Guides · State programs · By FastTrack Advising

Concurrent enrollment in Kansas: Excel in CTE, explained for parents

Published September 18, 2026

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Kansas splits the category by who teaches. Concurrent enrollment is a college course taught at the high school by a college-approved high school teacher, open to grades 10 through 12 and to gifted ninth graders. Tuition is not free unless the course is an approved technical one, in which case Excel in CTE pays it.

The law: The Kansas Challenge to Secondary School Students Act, K.S.A. 72-3220 through 72-3224
Who can enroll: Grades 10, 11, and 12, or a 9th grader the district classifies as gifted
Concurrent enrollment: A college course taught at the high school during the regular school day by a college-approved teacher
The free lane: Excel in CTE pays tuition for approved technical courses; from fall 2026 a junior or senior needs a 2.0 and to be on track to graduate
What families still pay: Textbooks, tools, personal protective equipment, and program fees
Everything else: Each college sets its own rate. Fort Scott charges $65 a credit hour and Coffeyville $105

The words Kansas uses

Kansas separates the programs by who teaches and where. Dual credit enrollment is a course taught by postsecondary faculty under a cooperative agreement, earning both high school and college credit. Concurrent enrollment is the subset of that taught by a high school teacher during the regular school day, with the student receiving credit from both institutions.

Dual enrollment in Kansas means something narrower than it does in most states. It describes a student taking a college course outside a formal cooperative agreement under the Kansas Challenge Act and receiving only college credit for it. A family saying dual enrollment and a counselor hearing dual enrollment can be talking about different arrangements, so name the arrangement rather than the label.

Every dual credit course requires a written memorandum of understanding between the eligible postsecondary institution and the school district. Where no memorandum covers a course, the high school credit is not automatic.

Who can enroll

The Kansas Challenge to Secondary School Students Act sets the floor. A concurrent enrollment pupil is a student in grades 10, 11, or 12, or a 9th grader the district classifies as gifted under the state education department's definition, who has demonstrated the ability to benefit from the regular curriculum of an eligible postsecondary institution.

Several further conditions come with that. The student needs an individualized plan or education program, authorization from the principal to apply, and acceptance by the college as either a degree-seeking or non-degree-seeking student. Colleges then layer their own placement and prerequisite rules on top, and those are usually what decides whether a specific course is open.

Excel in CTE is the free lane

Senate Bill 155, passed in 2012, created state-funded college tuition for Kansas high school students in approved technical courses at the state's community and technical colleges. Qualified juniors and seniors at public, private, and home schools who are Kansas residents can take those courses without paying tuition.

The eligibility rules tightened for fall 2026. A student now has to be a junior or senior at a Kansas high school, carry at least a 2.0 grade point average, and be on track to graduate as the district defines it, with the high school verifying all three. A student who failed an Excel in CTE class cannot receive funding to retake it, and a student who has failed two loses Excel in CTE funding entirely.

Tuition is not the whole bill. Technical programs carry fees for textbooks, tools, and personal protective equipment that the initiative does not cover, and each college keeps its own list of which courses qualify. Cowley College tells families the state pays tuition for qualifying courses while the family buys textbooks and may owe small program fees.

What everything else costs

Outside Excel in CTE, Kansas sets no statewide price. Each college prices high school students on its own, and the range is real. Fort Scott Community College charges $65 a credit hour for its dual credit courses. Coffeyville Community College charges $40 in tuition plus $65 in mandatory fees, which is $105 a credit hour, with online courses adding another $40 a credit hour.

Barton Community College publishes discounted rates for Kansas high school students who do not qualify for Excel in CTE funding: $50 a credit hour on its county campus and in school-based offerings, $50 for partnered online, and $75 for Barton Online. A student who does not qualify can still enroll and pay full tuition and fees instead.

Compare the rate against the college your teen is aiming at rather than against the nearest one. A three-credit course is $195 at one of these colleges and $315 at another, and the credit does the same work in both places.

Who pays, and who can be asked to

Kansas districts may pay, and many do. The act allows the board of education of each Kansas school district, at its discretion, to pay all or a portion of the negotiated tuition and related costs for a student's dual or concurrent postsecondary enrollment, and to provide transportation to and from the institution.

Discretion is the operative word in that sentence. A district that pays this year is not obliged to pay next year, and the district next door may not pay at all. Ask what the board's current practice is and whether it is written anywhere, because a verbal yes in September is hard to rely on in January.

Where the credit goes

The Kansas Board of Regents publishes a list of Systemwide Transfer courses through the Transfer Kansas portal, and a course on that list transfers to any Kansas public institution that offers an equivalent course. That list is the first thing to check when choosing between two courses that look interchangeable on a schedule.

The list has limits worth knowing. Whether a lower-division course counts toward upper-division hours is the receiving institution's decision, and the systemwide general education framework is organized into buckets a student satisfies rather than a single block that moves whole. A private or out-of-state college makes its own call regardless.

What to settle first

Start by asking which of the three arrangements a course actually is and which college awards the credit. In Kansas that one question determines the price, whether Excel in CTE can pay for it, and whether the high school grants credit alongside the college.

What we tell families in Kansas is to check the Excel in CTE course list before assuming a technical course costs money, and then to check it again the next year. The approved course list changes annually and the qualifying credential list is re-approved each spring, so a course that was funded last year may not be funded this year.

The program is not a side door. Excel in CTE served 17,638 students in 2024-25, who generated 139,763 college credit hours and earned 1,917 industry-recognized certifications, against a baseline of 3,475 students in 2010-11. A technical course taken at 16 that ends in a credential is a real outcome, whether or not a four-year degree follows it.

Questions to ask your counselor

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

Is this course concurrent enrollment, dual credit, or dual enrollment, and which college awards the credit?
Is it on the Excel in CTE approved list this year, and who verifies that my teen is eligible?
What does our college charge per credit hour for high school students, and are there mandatory fees on top?
Does our school board pay any part of the tuition, and is that policy written down anywhere?
Is this course on the Board of Regents Systemwide Transfer list?
What fees for tools, protective equipment, or textbooks should we expect in this program?

Frequently asked

Is concurrent enrollment free in Kansas?

Not by default. Approved technical courses are tuition free for qualifying juniors and seniors through Excel in CTE. Everything else is priced by the college, and a district board may pay all or part of it at its discretion.

What is Excel in CTE?

A state program created by Senate Bill 155 in 2012 that pays college tuition for Kansas high school juniors and seniors taking approved technical courses at Kansas community and technical colleges. Textbooks, tools, protective equipment, and program fees remain with the family.

Who can take concurrent enrollment in Kansas?

A student in grades 10, 11, or 12, or a 9th grader the district classifies as gifted, who can benefit from the regular college curriculum, has an individualized plan, has authorization from the principal, and is accepted by the college.

What is the difference between concurrent enrollment and dual credit in Kansas?

Dual credit is the broader term for a course taught by postsecondary faculty under a cooperative agreement. Concurrent enrollment is the subset taught at the high school by an approved high school teacher during the regular school day.

Does the school district pay for concurrent enrollment?

It may. The Kansas Challenge to Secondary School Students Act lets a district board pay all or a portion of the negotiated tuition and related costs, and provide transportation, at its discretion. Ask your board what it does now.

Do Kansas concurrent enrollment credits transfer?

A course on the Board of Regents Systemwide Transfer list transfers to any Kansas public institution offering an equivalent course. Whether it counts toward upper-division hours is the receiving institution’s decision, and private and out-of-state colleges decide for themselves.

Sources

Kansas Board of Regents, dual credit · the definitions, the eligibility criteria, the memorandum of understanding requirement, and the statute citation
Kansas Board of Regents, Excel in CTE Initiative (SB 155) · what tuition covers, program fees, and the 2024-25 participation, credit hour, and credential figures
Barton Community College, Excel in CTE Initiative · the fall 2026 eligibility rules, the retake limits, and the discounted per-credit-hour rates
Cowley College, Kansas Excel in CTE · who qualifies and what the family still buys
Coffeyville Community College, college credit opportunities · the concurrent and dual definitions, the grades served, and the per-credit-hour tuition and fees
Fort Scott Community College, high school student enrollment · concurrent against dual credit, the grades served, and the $65 per credit hour rate
Kansas Board of Regents, transfer and articulation · the Systemwide Transfer course list and the receiving institution decision on upper-division credit

Rules change. These were checked September 2026. Confirm the current version with your school before you act on any of it.

About FastTrack Advising

FastTrack Advising. FastTrack Advising works on dual enrollment and nothing else. We help families choose college courses a high schooler can take now that will still count toward the degree later, we check every course against the transfer rules of the colleges they name, and we stay in the picture through registration so the plan gets used. When the answer for a student is to wait a term, we say that too.

Other state programs

All state programs

PSEO (Minnesota) Free tuition, books, and required fees for 10th through 12th graders, with a May 30 notice deadline that many families miss.
Running Start (Washington) Tuition-free college courses for juniors and seniors at Washington's community and technical colleges and a few universities. Families still pay fees and books, and the student gets to campus on their own.
College Credit Plus (Ohio) Open to 7th through 12th graders, free at Ohio public colleges for public school students, with an April 1 letter of intent and a 30-credit annual cap.
Dual credit (Texas) Each college sets its rate and each district decides how much to cover. Students who qualified for free or reduced lunch in the last five years pay nothing at colleges in the FAST program.
Dual enrollment (Florida) Tuition-free by state law, with a 3.0 unweighted GPA and a qualifying PERT, SAT, or ACT score to get in. Public school students get textbooks covered too.
Dual enrollment (California) Community college courses for 9th through 12th graders through a district partnership called CCAP, with no enrollment fees and no textbook costs, capped at 15 units a term.
Dual Enrollment (Georgia) State funding covers tuition, fees, and books for 30 semester hours, mostly for juniors and seniors. After 30 hours the family pays the college's rate, and ninth graders are outside the program entirely.
Career & College Promise (North Carolina) Tuition paid by the state at community colleges for juniors and seniors with a 2.8 unweighted GPA. Whether the district covers fees and books, and who drives, varies by district.
Concurrent Enrollment (Colorado) Open to 9th through 12th graders with an approved academic plan. The district pays tuition at the community college rate; books and fees are usually the family's, and so is getting to campus.
Dual credit (Illinois) Governed by the Dual Credit Quality Act and a model agreement between each district and college. Whether your teen pays depends on that agreement.
Early College Credit and Start College Now (Wisconsin) Two programs, one for the technical colleges and one for universities, both for juniors and seniors. The district pays most or all of the tuition, and applications are due March 1 for fall and October 1 for spring.
Dual credit (Indiana) Every Indiana high school has to offer dual credit. Priority courses at public colleges cost at most $25 a credit hour, and nothing for students on free or reduced lunch.
Dual enrollment (Michigan) Grades 9 through 12, for courses the high school doesn't offer. The district pays tuition up to a state-set share; anything above it, plus books, is yours. Ten courses across high school.
Dual Enrollment (Alabama) Rising 10th through 12th graders with a 2.5 GPA, at $133 a credit hour plus fees, with a state scholarship that covers some courses when the legislature funds it. No credit cap at all.
Dual Enrollment (Tennessee) The lottery-funded Dual Enrollment Grant pays up to $620.55 for each of the first five courses, then much less. One June 30 application covers the whole academic year.
Dual enrollment (Pennsylvania) Every school entity has to hold at least one dual credit agreement, and none of them has to pay for the courses. The agreement states the cost, and published rates run from $83.50 to $230 a credit.
Dual enrollment (Virginia) Juniors and seniors at the community colleges. Courses on a College and Career Ready Virginia pathway cost the family nothing, and courses outside it are billed at the college rate.
Dual enrollment (Arizona) A community college course taught inside the high school during the school day. Concurrent enrollment is the separate arrangement where the student goes to the college. Price is set district by district.
Dual enrollment (South Carolina) College courses through the state's 16 technical colleges, priced by each college and district, with Lottery Tuition Assistance covering part of the tuition once a student carries six credit hours in a term.
Dual enrollment (Louisiana) A Board of Regents floor for eligibility, four ways to clear it, and a bill the district assembles out of state and federal funds. TOPS Tech Early Start covers career courses for juniors and seniors.
Dual enrollment (Maryland) The Blueprint moved the bill off families for students who meet the College and Career Readiness Standard, and set a floor of two covered courses each fall and spring. Counties add their own terms on top.
Concurrent Enrollment (Utah) College courses for $5 a credit hour, taught mostly inside the high school by a college-approved teacher. Each college sets its own admission bar, and books are still yours.
Concurrent Enrollment (Oklahoma) Juniors and seniors get tuition waived by the State Regents, 18 credit hours a year for seniors and 9 for juniors. Fees and books stay with the family, and each college sets its own entrance bar.
Dual enrollment (New York) No single statewide program. CUNY's College Now is free for New York City public school students, SUNY campuses price their own, and a new state rule makes districts file their partnership agreements in 2026.
Dual enrollment (Massachusetts) Two state programs. CDEP waives tuition and fees at public campuses for eligible high schoolers, mostly in the spring, and designated Early College builds the courses into the school day at no cost.
Concurrent Enrollment (Iowa) College courses run through a district contract with a community college, at no tuition cost to the family. Iowa also runs PSEO, and the two programs treat a failed course differently.
Concurrent Credit (Arkansas) State policy bars a college from billing the family for tuition, fees, or materials on a concurrent credit course. A 2025 scholarship replaced the old Concurrent Challenge grant and pays $65 a credit hour.
Dual Enrollment and Dual Credit (Mississippi) Mississippi separates the two terms in statute. Dual enrollment earns college credit only; dual credit earns high school credit too, and the distinction decides whether the course helps your teen graduate.
Dual Enrollment (Nebraska) Nebraska has no single statewide program, so the price depends on which college your high school partners with. The ACE scholarship covers tuition and mandatory fees for students who qualify on income.
Dual Credit (New Mexico) A statewide program where the college charges no tuition and the school district buys the books. Families pay special course fees and transportation, and the guidance is two courses a semester until graduation requirements are done.
Early College (Maine) Maine pays college tuition for high schoolers through the Aspirations Program, and the class of 2027 forward gets 18 tuition-free credits for the whole of high school.
Dual and Concurrent Enrollment (New Hampshire) The state and the community colleges cover two courses a year for students in grades 10 through 12, and most of those courses are taught inside the high school.
Dual Enrollment (Vermont) Two vouchers, each covering tuition on a college course of up to four credits, for any Vermont student who has finished grade 10, including home study students.
Dual credit (West Virginia) A state-funded pilot pays tuition and academic fees for courses on approved career pathways, for public, private, charter, microschool, learning pod, and homeschool students alike.
Dual enrollment (Delaware) No statewide program makes it free. State regulation puts the policy on every district and charter, bars turning a student away over money, and most courses run through Delaware Tech.
Dual enrollment (New Jersey) No statewide free tuition. Public colleges must sign dual enrollment agreements and districts choose whether to join, so the price and the eligibility rules come from your own county college.
Dual enrollment (Connecticut) A board policy rather than a statute sets the rules. Concurrent credit courses are capped at $50 a credit, CT State covers two courses a semester for qualifying juniors and seniors, and UConn ECE has run since 1955.
Accelerated learning (Oregon) Oregon calls the whole category accelerated learning. Dual credit at the high school is free or close to it at most community colleges, and Expanded Options moves a junior or senior onto a campus at no charge to the student.
Dual enrollment (Nevada) No statewide free tuition. Districts sign cooperative agreements with NSHE colleges and each agreement names who pays, so the price runs from $25 a credit at the high school to $154 on a university campus.
Dual Credit (Kentucky) A $99 ceiling on what a college may charge a high school student, and a state scholarship that pays that rate for one general education course a year.
Dual Credit (Missouri) Missouri draws a line between dual credit and dual enrollment based on who teaches, and the price and the GPA tier both follow from that.
Dual Credit (Idaho) Every Idaho public school student gets $4,625 to spend on college credit between grades 7 and 12, and the fund pays $75 a credit, which is what colleges charge.
Dual Credit (North Dakota) Tuition is the family's here, at a reduced rate that changes with who teaches the course, and Bank of North Dakota covers two courses a year for students on free or reduced lunch.
Dual Credit (South Dakota) Juniors and seniors split a deeply reduced tuition rate with the state, at $80.37 a credit hour, under a statute with a hard rule about what happens if a course goes badly.
Dual and Concurrent Enrollment (Rhode Island) A state fund covers tuition and fees for part-time college courses at the three public institutions, and the statute behind it caps that fund at whatever the budget appropriates each year.
Early College and Running Start (Hawaii) Two programs run off one statute that never says who pays. Early College comes to the high school and the school usually covers it; Running Start puts the student on a UH campus at that campus’s published rate.
Dual Enrollment (Alaska) No state program and no state money behind it. What a college course costs an Alaska family depends on which University of Alaska campus offers it and whether the school district signed an agreement.
Dual Enrollment (Montana) The first two courses or six credits carry no tuition anywhere in the Montana University System, fees are waived, and everything after that costs half of resident two-year tuition, around $60 a credit.
Dual and Concurrent Enrollment (Wyoming) State law bars a college from charging a participating student for textbooks, materials, student services, or any other fee, and from 2026-27 the state starts reimbursing districts for what it costs them.

Planning Concurrent enrollment for your teen?

Save this page and the state's deadlines show up on your own My FastTrack page, next to the tools. Which courses to take, in which order, so the credits still count at the college your teen ends up at, is the part we do with families.

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