Parents: a dual enrollment question--

Mudder_s_Mudder
Mon, 31 May 2010 09:07:39 +0000

My question: I know the the credits my daughter is earning at the o-o-s community college are accepted by our state university system. However, because my daughter is not a full-time college student, will these summer college credits my daughter is taking NOW be accepted by the university when she enters it in 2011?

In Florida, this issue is usually advised by the HS guidance office (which coordinates DE classes). Since your D is home-schooled, you need to check with her dual-enrollment advisor, as Feb158 says. I can’t stress how important this is. Someone needs to be advising her on course selection. Since she’s planning on attending an in-state university, the transition should be very smooth with all credits transferring, BUT (and this is a big “but”) the time to make sure her credits transfer is BEFORE she signs up for DE classes. Were you advised ahead of her registration that her OOS classes would “count” toward her college graduation requirements? It is especially important that she, and you, are advised about her college status at the time she registers for those college classes.

For example, both my kids took DE college classes during HS in Florida. They both took CLEPs to qualify before enrolling in CC classes during summer after 9th grade. Both went on to take college classes at the state university under DE status before HS graduation. By junior year, both were taking all their classes on the university campus. Both were required to register as full-time students at the university. S1 continued as a student with the state uni after HS graduation, with all of his HS DE credits transferring. He was able to graduate a year early from college, even with doing a co-op later during college (alternating a semester of classes with working an internship).

In Florida, the HS/CC/state university network is a well-oiled machine. If I recall correctly, home-schoolers do have supervising guidance at the HS level (maybe it’s an office at the HS district level?) as the curriculum has to be pre-approved. If I were you, I would not enroll her, or pay for, any OOS classes before I had pre-approval for those classes. (Too late now, I know, but you may still get approval depending on what those classes she took were.) But you and she do need to talk about her course selection in advance of registration with whoever is advising her HS curriculum–whether that person is in the local HS district or at the CC. That person or persons will know if her course(s) will “count” and/or transfer for college credit after she enrolls in the state uni. At the very least, you want to make sure those credits count for HS toward graduation.

Best wishes and good luck to your D.