How is “Dual Credit” different from high school AP courses?
Both courses are taught at the college level, but by participating in a dual credit class you get college credit immediately upon successful completion of the course. In an AP course, you must pass the end-of-course exam to be eligible to apply for college credit once you graduated from high school. Usually, a student who took an AP course while in high school and passed the end-of-course exam must “petition” the college after attending one semester to accept the AP course as college credit. In most cases, the college will accept it for college credit. The bottom line is you don’t have to wait to be awarded college credit. Another difference is that dual credit courses are taught by faculty who hold at least a master’s degree with a minimum of 18 graduate-level hours in the subject he/she teaches. High school AP courses don’t have to meet this requirement.
