ESTABLISHING A DUAL CREDIT CURRICULUM: HOW WE DEVELOPED A SUCCESSFUL DUAL CREDIT GEOLOGY COURSE

Dual credit courses are an emerging pathway for students to earn college credit while still in high school. Dual credit courses are different from advanced placement courses that don’t guarantee college credit. Additionally, dual credit courses offer students academic exposure generally not available at the high school level. Students are exposed to career pathway options that are generally unavailable until entry into college. Developing a dual credit curriculum in a high school can be a time-intensive yet rewarding process. Dual credit courses also offer the student the option of taking an additional year of science increasing the students’ chances of admission into a four-year institution. Once a dual credit program is established, continued development of the course and additional course offerings is recommended. Our experience establishing a dual credit program in geology, and the resulting expansion of one class in one high school in a Southern California District is discussed with suggested dos and don’ts for others considering dual credit courses.