Arcola CUSD #306

Driven by the district vision and strategic goals, the Arcola School District has made a substantial commitment over the last few years to increase course and program offerings and to also implement new systems that will allow for each student to be prepared in terms of College and Career Readiness. The district does not dictate that every student needs to attend a four-year college nor does the district dictate that certain students should go straight into a career path instead of attending college.  Rather, the district commitment is that upon graduation each and every student will be prepared to attend college or be prepared to be successful in a career path of their choice.  It is very important to note that college and career readiness are not mutually exclusive paths. In other words, career readiness can and often does include college coursework and vice versa, students that are choosing to go to college full-time should do so with a career path in mind.  College and career readiness work hand in hand.

The district has implemented several strategies over the last few years in an effort to meet the commitment described above.  Those strategies have included

• Ensuring students have a jump start on college through expanded course offerings in high school, including providing dual credit opportunities.

• Expanding the number of career paths that are offered through the district

• Expanding experiences in career and technical education courses and programs.

This will be a two-part article. The remainder of this article will focus on the dual credit opportunities for students attending Arcola High School.  The second part of the article, which will be written at a later date, will focus on the district’s effort to prepare students for career readiness and the extensive programming the district now offers in a variety career paths for career and technical education (CTE).

Dual Credit is defined by the Illinois Community College Board as “an instructional arrangement where an academically qualified student currently enrolled in high school enrolls in a college-level course and, upon successful course completion, concurrently earns both college credit and high school credit.”  By offering dual credit opportunities for students, the district is giving students a significant jumpstart on their college journey and at the same time, significantly reducing out of pocket expenses for the students and families. 

The district offers dual credit opportunities in several ways. The different approaches vary in terms of (1) the instructor, (2) the institution awarding the college credit and in (3) the cost to the student. 

1.      Instructor - Arcola High School teachers with a master’s degree in the content area are allowed to teach a dual credit course through a local community college.  For other courses, an online instructor is provided by the college or university and the students receive additional support from Arcola teachers.  In addition, Arcola offers several programs where students travel offsite to a different location to earn dual credit (such as LIFT or Health Occupations).  In these cases, the instructor is provided by the program.

2.    Institutions - the Arcola School District partners with three higher education institutions to provide dual credit. Those partnerships include Parkland Community College, Lakeland Community College and Eastern Illinois University.  Most of the Arcola School District lies within the Parkland Community College district with a small portion falling in Lakeland

Cost - the cost per credit hour is based on the instructor.  When a course is taught by an Arcola teacher, the cost is very economical and ranges from $45 - $60 for a three-hour course.  If a Parkland or EIU instructor is required, the cost for a three-hour course can range from $200 - $420 depending on the course.  Many of the offsite programs are offered on a tuition basis.  In those situations, the cost for dual credit is part of the tuition. Regardless of the course, program or cost for dual credit, the student pays the first $250 and the district pays any additional costs above that amount.

Dual credit can also vary in how the dual credit earned can be used. Courses that are part of the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) are accepted for credit by all IAI participating schools, which includes all Illinois public universities and 94 other Illinois colleges and universities.  American History I is an example of a course approved through the Illinois Articulation Agreement.  Students that take this course for dual credit would earn 3 college credit hours that would be accepted anywhere in Illinois (and at many out of state universities as well).  On the other hand, students that are attending a welding program at Lakeland College most likely would be earning college credit hours that could only be used towards a degree at Lakeland College. It all depends on whether or not the courses are approved through IAI.

The following chart indicates the current dual credit offerings for Arcola High School students.  It also indicates where the instructor comes from, the institution offering the dual credit and whether or not the credit is part of the Articulation Agreement.

You can see from the chart that Arcola High School students can earn up to 24 college credit hours that are transferable to Illinois Colleges and Universities in Illinois just by taking all the dual credit courses offered at Arcola High School!