Prattville High School partners with several colleges and universities to provide dual enrollment or early college credit opportunities to our students.  Earning a college credit is one of the seven College and Career Readiness Indicators, so taking a dual enrollment course not only offers the opportunity for students to get a head start on their college coursework, it also allows them to meet a high school graduation requirement as early as 10th grade.

Perhaps the most important consideration is the course that the student will take. Colleges offer hundreds of credit opportunities, but not all college classes count for high school credit.  If the goal of taking a college class now is to earn both high school and college credits, the student must verify that the course they are considering is approved by the ALSDE to count towards high school credits.  Students may use this "Dual Enrollment Equivalency Options" spreadsheet as a guide to start thinking about what they would like to take and how a given course would work toward meeting credit requirements and then verify with Mrs. McGee before registering for the class. The linked spreadsheet is not exhaustive, but it is a great starting point.

When considering core credits, please be aware that most of these courses count for junior or senior level classes, but sophomores do have the option of taking HIS 201 (or its equivalent university course) to count as their US History 10 credit.  Electives such as foreign languages and career tech credits are also good options for sophomores who are interested in getting started early.

The University of Alabama's Early College and Auburn University's Auburn First Program both offer automatic admission pathways, which can be an attractive option for those students who are ultimately working toward acceptance there.  Each university's automatic admission program is different; UA requires completion of a certain number of credits, while Auburn First requires specific credit types to be completed along with a math placement test.  Both also require that you maintain an excellent GPA.  Advisors at those universities will ensure that students are working toward the correct pathway.

Steps for enrolling in a dual enrollment/early college program:

1. Select the college or university that you would like to attend and apply to be a dual enrollment student on their website. Be careful to enroll as a dual enrollment student and not as a college freshman.  To help determine the best college for you, review the Dual Enrollment Reference Chart below to see minimum GPA requirements for admission, tuition cost, opportunities for automatic admission, etc.

2. Complete all of the college's required steps, including requesting a transcript through Parchment. Each college’s enrollment system is different - check with them to ensure you complete all appropriate steps, such as providing a college-specific form for Mrs. McGee to complete.

3. If the goal is to earn high school credit as well as college credit, verify course equivalencies with Mrs. McGee.

4. Register and pay for your course, and be certain to work with that college’s dual enrollment staff to ensure that you are registered for the appropriate course format/time (online vs. in-person, particularly the AUM English Comp classes, which are regularly taught on the PHS campus). College classes fill up - even the ones we offer on our campus!  The first students to register for a course will be the ones who get in the class.  Pay close attention to dates for registration and get signed up for classes as soon as you can!

5. When you are registered for the course, send documentation of registration to Mrs. McGee.  That information is used to double-check that our records match the records of our partner colleges. 

6. Be diligent about checking the email account/platform login that is created for you at the college; this is how they will communicate with you!

If you have any further questions about dual enrollment, please reach out to Mrs. McGee at traci.mcgee@acboe.net