Benefits of Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement Classes

Dual enrollment programs and advanced placement classes are becoming more and more common as a way to better prepare students for college and save students money on college tuition. There are those of you that may not be familiar with the terms of dual enrollment and advanced placement (AP). When I was in high school, I had never heard of either one of these programs, but over the last fifteen years, they have been offered much more often.

What Is Dual Enrollment?
Dual enrollment programs allow high school students, most often upperclassmen, to take college courses for college credit at usually little or no cost to the student. These courses can be taught by college professors or high school teachers that are also certified to teach at the college level. The students would be both in high school and taking college classes at the same time.

Financially, the framework of it all usually depends on the specific school. Sometimes it will just depend on the state that the student is going to school in. There are times the high school will take care of the cost of the dual enrollment college course, and other times the student is responsible for payment. It is always good to ask as many questions as possible to determine just what will be asked of the student financially before enrolling in the course.

Not every high school student will be qualified to take dual enrollment courses. Students have to be at least 16 years old, which shouldn’t be a problem for most high school juniors and seniors. However, a sophomore may be able to take dual enrollment courses if they meet the following requirements, too. Students must have a grade point average of 2.5 or higher, proving that they are ready for the academic challenge. The school may even ask the interested student to demonstrate their strength in the subject by taking a placement exam beforehand. Lastly, the student must have their parents permission before they are considered qualified. It is a commitment that has to be taken seriously by both the student and their parents.

What Are Advanced Placement Classes?
Advanced placement (AP) is a program made available to high school students, again most often juniors and seniors. It has actually been around since the 1950s in some areas. AP classes are basically more difficult or advanced classes offered in high school. Why take it if the course is going to be so difficult? Because then the student can earn college credit just like they can in a dual enrollment program. Depending upon the high school, there are 38 AP subjects available. However, typical schools generally offer only 5-12 subjects.

There are typically requirements around GPA and prerequisite courses for students wanting to take AP classes. AP classes are not just offered to any high school student that wants to take them. Each high school will require a certain minimum grade point average from a student before they are allowed to take an AP class. The high school will determine what that grade point average is, since there is no set grade point average that all high schools go off of. The high school may also have the student take some sort of placement exam. AP classes can often be very difficult, and if a student does not do well in it, it can greatly affect their overall high school grade point average.

How Common Is Dual Enrollment and AP?
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), their  2010-2011 survey showed that at that time 46% percent of all colleges had high school students receiving college credits from dual enrollment programs Nearly 1.3 million high school students took college courses for credit in the 2010-2011 school year through just dual enrollment programs. While most students took only one college course per term, there were some students that took as many as three college courses per term. With each class being worth three college credits, the credits can add up quickly and save the student serious time and money down the road. Incoming college freshmen will already have plenty of college credits on their transcripts if they partake in dual enrollment and AP classes.

The actual college courses may be presented in various ways. The course may be entirely online, which would allow you to take it either at home or from your high school. Other times, the class can be offered only at the actual college. There is also a third option where the course may be taught inside a classroom at your high school. It all depends on the course and the agreement between the high school and participating college.
Dual Enrollment and AP Research
Research has shown that dual enrollment courses assist high school students in the immediate future. In fact, college students who participated in dual enrollment courses had higher persistence and retention, a higher grade point average, and of course higher credit accumulation from the credits they received. Dual enrollment courses are providing high school students an idea of what college life will actually be like.

College degrees are taking longer and longer to attain for college students. According to a national study, the average length for acquiring a college degree for students that have not received college credits while in high school is at 4.65 years. It is easy to see why taking AP and dual enrollment courses could prove to be invaluable to students, and parents that are asked to pay for their child’s schooling. Overall, there are many obvious benefits to these courses, and very few small negatives.

Written by Ryan Crawley

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