Dual credit coursework is by definition a college course taken by a high school student for which the student earns both college and high school credit. At completion, high school students earning dual credit will have the course added to a college transcript as well as their local high school transcript.  At the College of Southern Idaho and our sister institutions across the state, dual credit can be delivered in a number of ways, such as:

• Face-to-face using a high school instructor
• Face-to-face using a college instructor
• Via the internet using a local Black Board system
• Via the internet through a partnership with IDLA
• In real time using a video conference system, such as the Idaho Education Network (IEN).

Programs of this type are successful because they offer something for everyone involved. Dual credit programs enable students to make substantial progress toward college degrees before they finish high school. Students who begin taking courses in their junior year can earn 30 or more college credits by the time they graduate from high school if they also take summer classes at the college. College-bound students can earn sophomore status even before they set foot on campus.

In addition to the obvious financial benefits of dual credit, accelerated learning programs, of which dual credit is just one example, also help high school students make the transition from high school to college. For one thing, students can learn what college professors expect in dual credit courses while still in their familiar high school surroundings. When a student matriculates into a college system, they will have already acquired the confidence to succeed academically. Then too, dual credit courses enable high schools to offer students more options than are available in a regular high school curriculum.

Generally speaking, college credits earned by high school students have good portability (they will transfer almost anywhere).  Here are some things to consider when it comes to transferability and dual credit: Private schools often have different transfer criteria than do public institutions, and out-of-state institutions will have differing transfer criteria than will in-state institutions.

Finally, dual credit coursework will almost always transfer as elective credits, but may or may not always transfer into a college program of study.  When a student or parent inquires about transferability of dual credits to a college or university, they are encouraged to contact the college/university registrar directly for information about transfer policies and limitations.  Each of the public colleges and universities in Idaho, as well as Northwest Nazarene University, maintain web-sites affiliated with dual credit and accelerated learning opportunities in order to offer additional learning opportunities for high schools, students and parents.

While some Idaho schools and public libraries currently operate with adequate high speed internet connectivity (T1 connections or more), others operate with little or no high speed internet access. This disparity affects individual students, as those without access also must learn without modern learning tools. It also affects the state system, keeping it from implementing statewide improvement tools such as online assessments and other collective investments as they are forced to lower standards to include the lowest level capabilities. In Idaho, there is agreement on the need to improve broadband access at the school, district and state level in K-12 education, as evidenced by the recent introduction and passing by the Idaho Legislature of House Bill No. 543-Idaho Education Network. The legislative directives stipulated in this bill emphasize the urgency of making improvements to statewide virtual connectivity. One of the priorities of the IEN is to ensure that this “umbrella of connectivity” allows for the expansion of dual credit enrollment opportunities which allow students to take college courses while still in high school, particularly in rural areas of Idaho.

The major focus of the IEN in the first phase of its implementation plan is to connect to sufficient high-speed broad band capabilities every high school in Idaho over the course of the next three years. In the second and third phases of the project, the IEN will work to connect middle schools, elementary schools and libraries to sufficient high-speed broad band capabilities as well. In addition, this statewide network connection will open doors for schools and communities to access educational opportunities from around the state, nation and world.

In practical terms, just what does this mean for high school students in Idaho? As the Idaho Education Network develops and expands its network of service and opportunities across the state in phase one, high school students will:

• Have access to basic core and advanced courses transmitted from other Idaho high schools they currently cannot access due to limitations in personnel, space, and resources
• Participate in dual credit coursework transmitted in “real time” fashion from one of Idaho’s public or private colleges and universities who provide dual credit opportunities
• Experience the wonder of visiting faraway places, both on our earth and beyond, through the technology of “virtual tours.”

For more information, stop by your local high school or visit the Idaho Education Network’s website at http://www.ien.idaho.gov/index.htm.