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dual enrollment gives Head start for college
The GAME of
DUAL E N R O L L ME N T
Matilda von Kalm
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ecause dual enrollment offers available college courses for free, students like senior Brad Bentz could save between $3,000 and $12,000 in college expenses [based off of UCF’s average semester tuition] as well as earn enough college credits, 91 in Bentz’s case, for their Associate Degree before graduating high school. Bentz could potentially enter college as a junior. Though the dual enrollment policy has changed due to a new rule only allowing students to dual enroll in classes required for their high school diploma, they can still opt to take all their required classes as dual enrollment classes while technically being considered a high school student, completing the college and high school credit simultaneously. “I wanted to get a head start on college, so I decided to go to UCF full time my senior year,” senior Esther Lynn, who will obtain her AA degree before entering college, said. “Now I can take classes required for my major like Calculus III and
New county policies limit course access Lauren Lee Student Connections Editor
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n previous years, students could take whatever class they wanted for dual enrollment, but a new county policy has changed that. Senior Matthew Murray was one of the few who got forced out of a class just because he had already filled up his credit. The new change affects students who take dual enrollment and have all of their graduation requirements. “My plan was to take two classes per semester, but then they cut it down, so I fought the system and got three classes back. It put me back a little in what I want to with my premedical prerequisites, and it screwed up my senior year a little,” Murray said. Students who have open requirements to fill can still take whatever class they want, such as College Algebra. However, students with their graduation requirements complete cannot take dual enrollment. Senior Katie Loveland got put into Calculus II, and forced out of her college algebra class. She was one of the only students to be forced out since she had already filled up all her math graduation credits. “I am very mad that I am in
Calculus II, it is totally unnecessary and I am not a happy girl with this change,” Loveland said. With the new change, students find the process more confusing and challenging. After talking guidance counselor, they have to apply for the class and then actually get accepted, and all to find out they cannot take the class because they have all of their graduation requirements. The reason behind this change lies in expenses. The school board and state decided that if all students have their graduation requirements, these students have no reason to take dual enrollment. The school pays for each student taking their dual enrollment classes, so from an academic standpoint the change keeps students from cheating their GPA by taking classes just to boost it, and also limits the amount of money spent on dual enrollment. “It is not very fair on other students if the school pays for a student’s classes above the graduation requirements,” guidance counselor Charlotte Barolet said. Previously college and universities paid for most of the $58 million tuition for Dual Enrollment in Florida, with the counties paying to cover some of that expense. Now with the new change, school districts
will have to pay $30 million on average. However, dual enrollment is a way for students to experience college while still at high school. Each course taken by the student counts as high school and college credit. Students can take a range of courses from algebra to business management. Dual enrollment is available to take at Seminole State College and at the University of Central Florida. Courses to take can be found The Dual Enrollment-High School Subject Area Equivalency List on the fldoe.org website. To apply a student has to talk to their guidance counselor and talk to the college too. Students must maintain an unweighted 3.0 GPA and a minimum score on a common college placement test such as SAT. Students cannot take more than six dual enrollment credits per semester, and the classes will be administered during periods five and six. The new change allows for fiercer competition among students who do not try to cheat their GPA, but also limits students who have all of their graduation requirements, while also giving students a chance to try college classes.
50,000
$650,000
$72
The number of high school students who dual enrolled for the 2012-2013 school year, double the amount 10 years ago.
The amount of money Seminole State College lost taking in 1,639 high school students last year.
The approximate amount school districts pay per dual enrollment class compared to the $105 community college students pay for the same class.
Editor in Chief
Microbiology because I had already knocked out most of my general education classes with AP courses.” Besides the free college credits, dual enrollment students also earn a 5.0 weighted credit for taking the class, which students could use to boost their GPA. “My dual enrollment classes were an alternative to taking standard electives that would lower my GPA and make me look less competitive when applying to college,” senior Lauren Holladay said. However, there is disagreement about whether dual enrollment classes are easier than Advanced Placement classes and thus an easier option to obtaining college credit. “I found AP Psychology and AP Statistics to be fairly easy and received 5’s on both exams; I find my Music History class at UCF to be more challenging because my entire course grade is based off only five tests,” Holladay said. Holladay, who will have 60 college credits under her belt by her first year of college, felt that compared to AP classes taken in high school, college courses required more individual studying and self-
discipline because of the reduced classroom time. Not all dual enrollment students take college classes because they ran out of AP courses or to get ahead in college either. “I thought taking dual enrollment was a great way to get the college classroom experience,” senior Chris De La Cruz said. “In these classes, it is your responsibility to make sure you keep up with assignments because the professor will not hold your hand through the course like a high school teacher would.” Students who plan on knocking out college credit with dual enrollment should be careful when applying to universities though, as many colleges prefer to accept AP courses for college credit over dual enrollment courses. “AP exams test students nationwide, leveling the playing field and establishing a student’s credibility for earning the college credit,” guidance counselor Charlotte Barolet said. “I always tell students, look at the four year university you want to attend, then look at what kind of impact your dual enrollment classes will have there.”
$1 Trillion The amount of nationwide student debt Lay out
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$40-$60 Million The amount dual enrollment cost the Florida school districts that year.
$80
The cost of an Advanced Placement test that can earn a student the same college credit.
*Statistics compiled from the Orlando Sentinel and Washington Post