Dive Brief:
- Although Texas universities, by state law, are mandated to accept dual credit courses from Texas high schools, sometimes their credits only count towards electives at colleges and universities, and may not function to help fulfill specific degree requirements.
- One recent study found graduates from a Texas early-college high school program lost an average of 27% of expected credits after they enrolled at universities.
- Some students subsequently have had to pay more in tuition fees than they had originally planned.
Dive Insight:
Programs underway in states like Virginia and Florida help manage credit accumulation and their possible use at various schools. These models guide students across institutions, recognizing a reported one-third of all college students transfer between higher ed institutions.
Similar systems could work well for high school students trying to earn college credits early. They could also provide transparency to those students who are engaged in earning credits online. In October 2015, the American Council on Education launched the Alternative Credit Project. The initiative offers access to 111 courses offered by nonaccredited providers like edX, JumpCourse and Pearson Learning Solutions, and at its inception, a total of 40 colleges and universities had already agreed to accept transfer credits from a “large number” of these general education courses. Those courses are majority low-cost or free.