Dual Credit: A Faster Route to the Future

One of the shining stars at Gainesville High School is our dual credit program. We are proud to partner with our local community college, North Central Texas College, to offer a wide variety of college options, including academic or career and technical courses. We currently have 166 students taking advantage of academic courses and 56 enrolled in one of the Career & Technical Education programs (CTE). Students can start taking courses at any grade level, including our Collegiate Academy which starts in the 9th grade.

Technical Route

If a student chooses either the welding, machining, or cosmetology CTE programs, they have the potential to earn a certificate before graduation, allowing them to enter the workforce immediately after high school with an above-average paying job. CTE students are bused from the high school to the college for these courses in order to take advantage of the college’s state-of-the-art facilities. These hands-on programs give our students the experience and confidence needed to be successful in their chosen career.

Academic Route

Students who choose the academic route have three options for taking college courses. • Option 1 is to earn an Associate of Arts degree with 60 college credit hours. • Option 2 is to earn 44 college hours and be considered “core complete” at any public university in Texas. • Option 3 is for students who enroll in dual credit courses later in high school. They will typically earn between 3 and 30 college hours, which gives them the understanding of how to navigate the college process.

The advantage of both options 1 and 2 is that students can enter a university with one-third of their bachelor’s degree complete. Students in our Collegiate Academy choose between options 1 and 2 at the end of their 9th grade year. They are guided through course selection by their counselor in order to reach this goal. No matter which option a student chooses, the experience a student gains from taking dual credit courses is invaluable to their future college career.

Dual Credit Advantages

FINANCIAL. Dual credit courses offer many advantages to our students, one being the financial benefits. GISD provides tuition, books, and supplies for the welding, machining, and cosmetology programs. In addition, NCTC provides a tuition scholarship each semester to any student who qualifies for the free/reduced lunch program at the high school. An academic dual credit course is one-fifth the cost of the same course at a four-year university, which can be a substantial savings for parents and students over the course of their degree.

TRANSFER CREDITS. Another advantage is entering college with transfer credits, which allows a student to bypass the usual freshman courses and start taking courses in their chosen career field. A dual-credit student could actually graduate from college with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in the same amount of time it normally takes to obtain only a bachelor’s degree.

EASE OF TRANSITION. Taking dual credit courses makes for a smoother transition from high school to college. The firsthand exposure to college-level work gives students the benefit of knowing the expected rigor and high expectations of college. The experience also removes some of the fear and anxiety that often burdens first-time college students. It gives them confidence to succeed and makes it more likely for a student to graduate from college.

Dual credit programs allow our students to leave GHS equipped with the skills and knowledge to be successful in our ever-changing society. Without the wonderful partnership with NCTC, we could not offer any of these options to our students.