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. 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.
All transfer credits are at the discretion of the receiving college or university. The dual enrollment course transfers to the college or university based on the equivalency defined for the partnering community college by the four-year institution. Transferability of courses can be confirmed by visiting the Transfer Virginia Portal and websites of the four-year schools. The Transfer Virginia Portal provides transparent and equitable information related to transfer, including course equivalencies, applicability of courses to degree programs, comparison of programs, transfer steps and resources, and college and career exploration.
Students in DE courses may be required to take a final exam regardless of any MCPS policies related to final exams. The requirement for students to take SOL tests related to DE courses still applies. Final grades in all DE courses are "weighted" in the calculation of a student's high school GPA. At the conclusion of each academic term, DE students will receive a college grade for each course in which he/she is registered, and such grade will become part of the student's permanent college record. This record will be maintained by NRCC, and transcripts will be sent to college/universities upon a student's request.
The accumulation of too many dual enrollment credits may impact your college financial aid package if those credits do not apply directly to your academic plan. For more information, be sure to read the Transfer Virginia Dual Enrollment Student Guide.
At the present time, DE courses are made available to MCPS students at no cost to students when they are taught by MCPS teachers at an MCPS high school. Students who choose to take NRCC courses not offered by MCPS must pay tuition to the college.
DE course offerings may vary at the different MCPS high schools. Students interested in taking DE courses are encouraged to meet with the counselor at their high school to discuss dual enrollment options. As with all courses, DE course offerings are based on sufficient student interest/demand for the course and the availability of qualified staff. DE course offerings are also conditional upon adequate student registration by established deadlines and adequate enrollment as determined by NRCC and/or MCPS.
This information can also be found on pages 9-11 of the MCPS High School Program of Studies.