Dual credit allows high school students to simultaneously earn credit toward a high school diploma and a postsecondary degree or certificate. Postsecondary institutions work closely with high schools to deliver college courses that are identical to those offered on the college campus. Credits earned in a dual credit class become pat of the student's permanent college record. Students may enroll in dual credit programs taught at the high school or on the college campus.

For purposes of dual credit, the University of Idaho's service region was, in the spring of 2007, extended to include the entire state.

"The State Board of Education has made a commitment to improve the educational opportunities to Idaho citizens by creating a seamless system. To this end, the Board has instructed its post-secondary institutions to provide educational programs and training to their respective service regions, support and enhance regional and statewide economic development, and to collaborate with the public elementary and secondary schools. In addition to the Board's desire to prepare secondary graduates for post-secondary programs, the Board also is interested in accelerated learning programs for qualified secondary students. These programs have the potential for reducing the overall costs of secondary and post-secondary programs to the students and institutions."

Idaho State Board of Education
Governing Policies and Procedures
SECTION: III. Postsecondary Affairs

DELIVERY OPTIONS

COURSES DELIVERED ON CAMPUS

Many departments on the University of Idaho campus currently offer their courses to area high school students. The success rate of these courses depends, in part, on the department's flexibility with scheduling. Most area high schools have indicated that early afternoon would be the best time for students to come to the university's Moscow campus.

COURSES DELIVERED ONLINE

Many small high schools in the state see online courses as the only way to offer students in their districts courses that the district can no longer teach (either because student numbers don't warrant teaching advanced courses or the district can't find personnel qualified to teach certain courses).

• If you decide to develop an online dual credit course, please keep in mind the following:
• To ensure a better success/completion rate for online courses, consider developing a tutorial that will teach students how to take online courses. The tutorial will include a preview of what an online course will look like including information on access, use of e-mail communication, class chat rooms and expectations
• All online courses should be structured to include benchmarks, specific assignments with completion dates and specified test dates. If you choose, UI personnel (i.e., grad students) in the appropriate disciplines can answer e-mail questions from students and maintain other forms of communication necessary to keep the students connected with the course.
• Develop online courses that appeal to students seeking to fulfill university or general education core requirements. Examples might include:
  • Art 100 
  • Biology (w/o lab) 
  • Chemistry (w/o lab) 
  • Economics 201, 202 
  • Engineering 102 or similar course 
  • Environmental Science 101, 201 
  • History 101, 11, 112 
  • Pre-Calculus/Calculus 
  • Psychology 101

COURSES TAUGHT IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS BY A UI OR SECONDARY FACULTY MEMBER

Some departments may want to consider this as an option for their graduate students, especially if the dual credit program could contribute to the graduate stipend. This option also has great relationship-building potential. (Regional school district administrators have stressed the fact that they have programs with BYU, BSU and LCSC but none with University of Idaho.) Departments wishing to pursue this option may want to keep in mind the following:

• Actively publicizing the educational opportunities that high school students have just growing up here in the Moscow area. This can be done in area newspapers and by providing area high schools with lists of appropriate courses.
• Go to Moscow High School, other school districts in the area, work with school district faculty and administrators to establish contacts, and promote University of Idaho courses.
• Visit charter schools and Logos School where students have exhausted the resources of their high school and are looking for something else. 
• Promote Summer Session as a dual credit option (Summer Start, which was traditionally for entering freshmen, has now been retooled to include dual credit).

Absences

Students attending classes on the University of Idaho campus, who anticipate being absent due to a high school related activity, should contact the Dean of Students to get administrative approval.

For courses held at the high school, students need to follow school district policy. It is important too, that University of Idaho faculty work with the high school faculty to agree on a secondary due date for assignments/tests should students miss deadlines due to a high school related activity.

BENEFITS OF OFFERING DUAL CREDIT COURSES

The benefits of offering dual enrollment courses at the University of Idaho are many. Here are just a few:

• Promotes academic rigor in line with University of Idaho expectations
• Reduces the need for remedial work in college courses
• Enables greater collaboration between high school and university faculty
• Increases student aspirations to go to college
• Builds closer ties between the university and area communities

Finally, while dual credit isn't an immediate answer to the financial difficulties that colleges and departments are currently experiencing, there is money to be derived from developing a dual credit program.

If you have any questions, please contact the Dual Credit Office at 885-6237. We are here to help you.