Dual Credit Eligibility & Testing

If you are a high school student and wish to enroll in a TCC Dual Credit program you must meet all admission and enrollment eligibility requirements. If you are eligible, take advantage of tuition waivers for high school juniors and seniors.

College Admission Requirements

To meet the criterion, Dual Enrollment students must be juniors or seniors (junior status begins after 10th grade) and eligible to graduate from high school in the spring of their senior year. Students who attend unaccredited high schools and home schools must have completed enough high school coursework, per a high school transcript, to be equivalent to an individual who is classified as a junior or senior at an accredited high school.

All dual credit students have six semesters of eligibility and must be enrolled in at least one class at the high school. Students apply for college admission in the 10th grade and may begin classes in the summer term after the 10th grade. 

Dual credit eligibility ends after the 12th-grade spring semester when the student peer group graduates. The high school transcript submitted in the college admission application determines the peer group. If a student graduates from high school before the peer group graduation date, then they are not eligible for dual credit enrollment.

Students not qualified by grade level may be considered for admission under the Opportunity Admissions category.

A detailed explanation of the OSRHE policy on dual credit is available in the OSRHE Policy and Procedures Manual - Section 3.10. College admission does not guarantee eligibility for course placement. However, students must be admitted to TCC before accessing the Dual Credit Online Enrollment Portal.

Required Scores For Admission

To be admitted to the college, high school students from both accredited and unaccredited high schools will upload the following documents in the college admission application:

• High school transcripts: Minimum three-semester transcript for college admission.
• Unweighted high school GPAs: May be on the transcript or a letter from the high school counselor's office
• Any eligible national test score sheets: see table below

Additionally, students from unaccredited high schools (private schools and homeschools) who do not have national test score sheets will coordinate with academic advising to take the three TCC Accuplacer tests (reading, math, and English) through the TCC testing department in lieu of national test scores.

¹ The National ACT or SAT can be repeated without consequence. One on-campus ACT per year (from November 1 to October 31) is valid for concurrently enrolled high school students’ admission and course placement.

² All sophomores (upcoming juniors) may be admitted using any admission score or an unweighted GPA from a 3-semester high school transcript. All juniors (upcoming seniors) may be admitted using any admission score or an unweighted GPA from a 5-semester high school transcript.

Next Step for Ineligible Students

On-campus ACT testing is available to students who test below the minimum score for admission.

Required Admission Documents

• Online application for admission³ (all students)
• Current unofficial high school transcript (all students)
• Documentation of test scores (if not recorded on an accredited high school transcript)
• Documentation of test scores (required for all unaccredited high school students)
   

³ Receipt of student ID number is the first step in the admission process. Admission is completed when the high school transcript is vetted and all criteria met.

College Enrollment Requirements

At a minimum, all students shall demonstrate college readiness in a subject area to be eligible to enroll in a college-level course in the corresponding subject area. All students must meet the criterion for enrollment. Any student who is unable to demonstrate college readiness in reading will not be permitted enrollment in college-level courses. Students are prohibited from auditing courses or enrolling in physical education courses as well as any form of developmental education, including any configuration in which developmental education is embedded within a credit-bearing course (i.e. Corequisite courses).

Courseload Limits

Combined enrollment may not exceed 19 credit hours per long semester or 9 credit hours in the summer. Each high school course (1/2 unit) listed on the semester high school schedule is counted as 3 credit hours of load—non-academic units excluded.

Re-enrollment Requirements

All students must maintain a college GPA of 2.0 or higher to be eligible to re-enroll each of the six semesters while in high school. Submission of form does not guarantee enrollment. Students may check MyTCC for semester enrollment.

Testing for Unaccredited High School Students

Students enrolled in unaccredited high schools must submit national test scores from the table below; or, in lieu of national test scores, take TCC placement testing before course enrollment. Students should schedule an appointment with a TCC Academic Advisor to get Accuplacer reading, writing, and math referrals. 

Students meet enrollment eligibility with one of the required scores/tests/GPA. A reading score is always required for all enrollment. Additional English or Math scores are only required when enrolling in an ENGL or MATH course.

⁴ Sophomores (upcoming juniors) may enroll in courses using test scores (ACT, Pre-ACT, SAT, PSAT10/NMSQ, or Accuplacer) and a 3-semester high school transcript OR their unweighted GPA from a 4-semester accredited transcript. Juniors (upcoming seniors) may enroll in courses using test scores (listed above) or their unweighted GPA from a 5-semester accredited transcript.

⁵ Math score is dependent on the math course in which student is enrolling. For further information, please contact academic advising or dual credit programs.

Next Steps for Ineligible Students

The TCC Accuplacer Test is available to students that test below the minimum required score for course enrollment. TCC Accuplacer is a course placement test and is not used for college admission. Students must obtain a testing referral from a TCC academic advisor and must comply with all testing requirements. For additional questions about testing visit with Testing Services.

Enroll in a Dual Credit Program

Students will submit initial enrollment and all course changes (adds and/or drops) in the dual credit Student Enrollment Portal. For step-by-step directions and the portal link, go to the Dual Credit Admission and Enrollment Guide.