Guides · State programs · By FastTrack Advising

Dual enrollment in Nevada: NSHE dual credit, explained for parents

Published September 18, 2026 · Updated September 20, 2026

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Nevada has no statewide free dual enrollment. State law requires every school district and charter school to establish a dual credit program, and it says nothing about who pays for the course. The price depends on the college. Nevada State University charges $25 a credit and the University of Nevada, Reno charges $154. A district may cover all of it, some of it, or none.

The law: NRS 389.310 requires each district and charter school to establish a dual credit program or partner with one that has
Who pays: Chapter 389 names no payer. The college's published rate governs unless the district agreed to cover it
At the high school: Nevada State University charges $25 a credit for courses taught by its approved high school instructors
On a campus: CSN charges $92 a credit plus an $11.50 technology fee for 2026-27; UNR charges $154 a credit plus $18
Credit limits: UNR caps a dual enrollment student at eight credits a semester; the State Board may not unreasonably limit dual credit courses
Approval window: Districts submit dual credit courses to the Department between September 1 and November 30
The law: NRS 389.310 and 5 more

Who decides the course exists

Nevada puts the obligation on the school district. Under NRS 389.310, each district and charter school has to establish a dual credit program, or partner with another district or charter school that already has one, so its students can enroll at a community college, state college, or university approved under NRS 389.160. The statute mentions cooperative agreements in one narrow place: a district may sign one with an accredited out-of-state institution to reach a course no Nevada institution offers, and that institution files a copy with the Department of Education.

Getting a course approved is a paper process with a season. A district submits a letter of intent naming its higher education partners, the signed memorandum of understanding, a dual credit submission form, and the school board minutes showing the approval date, between September 1 and November 30 each year. The Department's review team has 30 days, and a district gets 10 business days to fix anything sent back.

Each course also has to correspond to a Nevada academic high school course and carry a pre-approved course code. That requirement is why a college course your teen wants may not count for high school credit in Nevada even though the college will happily enroll them in it.

Who pays

There is no statewide waiver, and there is no statutory payer either. Chapter 389 of the Nevada Revised Statutes creates the program, decides which courses count toward a diploma, and sets how the grade is weighted, and at no point does it say who pays the tuition. What NRS 389.310 does ask for is a report: every odd-numbered year each district tells the Legislature what its program cost the district and what it cost pupils.

So the price comes from two places instead. The college publishes a rate for high school students, and the district may have agreed in its memorandum of understanding to cover part or all of it. Ask which colleges your district works with and what its memorandum says about tuition, because the same course can be covered in one district and billed to the family in the next one over.

The price depends on the college

Nevada's rates are set institution by institution and the spread is wide. Nevada State University charges $25 per credit for dual credit courses, which are taught at the student's own high school by instructors the university has approved. The College of Southern Nevada charges $92 per credit plus an $11.50 per-credit technology fee for the 2026-27 school year, waives the application fee, and asks that students be 16 or older except at partner schools that enroll grades 9 through 12.

The University of Nevada, Reno charges $154 per credit plus an $18 per-credit technology fee for courses taught on campus by university faculty, and caps a student at eight credits each semester. Put against a three-credit course, that is $75 at Nevada State, $310.50 at CSN, and $516 at UNR for the same three credits.

Those are published rates before any local help. Scholarships and grants routed through a district can reduce them, and the district agreement may cover them outright, so ask the counselor what applies at your school before budgeting from a college website.

Two programs with similar names

CSN runs both shapes and gives them separate names. Jumpstart is its dual credit program, with classes held at high school campuses and taught by high school teachers certified by CSN academic departments, open to 9th through 12th graders at a reduced fee. Dual enrollment is the campus program, for students who are 16 or older, with some partner schools enrolling grades 9 through 12.

Nevada State University sits on the same side as Jumpstart, with its courses taught at the high school by approved instructors at $25 a credit, while UNR's program is a campus course taught by university faculty. Which one your teen can use is decided by what the high school has arranged.

The practical difference for a 16-year-old is the room. A course at the high school is cheaper and fits inside the school day. A course on a campus costs more and puts your teen in a college classroom with college students, which is information about readiness that a high school course cannot give you.

Graduation credit is a separate question

NRS 389.160 is the statute that makes a college course count toward high school graduation. With the approval of the State Board, the board of trustees of each county school district and the governing body of each charter school prescribe which courses qualify, and a student in grades 9 through 12 or in an adult diploma program who successfully completes an approved course applies that credit to the total required for graduation.

The same statute limits how far a board can go the other way. The State Board must not unreasonably limit the number of dual credit courses in which a student may enroll or for which a student may receive credit. If a school tells a family there is a hard cap, it is fair to ask where that cap is written down.

Where the credit goes

Inside Nevada the transfer picture is unusually clean. All NSHE courses share the same prefix, number, title, and credit value under common course numbering, so a course taken at one campus carries the same identity at another.

A completed Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Business from an NSHE community college satisfies all lower-division general education requirements at any other NSHE institution. An Associate of General Studies or an Associate of Applied Science does not carry that guarantee, which matters when a teen is heading toward a technical program and also wants the degree to move. NSHE universities set no maximum on credits accepted, though each keeps a residency requirement for the degree itself.

What to settle first

Most Nevada questions are answered by documents rather than by opinion. The memorandum of understanding between your district and the college, the district's approved dual credit course list for the year, and the college's published rate together cover the price, the eligibility, and whether the course counts toward graduation. A counselor can produce all three.

What we tell families in Nevada is to settle the graduation credit question before the tuition question. A course the district has not put on its approved list may still be worth taking for the college credit alone, but a family should know that going in rather than finding it on a transcript in the spring.

Then choose the delivery model on purpose. If the same subject is available at the high school through a partner college and on a campus through a university, the high school version is a fraction of the price and the campus version buys experience, so pick deliberately rather than taking whichever form arrives first.

Questions to ask your counselor

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

Which colleges does our district partner with, and can we read the memorandum of understanding for our school?
Does the district pay the tuition for this course, or does our family?
Is this course on the district list the state approved for high school graduation credit this year?
Is the course taught here at the high school or on a campus, and what does each one cost per credit?
What placement test or prerequisite does the college require before my teen can register?
Which associate degree would these credits build toward if my teen kept going at the same college?

Frequently asked

Is dual enrollment free in Nevada?

Not by statute. Chapter 389 requires every district to run a dual credit program and names no payer at all, so the bill is the college's published rate for high school students minus whatever the district agreed to cover.

What does a dual enrollment credit cost in Nevada?

It depends on the college. Nevada State University charges $25 a credit for courses taught at the high school. The College of Southern Nevada charges $92 a credit plus an $11.50 technology fee for 2026-27. The University of Nevada, Reno charges $154 a credit plus $18.

How old does a student have to be?

CSN asks that dual enrollment students be 16 or older, though partner schools can enroll grades 9 through 12, and its Jumpstart courses at the high school are open to 9th through 12th graders. NRS 389.160 covers grades 9 through 12 and adult diploma programs.

Does a Nevada college course count toward high school graduation?

Only if the course was approved. Under NRS 389.160 the district board or charter governing body prescribes the qualifying courses with State Board approval, and districts submit them to the Department between September 1 and November 30 each year.

Is there a limit on how many dual credit courses my teen can take?

NRS 389.160 says the State Board must not unreasonably limit the number of dual credit courses a student may enroll in or receive credit for. Individual colleges do set caps, and UNR limits a dual enrollment student to eight credits a semester.

Do Nevada dual enrollment credits transfer?

Within NSHE, common course numbering keeps a course the same across campuses, and an Associate of Arts, Science, or Business satisfies lower-division general education at any NSHE institution. An Associate of General Studies or Applied Science does not carry that guarantee.

Sources

Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 389, as published by the Legislature · NRS 389.310 as amended in 2021: the duty on every district, cooperative agreements only for out-of-state institutions, the cost reporting, and no payer named anywhere in the chapter
NRS 389.160, credit toward graduation for college courses · who approves courses, the grades covered, and the limit on limiting courses
Nevada Department of Education, dual credit · the September 1 to November 30 submission window, the required documents, and course code approval
College of Southern Nevada, dual enrollment program · the 2026-27 per-credit charge, the technology fee, the age rule, and the application steps
College of Southern Nevada, dual credit · Jumpstart at the high school against dual enrollment on campus, and instructor certification
Nevada State University, Dual Credit Program · the $25 per credit rate and courses taught at the high school by approved instructors
University of Nevada, Reno, high school dual enrollment · the $154 per credit rate, the technology fee, and the eight-credit semester cap
Transfer NV, frequently asked questions · common course numbering and which associate degrees satisfy lower-division general education

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 at about 60 colleges, 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) Free at most large community colleges, and capped at $60.10 a credit hour in tuition at FAST colleges. Students with free or reduced lunch in the last five years pay nothing there.
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, though the tuition waiver lives in rule rather than in statute. Families pay special course fees and transportation.
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 statute funds up to four courses in each of grades 10, 11, and 12. The community college scholarship covers two a year, 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.
Concurrent enrollment (Kansas) Concurrent enrollment means the college course is taught at the high school, and it is not free by default. Excel in CTE pays tuition for approved technical courses, and a district board may cover the rest if it chooses to.
Dual Credit (Kentucky) A published $99 ceiling on what a college may charge a high school student, a statutory formula that reads differently, and a scholarship that funds two general education courses across junior and senior 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 Dual enrollment for your teen?

Save this page and the state's deadlines show up on your own My FastTrack page, next to the tools. The law page saves separately, for the day a school gives an answer that does not match the statute. 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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