Dual Credit Opportunities in your High School

Dual credit courses are college-level courses taken at the high school and taught by a college approved instructor. A student enrolled in a dual credit course can receive both high school and college credit for the course if they earn a "C" or better. Students may also earn credit through dual enrollment by taking a college course on campus or online.

Because dual credit courses are challenging courses taught at the college level, Augustana recommends that dual credit candidates should be high school juniors and seniors with strong academic records. Students should have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better, as well as grades of "B" or better in prior content related courses. High School instructors are responsible for screening eligible candidates.

Augustana is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Because of this, Augustana’s credits transfer to most colleges and universities across the nation.

Concurrent dual credit courses offered in the high school cost $50 per credit hour. Most courses are 3-4 credit hours. This is provides students with a significant savings over typical tuition prices.

Students learn about Augustana University Dual Credit courses through their high school. Guidance counselors will know which courses are Augustana University Dual Credit at your school. Students can register for courses online.

Augustana must have the student’s social security number in order to provide a 1098T — a federal government tax form for qualified tuition charges paid to AU. This number can be provided to Augustana via the student portal.

Both dual credit and Advanced Placement courses are taught at the college level. In AP courses, college credit is awarded after the student passes the AP exam, whereas dual credit courses earn credit in the same manner as a typical college course – through papers, tests and other assignments. There are many AP courses that are also dual credit. In this situation, a student may decide whether they want to take the AP exam to earn college credit or enroll in dual credit unless their high school has their own AP test requirement.

There are numerous reasons to consider dual credit courses while in high school. There can be a significant cost savings on a class by class basis. In addition, students who accumulate significant college credit while in high school may have the ability to shorten their college education by a semester or more.

A student may drop or withdraw from a course on or before the drop dates listed for each semester. Consult your high school teacher instructing the course for more details.

Students should register for classes as dual credit by Mar. 31 of the academic year they are taking the course, whether that course was taught in fall semester, spring semester or over the full year.

Students are not required to provide a dual credit transcript to every college or university they submit an application to. You will be asked to submit transcripts to the college you ultimately select prior to enrollment. Students are responsible for ordering their transcripts.

A: Students who have taken an Augustana University Dual Credit course can submit a transcript at augie.edu/transcript. It is recommended that students not place this order before final grades have posted. If the order is placed prior to final grades, please indicate on the form that you wish to have your transcript held for current semester grades.

We would certainly be thrilled to have you here. A few things to note: 1.) Your grades from Augustana dual credit courses will be part of your official transcript here.  2.) You do not need to request transcripts during the application process, as we have access to that information. You can start your application at augie.edu/apply

The majority of colleges and universities, including Augustana, will still consider students entering college directly from high school a freshman regardless of the number of credit hours from dual credit courses. However, this policy is set by the college or university that the student chooses to attend. This is important for financial aid purposes.

The high school teacher will submit their students’ final grades to Augustana. The grades should be the overall course grade and should be submitted using the Augustana University grading scale. 

A+ = 4.0
A = 4.0
A- = 3.7
B+ = 3.3
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7
C+ = 2.3
C = 2.0
C- = 1.7
D+ = 1.3
D = 1.0
D- = 0.7
F = 0.0