MCPS offers high school students the opportunity to earn college credits in both academic coursework and in career and technical education by taking courses that are dual enrolled with New River Community College (NRCC). Upon successful completion of a dual-enrolled (DE) course, students receive both college credit and high school credit towards graduation. 

DE courses are offered for course credit with the same departmental designations, numbers, titles, and credits as those listed in the NRCC Course Catalog. All DE courses are equivalent to the NRCC courses and contain the same components of the syllabi, level and rigor of content, assessment and evaluation of student learning outcomes and instructional effectiveness. DE courses are taught by MCPS high school faculty who have met the qualifications to teach at the college level. MCPS teachers who teach DE courses are considered NRCC adjunct faculty.  NRCC maintains institutional control of all dual enrollment courses to ensure curricular integrity of those courses. 

By taking dual enrollment courses, students gain experience with the rigor of college work and college faculty expectations while taking these courses during regular school hours at their high school. They also may accelerate a student’s college career and save money by allowing them to enter college with credits applicable to their degree program in their post-graduate plans. 

Dual enrolled students are NRCC students.  The learning outcomes for the dual enrollment courses are the same as those for courses taught on camps, and the level and rigor of content are the same as well.  Students (and their parents or caregivers) must recognize that dual enrollment courses reuire greater time and effort than regular high school courses.  Dual enrollment courses become part of a student's permanent college transcript, so it is essential that students do well in these courses.  Dual enrolled students have  unrestricted access to NRCC library's full catalog of books, as well as a wide range of digital resources. 

A minimum grade of “C” is required for a dual enrollment course to transfer to a college or university. NRCC CTE dual enrolled course credits earned are applicable to specific curricula and are intended to prepare students for employment in those areas. While some of these courses may be accepted for transfer, no unified policy exists on the transfer of these courses. 

Please see the "How do DE Courses Transfer?" page to learn more about how these courses can be applied toward degree requirements at four-year universities.