Dual enrollment lets a high school student take a college-level course and earn high school and college credit for it at the same time. When the course is finished, the student has a grade on an official college transcript, and that credit can go with them to college.
It’s also more common than many parents realize.
1 in 3
American high school students take at least one course for college credit.
National Center for Education Statistics, 2019
Plenty of families still never look into it, usually because no one has walked them through how it works. Here is that walkthrough.
How Dual Enrollment Works
In a dual enrollment course, your student is enrolled with a college for that one course while still in high school. The course counts toward their high school diploma and earns college credit.
Programs are set up in a few different ways. Some students drive to a community college campus. Some take a college’s online course. Others take a course at their own high school, taught by their own teacher, through a partnership between the school and a college. That last model is how dual enrollment works at Veritas Scholars Academy, which we’ll come to below.
Whatever the setup, the result is an official transcript from the college showing the course and the grade. When your student starts college, that transcript is sent in the same way any transfer credit would be.
Why Do Families Choose Dual Enrollment?
College credits earned in high school mean fewer courses to take later, and families put that to use in different ways:
- Finishing college a semester early, which also saves a semester of tuition, housing, and fees.
- A lighter first semester, such as 12 credits instead of 15 while your student adjusts to college life.
- Room for more: a minor, a second major, or a semester abroad, without adding time to the degree.
There’s a benefit that’s harder to measure, too. Your student’s first college course happens in familiar territory, with a teacher who knows them and parents close by. Stretching toward college-level work with that kind of support builds confidence that carries into freshman year.
Good to know
Each college decides how incoming credit counts. Some courses match a specific requirement at the new school, while others may instead count as elective credit. If your student has a college in mind, it’s worth checking that school’s transfer credit policy early.
Who Is Dual Enrollment For?
Dual enrollment tends to be a good fit for
Six students a parent might recognize
- The student who is ready for college-level workThey’re already earning strong grades in a qualifying course, they meet deadlines without reminders, and their schedule has room in it. Dual enrollment doesn’t add a class; it adds credit to one they’re already taking, so the work they’re already doing well becomes something that counts further down the road.
- The student who would benefit from a gentler first stepSome students are academically ready for college yet still nervous. Maybe they’re young for their grade, or simply unsure what college work demands. Taking that first course at home, on a familiar platform, with a teacher who already knows them, answers the question before it becomes a worry. They arrive on campus having already done the thing they were anxious about.
- The student with a long road aheadLaw, engineering, a double major, graduate school. When the path runs long, credit earned early doesn’t just shorten the front end but creates room in the middle for a minor, a semester abroad, or an internship that otherwise wouldn’t fit.
- The student with a serious commitment outside the classroomAthletes, performers, musicians, students on mission. They will lose weeks to a season, a production, or a trip. Dual enrollment asks for no second campus, no commute, and no separate schedule, and the credit can also make room for a lighter first college semester, which matters most for the students whose lives are fullest.
- The student who hasn’t chosen a major yetThis may surprise some families, but being undecided is a reason to take dual enrollment rather than a reason to wait. General education credit is the most widely transferable kind (because every degree requires it), and a course in psychology or economics is a low-risk way to find out whether a field is interesting before committing four years to it.
- The student you want grounded before they’re on their ownPsychology, economics, and literature are often taught in college from a secular viewpoint. Taking them now means your student meets those disciplines from a Christian worldview first, and they’re still at your table when the ideas come up, which won’t be true in two years.
It’s probably not the right choice this year for
- Students with no plans for college, such as those heading into an apprenticeship or straight into work.
- Students who still need a year or two to prepare for college-level work.
- Students set on a specific college with a restrictive credit policy.
Not sure your student is ready?
That’s a wise question to ask. A dual enrollment grade stays on a college transcript permanently, and graduate and professional schools may later ask to see it. For a student who is thriving, that’s an early record of strong college work. For a student who is struggling, waiting a year is a perfectly good decision.
Dual Enrollment at Veritas Scholars Academy
At Veritas Scholars Academy, dual enrollment adds college credit to a class that your student is already taking. That means it’s the same course, with the same teacher and the same assignments.
We partner with Cairn University, a Christian university in Pennsylvania accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (the same body that accredits Veritas Scholars Academy). Each of the 50 eligible VSA Live courses is matched to a specific Cairn course. Senior Thesis, for example, is recorded as ENG 101 English Composition, and Calculus I covers both Calculus I and II at Cairn. Students who finish the course with a grade of 70% or higher receive an official transcript from Cairn.
The Essentials
- Who’s eligible11th and 12th graders. Full-time 10th graders may be approved case by case.
- Cost$449 per three-credit course for Full-Time Diploma students and $549 for Part-Time students. Calculus I is a six-credit course, and Physics Calculus-Based is a four-credit course.
- DeadlineNovember 15 for courses running September through May.
- How to registerThrough the VSA Account Management site. First-time dual enrollment students also complete Cairn’s application for admission.
Rates are subject to change; current rates are listed in the Veritas Terms and Conditions.
Your Next Step
If your student is taking one of the 50 eligible courses (the full list is in the Info Sheet below), dual enrollment may be worth a conversation. Your Family Consultant or Academic Advisor can help you decide whether it’s right for your student this year, and our Dual Enrollment page has everything you need to know to get started.