Dual Enrollment

Philosophy

Students in GCC courses must have the same academic experience regardless of where or how they receive their education, and this includes participating in the same course level assessment activities. Both MCCCD Standards and HLC Guidelines describe these requirements as they apply to Dual Enrollment (DE) students.

Standards & Guidelines

MCCCD Dual Enrollment Academic Standards: “Dual enrollment courses must be at a higher level than those courses taught at the participating high school. Course competencies and outlines must meet or exceed MCCCD standards as approved for each course in the course bank. Syllabi, textbooks, and assessment measurements must meet college/ department/ division guidelines and must be approved by the Division/ Department Chair/ discipline faculty. Materials and resources will be consistent with existing Maricopa/ Department/ Division standards for academic rigor.” Source: MCCCD Dual Enrollment Academic Standards.

Higher Learning Commission Dual Credit Guidelines: “Consistency in course requirements and the assessment of student learning across institutional locations and teaching modalities, along with the availability of student support systems, are important accreditation concerns with direct linkages to dual credit activity.” Source: HLC Dual Credit for Institutions and Peer Reviewers Guidelines.

Commitment

GCC commits to creating sustainable course assessment plans that include DE courses. We recognize the challenges of assessing in these classrooms (e.g., limited DE students in certain classes, presence of non-DE students, different course timelines, lack of Canvas use) and will work to address the issues on a course or departmental level.

Collaboration

The Assessment and Dual Enrollment programs will work collaboratively to achieve full integration of assessment in DE courses. Department Assessment Coordinators will collaborate with their department’s DE Coordinator and instructional faculty with the support of the College Assessment & Review Team and DE directors.

Timeline

The first round of assessment began in the Mathematics and Computer Science department during AY20-21. All remaining DE courses will be assessed during the upcoming three-year assessment cycle (AY21-22, AY22-23, AY23-24). In general, DE assessment activities will follow the approved GCC assessment cycle, and if a course cycle with DE offerings is missed, those DE sections will be assessed off-cycle. This will allow us to build a consistent cycle of assessment for all course offerings while recognizing that our DE assessment program is in its early stages.