If I'm in high school or home school, how can I become a dual credit student?

Students have to meet a few requirements to enroll in dual credit at a KCTCS college. There are no age requirements for dual credit courses unless indicated by the program, such as selective admission programs or programs where the law requires a student to be a certain age to enroll.

State Requirements

Kentucky's dual credit policy requires dual credit students to:

• Be enrolled in a participating secondary school. Exceptions may be considered if you are recommended by the school faculty and approved by the college's chief academic officer. Colleges may also provide dual credit to eligible students in private secondary schools and home school settings.
• Meet the college's dual credit requirements for admission.
• Be admitted to the participating college as a dual credit student.
• Meet the requirements for placement into college credit-bearing courses or courses in programs of study that align to a career pathway.
• Complete the college's application for admission and a dual credit form.

KCTCS Requirements

To participate in dual credit courses at KCTCS, you will need to:

• Complete the application for admission via DualEnroll
• Meet KCTCS Assessment & Placement requirements for dual credit high school students (see below for more information).
• Fulfill the prerequisites for your courses.
• Be admitted to the college.
• Enroll in one or more eligible dual credit courses.

Homeschooled Students

If you are a Kentucky homeschooled high school student, you can enroll in dual credit courses if you meet the Dual Credit Assessment & Placement requirements and submit a transcript showing your current grade level. Once you've completed your Senior year of high school, you are no longer eligible to enroll as a dual credit student.

Assessment & Placement

Students must meet KCTCS Dual Credit Assessment & Placement requirements before they can enroll in one or more dual credit courses. The requirements vary depending on whether you're taking general education or technical classes.
 
Requirements for enrollment into Dual Credit Courses

Dual credit students must meet the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) college readiness indicator appropriate for any course for which they enroll AND any course-specific requirements noted in the KCTCS course catalog. Students can use their unweighted GPA or an approved assessment, such as the ACT, to meet the enrollment requirements. (Additional placement tests are listed below.)

¹And any course-specific requirements noted in the KCTCS course catalog

²MAT 116, 110, & 105

³MAT 126, 141, 146, 151 with 100 co-requisite

Exception

Dual credit students in the 12^th grade who assess/place into an English, Math or Reading course with a supplemental course may enroll in that option if offered by their KCTCS College for dual credit. Both courses are eligible for any available dual credit tuition waiver and dual credit scholarship. All other students must meet the established readiness indicators to enroll in an English, Math, or Reading course.

3.3 Addendum for Enrollment into Technical Education Dual Credit Courses

Students who do not have the minimum unweighted cumulative high school 2.0 GPA the KCTCS Assessment and Placement Policy requires for enrollment into technical course work may enroll in technical courses through:

• An ACT Composite Score of 16
• OR ACT Mathematics 16 AND Reading 16;
• OR any accepted equivalent from the KCTCS Assessment and Placement Policy
• AND any course-specific requirements noted in the KCTCS course catalog

Ninth grade students who do not have a GPA may enroll in one technical course per semester that does not have a placement requirement with the recommendation of the High School Administrator.
 
Approved Placement Tests

• ACT
• Accuplacer
• ALEKS PPL
• EdReady
• KYOTE
• SAT
• Wonderlic

Visit the full KCTCS Assessment & Placement Policy to view placement levels in Section 3.3 for common assessments. Note: individual colleges may accept additional assessments for placement.

Dual Credit Student to Freshman Student

If you are a current dual credit student and would like to enroll at a KCTCS college after high school graduation, you need to fill out the High School to Freshman Form. It allows dual credit high school students to complete a form in Self-Service to apply as a freshman student at a KCTCS college. This form can be used instead of the official KCTCS Online Application; however, if you prefer to complete the online application instead of the form, you may do so. The form appears in Self-Service if applicable, based on your high school graduation date and the current date and term. If your graduation date is 2 years out, you will not see the tile. Seniors in high school should have the tile available to them. If the tile does not show, you may complete a new application.

Typically, your high school guidance counselor will send over your final high school transcript with any ACT/SAT scores after graduation. However, you may also request these from Parchment, your high school guidance counselor, or your former board of education. Contact information for KY schools may be found at the Kentucky Department of Education - District and School Directory website. 

(Admissions > Applying for Admission)