Dual Enrollment

What is the difference between an Advanced Placement (AP) course and dual-enrollment courses?

Advanced Placement courses are courses that follow the curriculum designed by the College Board and prepare students to take the AP exam in the spring.  The AP Exam is designed and scored by the College Board.  Each college or university determines whether or not they will give credit for AP exams.  For example, if an SPFHS student takes AP Art History and scores a 4 or 5 on the exam, the college or university that they attend will determine if the student will be given any college credits for that course.  Students may get generic elective credits (toward the graduation requirements) or they may be given credit for a specific course so that they can begin advanced courses in that field right away (for example, they can get credit for Introduction to Art History and then begin their college coursework with an advanced art history course).  Students must register and pay for the AP exam in the fall in order to take the exam in the spring.  For the school year 2025-2026 the cost of AP exams was $100.  

Dual-enrollment courses are courses in which students are simultaneously enrolled in SPFHS and in a college or university.  Students register and pay for the college course credits in the beginning of the course, and as long as the student meets the minimum grade requirement set by the college or university, they will be granted college credit for that course.  The student will receive a transcript from the college or university.  Once the student is enrolled in college after graduating from SPFHS, they can submit those transcripts to their college/university for transfer credits.  Each college or university determines their own policies for how they accept transfer credits.  In some cases, a college or university will accept the credits in place of that course (for example, if you have a transcript from Union County College for Introduction to Contemporary Business, then your college may let you move on to an advanced business course).  In other cases the transfer credits will count as an elective course.

When do I have to decide if I want to enroll in the college for dual enrollment?

• • Once school starts, your teacher will provide you with more information about how to enroll with the college, and you will decide at that time.  

What if I can’t afford to pay for the college credits right now?

• Free and reduced lunch students can enroll for a reduced rate.  Please speak to your counselor if you have questions about this.

Do I have to do anything extra or different in the course if I opt for dual enrollment?

• • No, all students in the course will complete the same work and assessments regardless of whether or not they have enrolled in the college/university for the dual enrollment.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School continues to expand its dual-enrollment courses, which offer

students the option of earning college credit while taking classes that also count toward high school

graduation. The course descriptions for all of these dual-enrollment classes can be found in the section for

each department, but this list offers an overview of our dual-enrollment offerings.

Department Course       Partner University

Social Studies Racism, Genocide, and the Holocaust Kean University

Social Studies Global Perspectives (Teaching Academy Only)   Fairleigh Dickinson

Science Astronomy Fairleigh Dickinson

Science Anatomy and Physiology I Fairleigh Dickinson

Science Forensic Science Fairleigh Dickinson

Science Nutrition Science Fairleigh Dickinson

Industrial/Technical Education Drafting and Design Fairleigh Dickinson

Industrial/Technical Education Engineering Technology Fairleigh Dickinson

Industrial/Technical Education Sustainable Product Design University of Delaware

Video Arts Broadcast Journalism and Studio TV Fairleigh Dickinson

Business Entrepreneurship University of Delaware

Business Management Fairleigh Dickinson

Business Marketing Strategies Fairleigh Dickinson

Business Accounting I Fairleigh Dickinson

Business Accounting II Fairleigh Dickinson

Business Business Law Fairleigh Dickinson

Business Business Finance Fairleigh Dickinson

Business Business in a Global Society Fairleigh Dickinson