Congratulations! You child has exhibited a desire to take dual credit courses. This same child, with their college involvement, is transitioning into adulthood. This means, as a parent, you are transitioning from a difficult leadership role to an equally difficult support role. Assist your teenager in this transition by making him/her aware that success depends on him/her taking responsibility for education and behavior.
Dual credit allows your son or daughter to earn college credit while attending high school. In fact, when they earn their high school diploma, they could also be graduating with up to 30 hours of college credit that is transferable to any public college or university in Texas, which could save you $10,000-30,000! Just imagine your child being able to start college as a sophomore, or even a junior.
Dual credit courses offered by Central Texas College are taught by full-time or adjunct faculty who meet the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools credential requirements. Classes taught in the high school are the same in content and evaluation as those offered on the Central Texas College campuses. Academic core courses will transfer to other Texas public colleges and universities.
Students may be struggling to decide whether to take Advanced Placement (AP) courses or dual credit courses. View a comparison of the two programs.
Learn more information on the dual credit registration process.
What is expected of college students varies greatly from what is expected of high school students. Most collegiate coursework requires students to pursue their education not only in the classroom but on their own, either by completing coursework, doing research and reading, studying or preparing for class. It requires a high level of responsibility, motivation and self-discipline to complete college courses successfully.
Students should be reminded about how challenging college courses can be and encouraged to prepare and study accordingly. The rule of thumb is for every hour spent in class students should spend the same amount of time studying. Some students will need to spend more time. All students should schedule more study time when they have an exam or when projects are due.
Some of the topics covered in college courses may be controversial. College is a time for students to critically analyze information gathered through K-12 courses and confront questions without easy answers. College instructors will teach the same course material regardless if it is a dual credit course or has dual credit students in the course.
High school extra-curricular activities may conflict with a dual credit course. Students are responsible for all materials related to the course whether or not they are in class the day the information is given or the assignment is made. Students will need to talk to their instructor to make arrangements for receiving handouts, classroom information, obtaining lecture notes, or turning in work. Parents and students should seriously discuss priorities before and during enrollment in a dual credit course.
Students participating in dual credit courses should check with their respective high schools before enrolling in classes that may cause them to lose their eligibility to participate in UIL contests under UIL constitution and contest rules.
Because dual credit courses are actually Central Texas College courses, student privacy rules apply. In compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the CTC Associate Dean of Admissions, Records, and Registration is the custodian of all student records except those specifically relating to financial aid. Student records are confidential and cannot be released to anyone other than the student (including parents). A student may complete the Student Consent for Release of Academic Records and return it to the Systems Registrar to give named parties access to the student's records for one year.
In order to take dual credit, students must meet the same standards as the general college student. This includes appropriate test scores, GPA, as well as sometimes providing residency documents. CTC is responsible for determining the residency status of students for tuition purposes, as directed by state statutes and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Rules and Regulations: Determining Residence Status. A few examples of documents you may be asked to provide are 1.5 years worth of addresses, a 12 month old TX driver's license or ID, a military sponsor's PCS orders to TX, copies of LESs, DD214 member 4 copies, the student's military ID, W2s, IRS Account Tax Transcripts, as well as others. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter and ensure that all documents are kept confidential.