Dual Credit

In order to participate, students must be a qualifying junior or senior eligible to enroll at a high school in South Dakota. To qualify, students must meet one of the requirements listed under either Sections 1 (for juniors) & 2 (for seniors), OR all of the requirements under Section 3. Students not meeting the requirements in Sections 1-3 may take and meet the required scores for an exam listed under Section 4 to qualify for the program.

  1.  High school junior eligible to enroll in a high school in South Dakota who meets one of the following requirements:

              a.  earn an ACT composite score of 24 reflective of the 70% percentile; or

              b.  rank in upper one-third of their graduating class; or

​          c.  earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.50 on a 4.0 scale;

  2. High school senior eligible to enroll in a high school in South Dakota who meets one of the following requirements:

             a.  earn an ACT composite score of 21 reflective of the 50% percentile; or

          b.  rank in the upper one-half of their graduating class; or

             c.  earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale;

  3.    High School junior or senior eligible to enroll in a high school in South Dakota who meets all of the following Undergraduate admissions requirements:

            a.   ACT score of 18 (or 21 for USD & SDSM&T); and

         b.   Successful completion of coursework Requirements

                   • Four Years of English

                   • Three years of advanced mathematics

                   • Three years of laboratory science

                   • Three years of social studies

                   • One year of fine arts

  4. Take one of the assessments below and meet the required score(s):

             a.  10th Grade ACT Aspire Summative Assessment – (Score 434 or higher)

                   Students may contact their high school for more information on the ACT Aspire Assessment.

             b.  ACCUPLACER Classic (Sentence Skills – Score 86 or higher AND Elementary Algebra – Score 76 or higher)

                   Students may contact a Dual Credit Campus Contact for more information on the ACCUPLACER Exam.

          c.  ACCUPLACER Next Generation (QAS (Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra & Statistics) - Score 255 or higher AND Writing - Score 263 or higher)

                   Students may contact a Dual Credit Campus Contact for more information on the ACCUPLACER Exam.

Continuing Enrollment Requirements

During the 2020 Legislative Session, changes were made to SDCL § 13-28-37.1 with regard to continuing eligibility in the High School Dual Credit program. Starting with grades earned during the Fall 2020 Semester, any student who fails or withdraws from a HSDC course will no longer be eligible for the program in future semesters, absent a showing of good cause. Students who earn a F or W grade and who wish to continue in the program must meet one of the three options below:

1. Show good cause by having a BOR GPA of 2.5 or higher, showing a prior record of success in the HSDC program (for BOR institutions only).

2. Show good cause by documenting extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the student which contributed to the F or W grade(s). Good cause may include, but is not limited to: illness, injury, an illness or death in the family, or unusual academic circumstances.

3. Regain eligibility in the program by 1.) successfully repeating the course(s) in which the F or W grade(s) were earned, and 2.) paying the full HSDC tuition rate of $145 for the repeated course(s). This includes the portion of tuition typically paid by the state.

Students showing good cause through GPA will be automatically granted an exemption to continue in the program moving forward. Students who experienced extenuating circumstances, or who wish to repeat the course(s) in which the F or W grade was earned at the full HSDC tuition rate to regain program eligibility must fill out an Eligibility Exemption form and submit it to the campus indicated on the form for the student's circumstances. A list of campus contacts for BOR institutions can be found here​, & BOTE institution contacts are available on SDMyLife.

Important Dates

2025 Fall Term

Aug. 25, Monday - Start Date/Instruction begins

Sept. 1, Monday - Labor Day Holiday

Sept. 4, Thursday - Last day to drop or add and adjust final fees

Sept. 5 Friday - Fall tuition and fees payment due; “W” grade begins

Sept. 12, Friday - Last day to submit a graduation application for Fall 2025

Oct. 13, Monday - Native American Day Holiday

Oct. 17, Friday - First half Fall Term ends

Oct. 22, Wednesday - Midterm Grades due by midnight

Nov. 7, Friday - Last day to drop a course

Nov. 11, Tuesday - Veterans’ Day Holiday

Nov. 26-30, Wednesday – Sunday - Thanksgiving Recess

Dec. 10, Wednesday - No classes; Final Exam Preparation

Dec. 11-17, Thursday – Wednesday* - Final exams 

2026 Spring Term

Jan. 12, Monday - Start Date/Instruction begins
Jan. 19, Monday - Martin Luther King Day Holiday
Jan. 21, Wednesday - Last day to drop or add and adjust final fees
Jan. 22, Thursday - Spring tuition and fees payment due; “W” grade begins
Jan. 30, Friday - Last day to submit a graduation application for Spring 2026
Feb. 16, Monday - Presidents’ Day Holiday
March 9, Monday - First half Spring Term ends
March 12, Thursday - Midterm Grades due by midnight
March 16-20, Monday – Friday - Spring Break
April 7, Tuesday - Last day to drop a course
April 3-5, Friday – Sunday** - Easter Recess
May 4-8, Monday – Friday*** - Final exams
May 9, Saturday - Commencement
May 13, Wednesday - Grades due by midnight

Click on each college to see dual credit dates.

Lake Area College Schedule

Mitchell Technical College Schedule

 Southeast Technical College Schedule