College Credit During High School
Types of Early College Credit to earn while in high school
Students take AP courses at the high school with high school teachers.
Students can earn college credit or advanced placement depending on the college's policy.
Nearly all U.S. colleges and universities and many international institutions honor AP scores. Most have a written policy spelling out how they award credit and advanced placement.
Students take high school courses with high school teachers; the courses are articulated with a community college, meaning they are equivalent to a college course.
Students earn college credit at the end of the course by earning a "B" or better.
Credit listed on community college transcript as “Credit by Exam” - not accepted at all 4 year colleges.
For list of CVHS articulated courses, see pages 7-8 of the Program Planning Guide.
Students take a college course at the same time they are attending high school.
Students take courses during the school year outside of school hours (afternoon, evening, or asynchronous online), or during summer.
Students enroll with the college directly and are responsible for meeting all deadlines, enrollment, and all aspects of the class.
Students take a college course at the same time they are attending high school.
Courses are during the school year after school or asynchronous online.
As opposed to concurrent enrollment, Dual Enrollment courses are specifically for CVUSD students and are supported by the CVHS College & Career Counselor.
CVUSD assists students with enrollment and sends reminders regarding deadlines.
benefits of early college credit
Through early college credit courses, students can:
Explore areas of interest to them
Get college experience while still in high school
Build confidence with college coursework
Be better prepared for college
Save money - Earn college credit for FREE*
Finish college on time/early
Improve college admissions chances (UCs/CSUs provide honors/AP grade bump; colleges look favorably at students taking college courses while in high school)
*Concurrent Enrollment requires students to pay a small fee and students are responsible for books/supplies.
Concurrent and Dual enrollment participants do as well or better than their non-dual enrollment peers in the following areas:
High school graduation rates
High school Grade Point Average
High school retention and on-time graduation
Assessment into college-level courses
Proficiency on state assessments
College grades and credit accrual
Community college enrollment
Dual Enrollment Video.mp4Students earning early college credit are more likely than their peers to go to and persist in college.
The research found that Early College students were more likely than their non-Early College peers to go to college. Within 6 years after expected high school graduation, about 84% of treatment students enrolled in college, compared with 77% of students in the control group.
The researchers also found that Early College students were more likely than their peers to earn a college degree. Within 4 years of expected high school graduation, 21% of Early College students had earned a bachelor’s degree, compared with 11% of control group students. After 6 years, this gap closed somewhat to 30% of Early College students and 25% of control group students.