Dual Credit - Which Classes??

[crimsonkelley]

When planning out the high school years....which classes are you planning for them to do through the college to get dual credit? Do you tend to do literature/English/History type courses or math and science. My only concern is that my daughter would not have the math or science background to take a dual credit course.

 

I'm trying to plan out 9th-12th, but I'm not sure how to factor in dual credit courses for 11th and 12th grade.

 

I would love feedback from the experienced moms.

 

Thanks!

[Shellers]

My DD is in 10th grade and is just finishing up Macroeconomics. I'd like for her to take an English or math class but she doesn't have a valid ID for the placement test.

 

This summer two of my DD's plan on taking a History class.

 

We are finding it really hard to get into classes because high school students have lowest priority.

[Nan in Mass]

We started with some easy courses in 10th or 11th, just to get used to being in a classroom, then we had ours do math and science at the cc. Science comes in two flavours: intro and general. The introductory courses are for non-majors or for people who have not had the subject in high school. They assume no previous background. That doesn't mean they aren't hard, but it does mean they start from the beginning. Your student will probably still need reasonably good study skills. General science classes are for STEM majors and assume that the student has covered the subject before. Our college also has a Science 1 + 2 (a little of bio and physical sciences and earth science) which sounds like it would be just right if you were not sure your student could manage the intro classes. Math runs from basic arithmetic to calculus at our college. If you don't test into the college level math, you have to take remedial classes which do not count as college credit. There are remedial classes for English as well. At our cc, homeschoolers can take the remedial classes but I think I have heard that this is not true for some cc's. You will need to check with your school. Ours has a math/reading/writing placement test that the student needs to take before signing up for classes.

HTH

Nan

Edited April 30, 2012 by Nan in Mass

[regentrude]

DD is dually enrolled at the local four year university.

We use it for subjects that I can not teach at home beyond a certain level, such as a foreign language I am not proficient in. DD started with one four hour French course in 10th grade.

In 11th she will continue with French and also take calculus based physics (which I could teach at home, but she really wants to take it as a class).

[Sunshine State Sue]

We are advised to start with 1 class - either something the student is strong in or a college skills class (study skills, organizational skills, research skills, etc). Ds started with both. 2nd semester, he took math, science, and a critical reading class (not really a strength and it helped quite a bit).

 

Next year, he'll continue with math, science, English, and government. Our CC has limited history beyond American. :sad:

 

Our science classes are similar to Nan's - intro or general based on prior experience. Dual enrolled students are not allowed to take remedial classes here. But, if they pass the reading/writing section, they can take non-math, non-science and vice versa for the math.

 

HTH!

[Photo Ninja]

My dc started with foreign language. After that, my dc picked other courses, like Public Speaking (a common general ed requirement), art history, and music, (two other basic general ed requirements). My dd liked her Psychology course, and my dc also took Statistics at the cc. They also took some history courses (Western Civ and U.S. History) and Biology and other science courses at the cc. They spent lot of time on the foreign language, math and science courses, but did not find them particularly difficult. It was just a lot of studying and memorizing. Study skills were more important than previous knowledge in that subject (except for math).

 

I think it is difficult to play a few years ahead for a student to take dual credit courses. The student has to be vested in it and want to do it, and want to take that particular course. Things also change within the cc systems, so what is possible one year may not be possible another year.

 

I suggest you consider planning on all the courses being done at home, then when the time comes to take dual credit courses, decide then which ones to take and adjust your plans accordingly. This way you are planning on full year courses, and if your dc decide to take a cc course, you end up with a free semester. If your dc decide not to take any cc courses, your plans still work. Just my thoughts.

[Lori D.]

We went with foreign language:

- for better exposure to conversation/hearing actual spoken language

- for competent instructor (since I don't know the foreign language)

 

Typically, the homeschoolers here use dual enrollment for: Foreign Language, Writing, Math, or occasionally a Science.

Some are taking Core Coursework towards vocational certificates or 2-year degrees (Fire Science, Culinary Arts, Cosmetology, Aviation Technology...).

I know of 2 students who took the intro art course for Fine Arts dual credit.

One student I know of took blacksmithing from the CC for dual credit; I can't remember how his mom counted it on the transcript...

 

BEST of luck in your dual enrollment adventures, whatever you go with! Warmly, Lori D.

[Nan in Mass]

I think it is difficult to play a few years ahead for a student to take dual credit courses. The student has to be vested in it and want to do it, and want to take that particular course. Things also change within the cc systems, so what is possible one year may not be possible another year.

 

Right - Beware the scheduling. You may plan on your student taking precalc and bio and then discover that there is only one section of precalc offered and one section of biology and they are in the same time slot and can't be taken together. Or the class might be full. Or the class might not have enough people and be cancelled. Or the class might be reserved for a certain major. Or you might not have the money when the time comes. Or the dual-enrolled courses that are free now might not be when the time comes. Or the rules regarding dual-enrolled students might change. Or you might not be free to drive back and forth because of an ailing parent. Or...

 

Go ahead and plan but make sure you have a backup plan. The backup plan might be something as simple as graduating early (so the student can fully matriculate) and getting a driver's license, but you need some sort of plan B.

 

Speech and drawing make nice starter courses. : )

 

Nan

[regentrude]

One more thing: do not underestimate the amount of time the student will spend on the courses. DD took a 4 hour French course this semester and easily spent 10 hours per week on the course. The 4 hour physics course she will be taking in the fall also requires 2 hours of work outside of class for every hour in class. This does greatly impact the amount of work that can be accomplished for the at-home courses, and you need to plan accordingly.

[AngieW in Texas]

My kids have used dual credit for foreign language because I don't know a foreign language well enough to be comfortable trying to teach it.

 

I want all my kids to take at least one science course at cc, partially to validate their science grades at home, but also so they have experience in a real lab and get macroscale experiments as opposed to the microscale experiments we do at home.

 

Getting grunt courses out of the way is nice, like English and history/government.

 

If there are any courses at cc that can help in figuring out what they would like for a major, those are good to take too.

 

My oldest took:

Japanese I, II, II

Drawing I, II

English I, II

Statistics, Trigonometry

Psychology

Digital Imaging I

General College Physics I and Introductory Chemistry

 

My middle dd has taken:

English I, II

Spanish I, II

Psychology

 

For her senior year, she plans to take:

Chemistry I, II for science majors

Biology I, II for science majors

Programming Fundamentals

Government I, II

two more semester classes, but not sure what

 

At our cc, dual credit students are restricted to 2 classes/semester at first, but after they have completed 12 credit hours, they can request permission for an overload if their grades and test scores are high enough. With an overload, my oldest was able to take up to 4 classes/semester. My middle dd has better grades and higher test scores than my oldest, so I don't see any issues with her getting permission for an overload as well.

[K-FL]

Even if you just get the usual pre-reqs out of the way, you'll be doing great. So Freshman English I & II, math through College Algebra, basic computer, & foreign language (check how many semesters will be needed for the prospective major) would be the first to look at, IMO.

 

FYI: Here they can start DE after 9th grade if they have the scores. With our girls, 1st semester they took a fun class (an art usually) and an academic. By the 2nd semester, they were taking full loads so both graduated hs w/60+ hrs (#1 finished her AA, #2 was shy 2 classes.)

Edited April 30, 2012 by K-FL

[Teachin'Mine]

I would let the student choose a class or two they'd be interested in taking. IMO the first classes are about enjoying the class experience and becoming familiar with how to navigate everything, get work in on time, study, test, communicate, and schedule everything. If they have a good experience that first semester, chances are they'll want to take more. All you need to do is ignite the spark.

[regentrude]

Even if you just get the usual pre-reqs out of the way, you'll be doing great. So Freshman English I & II, math through College Algebra, basic computer, & foreign language (check how many semesters will be needed for the prospective major) would be the first to look at, IMO.

 

Just a comment on math:

It depends on the student's major if the school will accept dual credit. For a STEM student at many universities, any math below calculus 1 is considered a remedial course, and the credit does not count towards the major (even if the course is taken at the same university.)

[Amy in TX]

Right - Beware the scheduling. You may plan on your student taking precalc and bio and then discover that there is only one section of precalc offered and one section of biology and they are in the same time slot and can't be taken together. Or the class might be full. Or the class might not have enough people and be cancelled. Or the class might be reserved for a certain major. Or you might not have the money when the time comes. Or the dual-enrolled courses that are free now might not be when the time comes. Or the rules regarding dual-enrolled students might change. Or you might not be free to drive back and forth because of an ailing parent. Or...

 

:iagree: This can't be overemphasized. Don't plan a rigid schedule that leaves no room for changes, or for doing things at home you had planned to do at cc. We have, in one year, experienced the following:

 

--Class cancelled on the first day because not enough people had signed up. Dd had to scramble to get into something else that same day, because you couldn't join a class later than the first day.

 

--Spanish II not offered, on any campus, the semester after dd took Spanish I. She had to wait a full year before it was even offered again, and now must spend time reviewing Spanish I first.

 

--Rules for dual-credit students randomly change at the discretion of the Dean. Each time dd has applied for permission to take classes, the Dean has granted it, but has added different stipulations.

[ThelmaLou]

Ds16 will be taking classes thIs summer for the first time. Summer I he's taking Speech and Summer II he's taking Computers.

[SkateLeft]

Our state's dual-enrollment program pays for books and tuition for 11th and 12th graders. My daughter will finish this year with 27 units. She's registered for 13 units in the fall, and will probably do another 12-15 units in the spring.

 

She's a STEM kid interested in chemical engineering, so she's doubled up on chemistry and spends her spare time in the chem lab chatting up the instructors. ;) Here are some notes based on our experiences.

 

Most classes have the basic college English composition class as a prerequisite. It's best to get that out of the way as soon as possible, so it doesn't hamper getting into other classes.

 

Our approach has been at least one writing class and one literature class taken each year. She took composition first semester and literature second. In the fall, she'll take technical writing first semester and some other lit class during the second semester. We also focus on lab sciences, since those are harder to validate as a homeschooler.

 

She's doesn't need or want transfer credit for her lab science courses, since she'd prefer to take them again at her four year university. We were told by several universities to save lab notebooks if she plans to request transfer credit.

 

As far as social science classes go, it's good to prepare your student beforehand to handle strong political and religious views that might oppose your own.

 

I second the poster who mentioned being able to get recommendations! Her instructors have all been hugely helpful in this regard.

[Jann in TX]

I would NOT suggest English Lit for dual enrollment (most college majors do not require Lit anyways). Most Lit classes at this level have 'shock' material-- meaning VERY ADULT (near pornographic in some section). Do not enroll in a college Lit class unless you have spoken with instructor and are sure about materials being used.

 

Even Speech classes can have ADULT themes-- depends on what the instructor allows. I let my dd take a Speech class dual enrollment-- her instructor let ANYONE leave the room if a fellow student was giving a speech on objectionable material-- one student in her class gave a speech on favorite S3xual positions!!! (DD and about half of the class chose to wait in the hall).

 

After taking a placement test after 10th grade dd was allowed to enroll in any freshman level course. She was allowed 2 classes each semester (we had to pay a measly $40 per class!!). DD graduated high school with 28 credits--ALL transferred.

 

DD took English 1301 (Freshman writing 1)--excellent course at our CC

US History 2 (Civil War to present)

US Government

Intro to Chemistry (slightly above high school level) with Lab

Spanish I and Spanish 2 (equal to at LEAST 3 years of high school Spanish).

Speech

Economics

 

DD wishes she would have taken a Math instead of Economics (boring!).

[crimsonkelley]

Thank you so much for all the information!!! So many things I had not even considered.

 

Thanks!

Rachel

[K-FL]

Just a comment on math:

It depends on the student's major if the school will accept dual credit. For a STEM student at many universities, any math below calculus 1 is considered a remedial course, and the credit does not count towards the major (even if the course is taken at the same university.)

 

Agreed. However for Humanities degrees & even the BS-Nursing programs (at least in FL) 2 maths are all that's required--College Alg and Intro to Statistics fill the bill.

 

Plus if a potential STEM student needed the lower levels, it would be better to get them under DE than mess up the sequence later (IMO.)