at Alexander High School Dual Enrollment Coordinator at Alexander High School High School Resource Counselor for the Douglas County School System Mom of one college graduate and one college student

What is Dual Enrollment A state funded program for students to attend college while still in high school. Students are eligible to begin in 9th grade. Each college or university may set their own requirements.

What schools participate? Every public college, university and technical school in the state of Georgia participate in some form. Schools outside of the state of Georgia have similar programs but they are not funded by Dual Enrollment Funds. The most common schools that students in Douglas County enroll in are West Georgia Technical College, Georgia Highlands and University of West Georgia.

Advantages of Dual Enrollment Students get the opportunity to earn college credit with very little financial expense. Currently, all fees are paid EXCEPT for online class fees and lab fees. Books ARE included. It allows students to experience college level work while still enjoying the safety net of mom and dad. It expands the HOPE cap for maximum number of credits. The grades in the classes do count in their high school grade point average but do NOT count in their college grade point average. It allows students access to more rigorous classes that may not be available at every high school.

Disadvantages of Dual Enrollment Grades come back to the base high school as letter grades (A, B, C, D, F). County policy requires numeric grades be assigned. This can affect awards and honors. Grade enhancement points are not added to the grades. Very selective schools do not weight all dual enrollment classes equally. Some dual enrollment courses may not transfer. Students do miss out on parts of the high school experience. Student/athletes have more difficulty working out their schedules. Students must provide their own transportation. They may NOT remain on campus while scheduled for dual enrollment classes.

Requirements for Admission as a 9th Grader to Georgia Highlands 3.75 as calculated by the college 1530 on the SAT with a minimum of 26 on Reading and 24 on Math 34 on the ACT with a minimum of 20 on English and 18 on Math These requirements are lower for older students.

Requirements for Admission as a 9th Grader to West Georgia Technical College Accuplacer score of Reading 64, Sentence Skills 70 and Elementary Algebra 57 SAT score of Reading 25, Writing 26 and Math 24 ACT Reading 17, English 16, Math 19 These requirements are the same for all high school students who want to take core classes at WGTC.

How would my student get started? Take either the ACT, SAT or Accuplacer Georgia Highlands requires the ACT or the SAT. Student must create an account and sign up online at either collegeboard.com or actstudent.org DO NOT forget your log in information. It costs $46 for the ACT or the SAT. West Georgia Technical College accepts the Accuplacer. It is free. It is given at West Georgia Technical College. Complete the application for admission to the Dual Enrollment program. Send their transcript—contact college about what to do for 8th graders If your student plans to go as a 9th grader, you need to contact current counselor as well as a counselor at the high school.

Other considerations The program used to be called Move on When Ready---the name has changed but students still need to be ready. Highly selective schools like to see a balance of AP courses with Dual Enrollment. It must fit in with the schedule of the family. When students are in Dual Enrollment, they are in college classes with other college students and a college professor. Communication may not be the same as in high school. There is less recourse to challenge a grade. These grades do come back to the high school and can affect awards and honors even if the course is not required for graduation.

Who do you call? Before you make a call, please check the school website carefully. You do not want their first impression of you and your student to be impacted because you have not done your own homework first. They make a lot of this information very easy to find on their websites because they want the money for your student. Breanna Moss at Georgia Highlands College bbush@highlands.edu Sheila Billingslea at West Georgia Technical College sheila.billingslea@westgatech.edu You can also contact your 8th grade counselor or the counselor at your student’s prospective high school.