Have you ever thought about graduating from college early? Or getting ahead in your high school classes? Dual enrollment is a program with classes that students can take online, during the summer, in person, or even in a hybrid format. These classes can count as credit for high-school courses.
Emily Ritchey, one of the counselors here at Calabasas High School, has noticed an incline in the popularity of dual enrollment courses.
“Dual enrollment has become more popular lately, especially for juniors and seniors. We started a dual enrollment program about five years ago, and we offered a couple of classes and were hoping to offer four or five Pierce College classes on campus next year, so it’s doubled in size since we started,” said Ritchey.
This is a way for students to save time and money. They can earn college credit, which means they can take fewer classes in college since they completed them in high school. Some students can earn enough college credits and enter college as sophomores. They can then graduate in three years with a bachelor’s degree. As a result of this, college degrees can be a lot less expensive.
“You automatically get credit on your Pierce College transcript, and then they send us the grades to apply as elective credit on the CHS transcript,” said Ritchey.
This can also help students get a feel for what college can be like and establish some expectations for the work. Students can have a smoother transition into college this way since they will already be familiar with the expectations of a college class. Dual enrollment is open to any grade level, but the majority of the space in the classes is filled with juniors and seniors.
“Any grade level can request a class, but we schedule electives starting with seniors, so by the time we schedule seniors, juniors, then sophomores and freshman, space is limited. They are college-level classes, so we found that for a lot of our freshmen and sophomores, it’s pretty advanced content and also very independent,” said Ritchey.
Next fall, CHS is hoping to offer psychology, astronomy, business, administration of justice, visual communications, and new media. Each class will be paired with a spring class, generally in a similar category.
Junior Sierra Silva took a criminal investigation course.
“The professor was very nice. The class was very easy and straightforward. The tests are everything that you study,” said Silva.
“Psychology and business have always been popular. Communication is also a good one to take because colleges want you to take something in that area,” said Ritchey.
Dual enrollment can be the way to go if you want to earn college credits while saving money. This can also look better on college applications. It shows that the student is dedicated and motivated to do their school work.
“You’re showing colleges that you’re ready for college-level classes and you’re starting the college transcript, so you’re going into college with credits already done, that you haven’t had to pay for, that’s offered as a part of your high school transcript,” said Ritchey.
