Dual enrollment in Massachusetts: CDEP and Early College, explained for parents

What CDEP pays for

A student in the Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership pays no tuition and no fees for the course. Some campuses charge a nominal admission fee, $25 in the example the Department of Higher Education gives, and that fee can be waived. Students who demonstrate financial need can also receive help with books, supplies, and transportation.

The department also writes that students who meet the eligibility guidelines are not guaranteed participation, and that sentence does real work. CDEP is funded and allocated campus by campus, so clearing the requirements puts your teen in the pool rather than in the class.

Eligibility itself is short. A student has to be a Massachusetts resident, enrolled in a Massachusetts public or nonpublic secondary school, without a high school diploma or GED, and able to meet the prerequisites for the course. CDEP operates at the community colleges, the state universities, and the UMass campuses, with UMass Amherst the one that does not take part.

The enabling law is short too, which is why the rules live in department guidance. General Laws chapter 15A, section 39 says a qualified student enrolled in a public secondary school may enroll at a Massachusetts public institution of higher education and shall earn both secondary school and college credits, full time or one course at a time, and it leaves the definition of a qualified student and the administration of the program to the two education boards. Nonpublic school students may take part, with the crediting toward a high school diploma left to the nonpublic school. The money is annual rather than statutory: line item 7066-0019 carried $13,100,000 for dual enrollment grants and subsidies in the fiscal year 2026 budget, and line item 7066-9600 carried $5,000,000 for inclusive concurrent enrollment, which funds partnerships for students with severe disabilities between 18 and 22. A family told the program does not fit their student should ask which of the two line items the district is looking at.

Where the CDEP seats are

CDEP works through partnerships between individual campuses and individual high schools, so the useful question is which colleges your school works with. At MassBay Community College, CDEP is open to juniors and seniors at partner high schools, with some sophomores admitted by permission when seats are open, and those courses run in the spring semester.

MassBay lists its partner high schools one year at a time and says the list may change every year, and application information goes out through the high schools rather than through the college. A family watching the college website for a form will not find one.

We tell Massachusetts families to ask about the spring CDEP application in October, because the seats are handed out through the high school and a course that runs once a year gives you one window to catch.

Early College is the other door

A designated Early College program is a formal partnership between a high school and a college, approved by a joint committee chaired by the heads of the state's elementary and secondary education board and its higher education board. Designation is judged against five principles: equitable access aimed at students underrepresented in higher education, pathways aligned with college and career, added academic and advising support, connections to career through workplace learning, and a deep partnership between the school and the college.

The scale is real. Across the UMass system alone, about 1,200 students from 22 high schools took Early College courses at four undergraduate campuses in 2024-25, more than 90 percent of them passing, and seven further partnerships were approved on June 18, 2025. UMass puts the tuition its Early College students have not had to pay at roughly $7.5 million since the program began.

The state is pushing that number up. The Healey-Driscoll administration awarded $8.2 million in grants to create 44 new high school and college partnerships, with a stated goal of 100,000 Early College students within ten years. If your teen's school has no designated program today, whether one is in planning is a fair question to put to the principal.

How the credit moves inside Massachusetts

MassTransfer is the state's transfer framework, and its general education foundation is a block of 34 credits that transfers to and from any Massachusetts community college, state university, or UMass campus. A dual enrollment course that sits inside that block is the most portable thing your teen can take here.

That makes a community college the sensible starting point for most families, and an associate degree a destination worth naming out loud. A student who finishes one at a Massachusetts community college arrives at a state university with the general education foundation already behind them, and the degree stands on its own if the plan changes. A private or out-of-state college makes its own decisions, so ask that admissions office directly before building a sequence around its catalog.

What to settle before your teen registers

The questions that decide whether this works are about logistics more than ambition. Which college does the high school partner with, in which term does the course run, and will the high school award graduation credit for it while the college awards college credit.

The grade is the other piece. A course taken through CDEP or Early College produces a transcript at the awarding institution, and that transcript follows your teen into every application afterward. One course in a strong subject during the first term tells you more about readiness than any amount of conversation about it.

Questions to ask your counselor

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

• Which colleges does our high school partner with for CDEP, and which courses run this year?
• Does our school have a designated Early College program, or is one in planning?
• When does the CDEP application come out here, and who hands it to students?
• Will the high school award graduation credit for the course as well as the college awarding college credit?
• Which of these courses sit inside the MassTransfer general education foundation?
• Who covers books, materials, and transportation if our family needs help with them?

Frequently asked

Is dual enrollment free in Massachusetts?

Through CDEP, tuition and fees are covered. Some campuses charge a nominal admission fee, $25 in the Department of Higher Education's example, and it can be waived. Designated Early College courses are free to the family as well.

Who is eligible for the Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership?

A Massachusetts resident enrolled in a public or nonpublic secondary school in the state, without a high school diploma or GED, who meets the prerequisites for the course. Campuses give priority to potential first-generation students, low-income students, and students interested in high-demand career fields.

Which Massachusetts colleges take CDEP students?

The community colleges, the state universities, and the UMass campuses, with the exception of UMass Amherst. Each campus partners with particular high schools, so the list that matters is your own school's.

What is Early College in Massachusetts?

A designated partnership between a high school and a college that builds college courses into the school day at no cost to the family. Designation is judged against five principles, including equitable access and a deep school and college partnership.

Do Massachusetts dual enrollment credits transfer?

Courses inside the MassTransfer general education foundation, a block of 34 credits, transfer to and from any Massachusetts community college, state university, or UMass campus. Private and out-of-state colleges decide on their own.

When can my teen take a CDEP course?

Usually in the spring, and at some campuses the summer. MassBay Community College runs its CDEP courses in the spring semester and sends application information out through its partner high schools.