In high school, Advance Placement (AP) classes are the main source of obtaining college credit, but students have to obtain a certain score on the AP test to receive that credit. With the dual enrollment however; students automatically get credit for college as long as they pass the course. The issue is that high schools don’t usually promote dual enrollment to students because they focus more on promoting their AP courses. 

To allow students to have more options to get college credit, high schools should promote dual enrollment for students.

On the Derry Township School District website, Hershey High School describes dual enrollment as “[…] a program that allows a high school student to concurrently enroll in postsecondary courses and to receive both secondary and postsecondary credit for that coursework.” The page goes into detail on the requirements Hershey has for participation in dual enrollment, but most students don’t know that this page even exists.

The dual enrollment page is under 1 of 16 tabs on the guidance counselor page of the DTSD website. If a student didn’t know Hershey had dual enrollment as an option, it would be hard for them to find it on the website. Hershey isn’t the only school that has this set up, though. Lower Dauphin High School also has a page on their website about dual enrollment that isn’t noticeable. Dual enrollment prepares students well for college, so the information on the websites should be more apparent for students to find.  

“Professors expect students to complete assignments on time, to prepare thoroughly for exams and presentations, and to think for themselves. Learning these skills through dual-enrollment classes is fantastic preparation for life in college, the workplace, and society,” said college express.

Adults may say dual enrollment isn’t worth it since the credits you obtain will not always transfer, but the same circumstances go for AP class credits. What credits are accepted depends on the university in question. If certain universities take neither AP nor dual enrollment credits, wouldn’t dual enrollment still have the advantage of providing college experience, gaining responsibility, saving money, and improving time management skills?

Also, students who take college level classes in high school move on to college and earn degrees. According to a study by Columbia University out of 200,000 high school students taking college level classes, “Eighty-eight percent of these students continued in college after high school, and most earned a certificate or degree or transferred from a two-year college to a four-year college within five years.”

All high schools need to start promoting dual enrollment to students, so students can understand all of the options for classes they have. Taking college courses in high school has many benefits, but until students hear about them, only AP courses will be taken.

To make a difference, students should contact their HHS guidance counselors about sharing dual enrollment options during the yearly mandatory meeting with the guidance department.