Yes, high school students can take college courses in a program called dual enrollment. Dual enrollment classes allow high school students to take college level courses and receive BOTH college AND high school credit for the same course. The program builds upon the skills a student has learned in high school, yet the student gets a “head start” toward earning a degree or certificate.
There are two avenues of dual enrollment–Academic Transfer and Career-Technical courses. Academic transfer courses are classes such as English, history, psychology, mathematics, or sciences for students who plan to obtain a degree. Career-Technical courses offer students an opportunity to get ahead in their education by taking courses to obtain a skill, such as welding, drafting, auto tech, auto body repair, criminal justice, medical assisting, air conditioning/refrigeration, industrial maintenance, or carpentry.
Students taking Academic Transfer courses cannot obtain financial assistance at this time; however, the Alabama Workforce Development Grant offers tuition, fees, and books for students wishing to take Career-Technical courses as dual enrollment students.
For additional information, please see the Dual Enrollment page.