Dual Credit

SAVE MONEY ON COLLEGE TUITION

Participating students and their parents benefit by significant savings on both immediate and long term costs of a college education. The Houston Community College Board of Trustees has, with the exception of out-of-district fees, waived tuition and fees for dual credit students.

ACCELERATE TIME TO DEGREE COMPLETION

Dual credit students can earn up to two years of college credit related to the HCC Academic Core that can transfer to a Texas public higher educational institution. Students also can obtain college credit toward a Career & Technical Education (CTE)/Workforce degree or certificate that can position them for unique employment opportunities upon graduating from high school.

BUILD CONFIDENCE

Students find that dual credit programs help establish skills to be successful in college such as following a syllabus, meeting classroom and course requirements, conducting themselves appropriately, using self-discipline, and improving and applying higher-level thinking skills.

ACCESS TO POSTSECONDARY RESOURCES

Exposing dual credit students to the college environment – including HCC student support services such as the library, computer labs, financial aid, career services, and tutoring – helps to ease the transition to college after high school.

EARN TRANSFERRABLE COLLEGE CREDITS

Many dual credit courses are transferrable to Texas public colleges and universities, private institutions, and some out-of-state colleges and universities.

Learn more about transferring credits

In order to participate in a HCC dual credit program, high school students must meet the following requirements:

• Meet school district or high school requirements for taking a dual credit class and be recommended for dual credit by his/her high school authority.
• Currently enrolled in 9th grade or higher.
• Demonstrate college readiness standards by achieving passing scores under the provision of the Texas Success Initiative (TSI), OR demonstrate exemption from testing under the provisions of the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) (See “College Readiness Requirements” section below for details) OR Non-Degree/Undecided students may enroll in academic courses and earn no more than 14 college level hours.
•  Meet the dual credit course prerequisite requirements.

High school students interested in dual credit must be assessed in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics prior to enrollment. Students must have a qualifying score(s) on one of the following state-approved Texas Success Initiative (TSI) assessments to be deemed college-ready.

Level I Certificate classes related to workforce (i.e., Career & Technical Education) are the only programs that require no minimum Reading, Writing, or Mathematics score requirement. These programs range from 15-to-42 semester credit hours (SCH) and are designed for entry-level employment or upgrading skills and knowledge within an occupation. These workforce certificates serve as building blocks toward a Level II Certificate and eventually an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree program. The following chart details the requirements for Level I and Level II Certificates.

Courses are offered in the Texas Common Core Curriculum, foreign languages, and Career and Technical Education (CTE). These courses are divided into two groups- Academic and Workforce.

Academic

Courses are designed primarily to apply to a transferable degree such as the Associate of Arts (AA), or Associate of Science (AS).  Core curriculum and foreign language classes are academic. These courses are all part of the Texas Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM) and articulated by the State as a dual credit course. For more information

Workforce/Career & Technical Education (CTE)

Courses are designed to apply to Workforce Certificates and Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees. These courses are all part of the Texas Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM) and articulated by the State as a dual credit course.

K-12 deadlines are earlier than those posted below

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The Houston Community College Board of Trustees has waived tuition and fees for dual credit students. Students living within taxing districts (In-District) may take dual credit classes at no charge. Students living outside of the taxing district (Out-of-District) do not pay tuition, but they do pay tuition out-of-district fees.

Dual Credit classes are conveniently held on the high school campus or on a nearby college campus. On the high school campus, the classes are exclusively for students attending that high school. On the college campus, students are integrated into regular college courses with regular college students.

House Bill 505 removed limitations on the number of classes a student may take. However, Houston Community College recommends that students taking more than two classes per semester possess a 3.0 or higher grade point average in high school coursework.

Students may verify the transferability of credit by asking the college/university or Student Success Coach if the target university will accept Houston Community College college-level courses in transfer. While many private and out-of-state institutions accept our college-level courses in transfer, students are advised to confirm transferability with the private or out-of-state institution. Workforce courses may or may not be transferable depending upon whether Houston Community College and the college or university has a signed articulation agreement for the particular program and courses in question. Consult with a Student Success Coach for additional details

Dual credit students, like all college students, are responsible for purchasing required textbooks and other essential course materials. The exception would be in cases where the high school provides textbooks

Dual credit students cannot receive financial aid. Students must earn a high school diploma or GED to be eligible for financial aid.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records. When a student turns 18 years old, or enters a postsecondary institution at any age, the rights under FERPA transfer from the parents to the student (“eligible student”). An “eligible student” means a student who has reached the age of 18 or who is attending a postsecondary institution at any age. Once a student becomes an “eligible student,” the rights afforded his or her parents under FERPA transfer to that student.

If a student is attending a postsecondary institution - at any age - the rights under FERPA have transferred to the student. However, in a situation where a student is enrolled in both a high school and a postsecondary institution, the two schools may exchange information on that student. If the student is under 18, the parents still retain the rights under FERPA at the high school and may inspect and review any records sent by the postsecondary institution to the high school. Additionally, the postsecondary institution may disclose personally identifiable information from the student’s education records to the parents, without the consent of the eligible student, if the student is a dependent for tax purposes under the IRS rules.