Dual enrollment in Nevada: the law behind it

The statute

NRS 389.310

Programs for dual credit courses; reports .

The duty to have a program at all. Each school district and charter school shall establish a program for dual credit, or partner with another district or charter school that already has one, so pupils may enroll in a dual credit course at a community college, state college or university approved under NRS 389.160. Credits a pupil earns must be applied toward a credential, certificate or degree at that institution. Cooperative agreements appear here for one narrow purpose: reaching an out-of-state accredited institution for a course no Nevada institution offers, and that institution files a copy of the agreement with the Department. Every odd-numbered year the district reports its program to the Legislature, including what it cost the district and what it cost pupils.

NRS 389.160

Credit toward graduation from high school for courses taken at community college, state college or university .

Whether the course counts toward the diploma, and it counts only if somebody approved it first. A pupil in grade 9 through 12, including a charter school pupil or an adult diploma candidate, who completes an approved course applies that credit to the total required for graduation. With the approval of the State Board, the district board of trustees or the charter school governing body prescribes which courses qualify, including occupational courses for academic credit, and how much credit each carries. The last subsection is the one to quote in a meeting: the State Board must not unreasonably limit the number of dual credit courses a pupil may enroll in or receive credit for.

NRS 389.007

Uniform grading scale for high schools .

How the grade lands in a weighted grade point average. The State Board adopts a uniform grading scale that every district and charter high school must follow, and the section directs that dual credit and International Baccalaureate courses carry the same weight as an advanced placement course where the subject is a core academic subject or one for which an advanced placement course exists. A family choosing between a dual credit section and an advanced placement section for class rank reasons should ask the district how it applies this section, because the answer decides whether the two choices are equivalent on a transcript.

The administrative rule

NAC 389.6625

Uniform grading scale; computation of grade point average .

The arithmetic behind the scale. Grades run from a 4.0 for an A down to zero for an F across grades 9 through 12, and the weighting table adds 0.025 for an honors course and 0.050 for an advanced placement or International Baccalaureate course completed with a grade of A, B, C or D. Grade point averages are computed to the third decimal place. The table itself names honors, advanced placement and International Baccalaureate courses, so how a particular district gives effect to the dual credit weighting in NRS 389.007 is a question worth putting to the registrar in writing.

The agreement between the school and the college

NSHE Board of Regents Handbook, Title 4, Chapter 16, Section 2

Dual Credit and Early Enrollment for High School Students .

The college system’s own rules, and the source of most of the vocabulary a Nevada counselor uses. It defines dual credit as a course transcripted by both the high school and the institution, a concurrent enrollment course as one taught to high school students by a high school instructor both parties agreed on, and a dual enrollment course as one taught by an institution instructor. High school students may enroll subject to approval by institution officials, and institutions may offer courses at a reduced registration fee that covers the cost of the course, subject to Board approval. A student excused from compulsory attendance for equivalent instruction outside school, which includes home school, may be admitted at a level equivalent to grade 9 through 12 with the approval of the appropriate institution official. The Chancellor’s Office keeps an annual list of which institution runs a formal dual credit program at which Nevada high school.

Agency guidance

Dual credit course submission

Nevada Department of Education, dual credit .

The paperwork season that decides whether a course carries high school credit next year. Districts submit a letter of intent naming their higher education partners, the signed memorandum of understanding, a dual credit submission form, and the school board minutes, between September 1 and November 30 each year, and the State Board approves the courses after a departmental review period. Each course also has to carry a course code already approved by the state student information system. A course a college will happily enroll a student in can still sit outside this list, in which case it earns college credit and no high school credit.

How it got here

NRS 389.310 was added to the statutes in 2017 and amended in 2021, the same session that rewrote the uniform grading scale section to put dual credit alongside advanced placement. NRS 389.160 is older, dating to 1989, and the subsection barring the State Board from unreasonably limiting dual credit courses arrived in the 2017 amendment.

Who administers it

These are the offices that answer a question about Nevada law rather than about one school or one campus. A district and a college can both be wrong about a state rule, and these pages are where the state's own position is published.

• Nevada Department of Education, dual credit · Reviews the district submissions and publishes the forms and the annual window.
• Nevada System of Higher Education, Board of Regents Handbook · Sets admission, delivery, and the reduced registration fee across the public colleges.
• Nevada Legislature, NRS chapter 389 · Where the dual credit sections and the uniform grading scale are published.
• The district or charter school · Holds the memorandum of understanding and the approved course list a family needs to see.

Frequently asked

Does Nevada law say who pays for a dual credit course?

Chapter 389 does not name a payer. The section that creates the program is silent on tuition, so the price comes from the college’s published rate for high school students and from whatever the district agreed to cover in its memorandum of understanding.

Can a district decline to run a dual credit program?

No. NRS 389.310 requires each school district and charter school to establish a program or partner with another district or charter school that has one. What varies is which colleges it partners with and which courses it puts forward.

Is there a cap on how many dual credit courses a student may take?

NRS 389.160 says the State Board must not unreasonably limit the number a pupil may enroll in or receive credit for. Individual colleges still set their own per-term credit limits, which is a different rule with a different source.

Is a dual credit course weighted like an advanced placement course?

NRS 389.007 directs the State Board to give dual credit and International Baccalaureate courses the same weight as advanced placement in core academic subjects. The weighting table in NAC 389.6625 lists honors, advanced placement and International Baccalaureate, so ask the district how it applies the statute.

Can a home school student enroll?

Board of Regents policy allows it. A student excused from compulsory attendance for equivalent instruction outside school may be admitted if the institution determines the student is at a level equivalent to grade 9 through 12 and the appropriate official approves.