Dual Enrollment in Georgia, explained for parents

What does the 30-hour cap mean for us?

It means the state will pay for about ten three-credit courses over your teen's high school career, and not an eleventh. The cap counts hours the state paid for, and it is per student rather than per year. Within a year the funding is also limited to 15 hours a term.

Thirty hours is roughly a year of college. The cap is why we plan Georgia courses backward from the target college, because an exploratory course that turns out to be a dead end costs three of the thirty funded hours, and each of the ten should transfer to the college your teen will attend as more than an elective.

Past the cap, dual enrollment is still allowed and the family pays the college's tuition, so if a senior spring beyond thirty hours is part of the plan, ask the college for its rate before you get there.

The funding only follows courses on the state's approved course directory, and whether a directory course transfers to a private or out-of-state university is the receiving college's decision. We put that check before registration rather than after, because a course that fails it has already spent three of the thirty hours.

Who is eligible?

Juniors and seniors can take any course on the state's approved course directory. Tenth graders can take approved career and technical courses, and can take core academic courses if they scored at least 1200 on the SAT or 26 on the ACT in a single sitting. A 10th grader who is returning to the program after participating earlier also has full access.

Ninth graders are out. GAfutures states it directly, that students in the 9th grade are not eligible to participate in the Dual Enrollment Funding Program, and the statute behind it agrees: O.C.G.A. 20-2-161.3 defines an eligible high school student as one entering or enrolled in tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade, with the only ninth-grade mention being a grandfather clause for students the state already paid for on or before June 30, 2020. The State Board of Education rule that carries the same definition also ties its self-pay category to an eligible high school student, so a Georgia freshman has no funded route and no self-pay route inside the program either.

A ninth grader who still wants a college course is asking the college to admit them outside dual enrollment, on the college's own early-admission terms, at the college's own price and with no guarantee the high school counts the credit toward graduation. Get both of those in writing before registration.

On top of the state rules, each college sets its own admission standard for dual enrollment students, usually a GPA or test score, and a student has to clear both bars.

How do we apply for the funding?

Through GAfutures. The student and a parent complete the Dual Enrollment Funding Application, the high school and the college each sign off on the courses, and the funding attaches to those specific courses for that term. Miss the application and the term is on you, even if your teen was eligible. The counselor knows the timeline; ask for it early.

Where did Georgia's dual enrollment program come from?

Georgia's first version was the Postsecondary Options program created by Senate Bill 417, effective March 9, 1992. It sat inside the state's K-12 funding formula: for each participating student, the college received the per-student allotment the district would have earned for those hours, so the money followed the student. Participation was voluntary for colleges as well as students. The state has rewritten the program several times since, and today's Dual Enrollment program runs under a different statute, but the 1992 funding logic is where it started, and a district still feels it when a student leaves for a college course.

Questions to ask your counselor

Bring these to the first meeting. The answers decide most of the plan.

• How many of the 30 funded hours has my teen used, and how many are planned?
• Which courses on the approved directory transfer to the colleges my teen is considering as more than electives?
• When is the Dual Enrollment Funding Application due for next term?
• What is the college's own admission standard for dual enrollment students?

Frequently asked

Is dual enrollment free in Georgia?

The state pays tuition, fees, and required books for eligible students up to a cap of 30 semester hours. After the cap, the family pays the college's tuition.

What is the Georgia dual enrollment 30-hour cap?

A hard limit on the number of semester hours the state will fund per student, with a 15-hour limit per term. Hours the state paid for count toward it.

Can a 10th grader do dual enrollment in Georgia?

Yes for approved career and technical courses. For core academic courses, a 10th grader needs a 1200 SAT or 26 ACT in a single test administration.

Can a 9th grader do dual enrollment in Georgia?

No. GAfutures says students in the 9th grade are not eligible for the Dual Enrollment Funding Program, and O.C.G.A. 20-2-161.3 starts its definition of an eligible high school student at tenth grade. A college may admit a freshman outside the program on its own terms and at its own price.