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Dual Credit Program

• Saves Parents Money
• Saves Students Time
• Helps High Schools and Colleges

Hundreds of North Dakota's high school juniors and seniors are getting a head start on college by enrolling in dual credit classes. Students have always been able to take college courses for credit - as additions to their high school workload. With the dual credit plan, the college class is a replacement rather than an addition. Students take just one class - the college class - and get both high school and college credit for it. Click here for a testimonial.

Is dual credit for me?
Students enrolled in dual credit courses receive both college and high school credit for courses delivered in their high school classrooms taught by Dickinson State University adjunct instructors.

Who qualifies?
Student must be a high school junior or senior student.

What does it cost?
Classes will be charged on a per credit basis of $211.83 per credit for the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 semesters. Since most dual credit classes are three credit hours, this would translate into $635.49. (211.83 x number of credits per class = TOTAL COST)

Is there financial aid available?
Yes, through the Bank of North Dakota.

Is dual credit transferable?
Dickinson State University is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. As a result of this accreditation, course credits will transfer without difficulty. All institutions within the North Dakota University System will accept any course approved by the General Education Transfer Agreement (GERTA).

What do I need to do?
First, contact your principal or guidance counselor. In order to enroll for a dual credit class, students need to complete the North Dakota University System Enrollment Application. Students then pay the current tuition rate per credit hour plus any other prorated fees.

How many dual credit classes may I take?
The high school principal or high school counselor should act as an advisor for the student to help them determine how many dual credit classes the student can academically manage.

Do dual credit classes meet college academic standards?
Dual credit courses must meet regional academic standards and DSU credit standards. A course syllabus provides criteria and a model for all courses monitored by the Dickinson State department chair. The University approves all instructors for dual credit before they begin teaching these courses.

May I use DSU facilities while I am enrolled in a dual credit class?
Students enrolled in a dual credit class enjoy the same privileges granted to all part-time students. Dual credit students have access to the University's computer labs and privileges at Stoxen Library.

How does the program work?
The high school junior or senior goes to the high school counselor to make sure that the college courses he or she wants to take will meet high school graduation and career requirements. Then the student fills out a short application. The student's parents or guardians and the superintendent must also sign the application.

The high school and the college must agree on the course content and how the course will be taught at the high school by a high school teacher or on campus by college instructors.

Students and their parents are responsible for paying tuition costs; and, upon completion of the course, grades are recorded on the students' high school and college records.

Parents save money.
Cost savings for parents are substantial. Much of the cost of higher education stems from room, board, and other living expenses.

Students save time.
There are also great advantages for high school juniors and seniors who use the program. In two years, it would be easy to complete the first year of required college classes.

Dual credit eases the transition from high school to college, giving students time to adjust to rigorous academic expectations while remaining in a more comfortable setting, often with smaller classes and more opportunity to ask questions.

Testimonial
"Dual credit helps students get a head start in college by placing them in advanced coursework. Dual credit has enabled students to enroll in the classes they need as incoming freshmen without taking placement tests. Students who have completed dual credit are more likely to finish their college program on time because of the jump-start they received on initial enrollment in the college of their choice."
---- Mike Heilman, Principal
---- Dickinson High School
---- (Father of two dual credit students)

For more information contact:
Office of Extended Learning, Dickinson State University
Dickinson, ND 58601-4896
1-866-496-8797

Dickinson Office: 701-483-2166
Marty Odermann-Gardner (Director); Anthony Willer (Instructional Technology/Online Coordinator)
Stacy Wilkinson (Student Support Specialist); Yvonne Roth (Student Support Specialist);
Kathy Obritsch (Distance Video Coordinator); Kay Locket (Staff Assistant); Joanne Fields

(edited version)
Career Outlook 2000
North Dakota State Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NDSOICC)