Early College programs – including Dual Credit and Advanced Placement (AP) courses – have become a major component of the high school and college experience, and these course types are fundamentally changing how students experience college. Dual Credit is when a high school student takes a college course (either at the high school or at the college) for both high school and college credit; students simultaneously earn credit at both institutions.
Illinois – where I work – has become a major provider of dual credit. According to the ICCB’s Dual Credit Report for 2023 (ICCB is the governing body for community colleges in Illinois), about 82,600 students took a dual credit course in 2022-2023. Illinois community colleges offered more than 14,600 dual credit courses and generated over 163,000 enrollments. Overall, dual credit accounted for over 11% of all community college courses, and 75% of community colleges in Illinois reported that dual credit has increased from previous years.
I supervise the Dual Credit Office at my college, and I serve as Co-Chair of the Dual Credit Committee. Dual Credit also accounts for about 25% of the courses in my academic division; my academic division also houses most of the Dual Credit courses for the college. So, I am very involved in Dual Credit programs at my college.
This post describes the teaching methods colleges use to administer Dual Credit.
At the High School with a High School Teacher
One of the teaching methods for Dual Credit is to have a qualified high school teacher teach the course at the high school.
A teacher becomes qualified by having the same credentials as a college instructor, which is usually a Master’s degree in the subject or a Master’s degree in a related field and 18 credit hours in the subject of the course. However, some states – including Illinois – allow high school teachers to teach dual credit with fewer than 18 credit hours, as long as they are taking courses towards a Master’s in the subject. Some states have also recently started to lower the number of credit hours.
The most common Dual Credit courses are probably English Composition, U.S. History, Psychology, Speech, Biology, and Math. High school students take these courses as part of their required high school curriculum – often as part of an Honors or Advanced Placement program – and the courses also count for credit towards a college degree.
These courses are very convenient because they are part of the regular high school curriculum, so students don’t have to take extra classes before or after the school day, during their lunch hour, or online. Instead, the regular English or History or Math teacher teaches the Dual Credit course, and students get credit at both institutions. The course is also convenient because students are already familiar with the teacher, it’s taught in their high school, and students can use high school resources such as the library and tutoring. The course may also meet every day (like regular high school classes do) instead of every other day (like college classes usually do).
Since the Dual Credit course serves as both the high school and the college course, it needs to meet academic requirements for both curricula. As a result, the Dual Credit course is aligned to both Illinois Teaching Standards for the high school course and also the college’s standards and program outcomes.
This method is also usually the cheapest. The high school teacher is not an employee of the college, and the teacher is not paid by the college. The tuition is also usually free or very close to free (there may be a small processing fee).
At the High School with a College Instructor
A second teaching method is for a college instructor to teach the Dual Credit course at the high school. In this case, the instructor travels to the high school, and the high school functions as an “extension center” for the college.
Students usually take these courses before the start of the school day (this is often known as “zero hour” – because it precedes “first hour”), during their lunch hour, after school, as one of their electives, or even during the summer. The class itself follows the college’s curriculum and the college’s schedule (with class sessions every other day like at the college).
The college course usually does not count for high school credit directly. Instead, the course usually counts only for college credit, and the high school can choose to count it for high school credit as well, usually by articulating it as an elective or as a transfer credit for a required course.
Students get the benefit of having the course at their high school, and they can use the high school’s library and tutoring services, but students have to take the course on their own time (before/after school, during lunch, as an elective, or during the summer), and the course may be in addition to their regular set of high school courses. However, class session is less frequent, with an unfamiliar instructor, and it usually costs almost as much as a regular college class.
This method is very useful for high schools that don’t have qualified high school teachers to teach dual credit, for high schools that don’t have a teacher in a particular subject, and for high schools that don’t offer many electives of their own. For example, one of our partner high schools doesn’t have a History teacher, so my college’s History instructor teaches the college History course at the high school. In this way, the college is able to generate additional credit hours, and the high school is able to cover the History class even without a History teacher.
This approach is very useful for hard-to-staff courses in the Sciences, Speech, Foreign Language, and Math. However, the high school will need to generate enough enrollments to warrant a college instructor, and the high school will need to have comparable science labs for science courses.
At the College
Another type of Dual Credit course arrangement is for high school students to travel to the college and to take the Dual Credit course at the college. These courses are taught by regular college instructors, and the course is usually a regular college course or a designated Dual Credit course for high school students only.
Students who use this course arrangement usually take several Dual Credit courses, and they may participate in an Early College program or a joint Diploma and Associate’s degree program, where they can earn both their high school diploma and an Associate’s degree simultaneously. Students who participate in this course arrangement usually spend half of the school day or certain days at the college.
Some high schools are able to provide bus transportation to a cohort of students taking a Dual Credit class. But many students attend classes on their own through an early-release or early-out program, and they take regular college courses alongside other college students.
As above, students earn college credit, and the high school counts the course as an elective or as a transfer credit so the student can also earn high school credit. This approach is very useful for small high schools that don’t have their own qualified teacher, don’t have enough students to hold the class at the high school, don’t have their own robust elective course offerings, don’t have sufficient science facilities, or have students who are interested in a specialized college program.
Students are also able to use the college library and tutoring services, and they can attend student activities at the college, so they get an early experience of what it’s like to be on a college campus. However, the cost is usually almost as much as a regular college class, and students may be responsible for their own transportation. By spending so much time at the college, Dual Credit students may also feel isolated from their high school peers and miss shared experiences at the high school.
Online
Sometimes the class schedule or the travel distance does not work out – either for the student or for the instructor – so the student takes the Dual Credit course online.
The online course could be virtual (where the instructor meets with students by video conference), or it could be fully online (asynchronous) with no live virtual meetings. Additionally, the online course could be only for students from a single high school, or it could be a catch-all course for any Dual Credit student from any high school, or Dual Credit students could enroll in a regular online course alongside other college students. At my college, we use all three online course formats.
The benefit of taking an online course is that students can work on the course whenever they are able. Many high schools even encourage students to work on their online Dual Credit course during Study Hall, and they provide additional technology support and academic support services to ensure students are completing the work. However, some students may be taking the course totally on their own, after the school day, on top of their regular high school classes, and with no additional support from the high school.
Students who take an online course also usually have to complete an Orientation to Online Learning. Online students may also lack technology resources (such as a webcam), and they may not have access to a library or academic tutoring (though many colleges now offer these online as well). Online students may also feel isolated from the college, and they may not have a positive immersive experience in their initial college courses. Plus it’s easy to procrastinate and fall behind in an online class.
Nevertheless, online classes can be a helpful alternative when class schedules and travel arrangements don’t work out, and when the school has no qualified teachers, insufficient electives, and few Dual Credit students.
Dual Enrollment
Dual Enrollment is when a high school student takes a college course only for college credit, with no credit for a required or elective course at the high school. Students usually take these courses independently, before/after school, during their lunch hour, online, or during the summer. The course is also usually taught by a college instructor, though a qualified high school teacher could teach the course outside their regular teaching contract (before/after school, online, or in the summer). And the cost is usually close to the full tuition amount.
Although students don’t get high school credit, they can use Dual Enrollment programs to get a head start on their college courses.
Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement (AP) courses do not use the college’s curriculum, and students taking AP courses do not automatically earn college credit. Instead, AP courses follow a curriculum that’s set by the College Board, which is a non-profit organization that coordinates the AP program. High school teachers teach the AP course as part of the high school curriculum, and students take a year-end AP exam.
Afterwards, it’s up to each college to decide if they will award credit for the AP and what their cut-off requirement for the exam will be. Many colleges accept a score of 3 and above, but some colleges accept only a 4 or 5. Colleges may also award elective credit for a 3 but major credit only for a 4 or 5.
AP courses can be high-stakes in that college credit depends on the final AP exam, so students who score a 3 or lower may end up with no college credit. Nevertheless, for students who earn a high score, AP courses can be a useful option for earning college credit. The AP program can also help high schools offer early college opportunities even when they don’t have teachers with Master’s degrees.
Your Experience: What is your experience with Dual Credit and Early College courses?
Lirim Neziroski, Ph.D., MBA, MSIS is a higher education administrator, an education consultant, a writer, and a previous faculty member with expertise in higher education leadership, instructional technology, curriculum development, academic assessment, and leadership of academic and online programs. Contact Lirim for individual mentoring, assistance with writing and editing, and public speaking services.
Lirim Neziroski 
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