Part 1 of this two-part series can be found here.
Dual Enrollment is when a high school student takes a college level class and receives high school credit as well as college credit. Over the last 5-7 years, it has become a very common practice. As with most things homeschool related, it has become easier to get involved with dual enrollment classes, so I encourage you to go that route if your student is academically inclined. The cost of college can be reduced if dual enrollment is thoughtfully approached, and students can lock in to what they want to study faster, which wastes less time and funds. Approaching college as college, with the goal being great success, sets your student up with the right attitude toward university learning. It isn't a trial and error, get-it-done-somehow situation.
That said, colleges vary widely in how approachable they are. Don't get discouraged if the first college you approach is cumbersome. Look around--most offer dual enrollment and many basic classes like English will transfer to most other schools.
Our community college is easy to work with. Contact an advisor, fill out some simple forms, meet with the advisor (student and parent) and take a placement test or two depending on what classes your student wants. Generally a student new to college will take a math placement test and an English placement test. Enrolling happens online like for normal college students once the advisor approves the student.
The Master's University is rather easy to take classes with if your student is a Christian and is academically ready. There is a brief application and the student needs a letter of recommendation from their pastor. There is not a need for the SAT or placement tests. Their system is a little cumbersome and paying/ordering transcripts through Parchment hasn't been as smooth as it could be at times. For example, you can register for classes before you are technically supposed to which can send the system into a tailspin. They could use an expert with dual enrollment for questions and understanding the system a bit more. TMU has accelerated dual enrollment options, so theoretically a student could fit in 4 classes over their junior year alone, taking just one college level course at a time. Make sure your student is academically ready based on the rigor of their high school curricula. The onus is on you as their teacher to know if they are ready, and it is your money on the line as well as your student's GPA.
Cedarville University was much more complicated for dual enrollment than our community college or TMU, but has changed since COVID. They have good, tough classes. SAT has been dropped as a requirement. You'll get an advisor for dual enrollment and then a different one if you apply to the college for after high school. System is a bit cumbersome and the process to get set up takes longer. I'm not sure why they make students choose multiple classes they will take if in fact only one is desired.
Once you've selected the colleges you will use, realize this: the flow of coursework is different for college classes vs. high school classes. It is more challenging to take year-long classes alongside 8 wk classes rather than just take all year-long classes. It is tough to take semester long college classes while taking year long high school classes and 8 wk intensive classes. An 8 wk course packs in a lot of reading, discussion posts, and tests. If there is a big project, realize it is going to monopolize your student's time. There just isn't the time to spread out the work load. When an 8 wk class is really intensifying, a semester long class may or may not be. A year long high school class will have its own flow. What is hard is for a student to be capable of seeing this and mapping out their time commitment accordingly. For this reason it is important your student can really manage time well.
Something else about dual enrollment--check with the colleges your student is considering before spending the time and money on taking a course. You want to ensure the class will aid them as a prerequisite to classes they have to take when enrolled in university, or as a core class. Keep records and contact all of the colleges to see how a perspective class will transfer. Check it with your student's desired major as well since some classes may count as a gen. ed for some majors but not others. A lot of money and frustration would be saved if parents helped their students out here. This part is not for kids to do, they have lots of school work to focus on. This is what Mom should be doing as a support during these later high school years. Your student will learn to navigate these sorts of things later when they are in college, but their time is better spent keeping grades up when they are in high school. Know when to alleviate their stress!
My recommendation is to do a solid high school education before dual enrollment classes. It goes much smoother for kids to have a basic understanding of Biology and Chemistry before they start with college level sciences. They should also be able to write at the college level and know how to manage their own classwork. Too many parents want to throw their kids into college without adequately preparing them, and this causes undo stress on the student. Treat college as college, not as an extension of high school. Just because a student can muddle through, doesn't mean you as the parent have done your job adequately. Come along side your student and realize they still need help and support with softer issues. Let them focus on the school work. In time they will have to manage their cooking, laundry, talking to advisors AND school work. Don't rush it.
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