Dual Credit in North Dakota: the law behind it

The statute

N.D.C.C. § 15.1-25-01

Postsecondary enrollment options program . Chapter 15.1-25, Postsecondary Enrollment.

The opening section is the whole eligibility rule, and it is two sentences long. A North Dakota student enrolled in grade ten, eleven, or twelve at a public high school may earn high school and postsecondary credit for an academic course at any regionally accredited postsecondary institution, or for a career and technical course in a nationally or regionally accredited program. Nothing here sets a grade point average, a test score, or an application window, which is why the 3.0 a family keeps hearing about is the campus asking rather than the state requiring.

N.D.C.C. § 15.1-25-02

Permission to enroll, notification, credits . Permission and the credit conversion.

The section a counselor works from. Before enrolling, the student has to get written permission from the school district superintendent, and that same document has to state how many credits the student is eligible for, because the superintendent is the one who decides the number. For converting the work, the statute treats a three semester hour college course as the equivalent of a full semester high school course. When the course is finished, the college notifies the superintendent.

N.D.C.C. § 15.1-25-03

Costs of attendance, responsibility of student . With § 15.1-25-04 on transportation.

The sentence that separates North Dakota from the states where the program is free. The student and the parent or legal guardian are responsible for all costs of attendance, and the statute spells out that costs means tuition, fees, textbooks, materials, equipment, and other necessary charges tied to the course. The next section adds transportation to the list. A district or a campus may still choose to pay part of the bill, and several do, but nothing in the chapter obliges either of them to.

N.D.C.C. § 15.1-25-06

Courses, statutory and regulatory exemption .

A short provision that explains a lot of what a family runs into. Dual credit courses are postsecondary courses, and the section exempts them from the statutes and regulations that would otherwise apply to high school courses and to the people who teach them. The teaching standard a course has to meet is therefore the college accreditor’s, which is the reason a small district with no master’s qualified teacher in a subject cannot offer that subject at the lower rate.

Who pays, and under what authority

Dual Credit Assistance

Bank of North Dakota, Dual Credit Assistance .

The state’s help for a household that cannot carry tuition, run by the state-owned bank rather than by a school agency. A North Dakota resident who is a sophomore, junior, or senior and qualifies for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program can apply for assistance covering the application fee, tuition and fees, and books with shipping. The award is limited to two courses per academic school year, is reduced by any waiver or other assistance the student receives, and cannot be used to retake a course. A school official signs and certifies the application, and the superintendent or a designee approves the enrollment.

Dual-Credit Tuition Scholarship

North Dakota University System, Dual-Credit Tuition Scholarship .

Money paid back after the fact, and the amounts are tiered rather than flat: $250 for one dual credit class, $500 for two, and $750 for three or more, limited to the tuition and fees for the term it applies to. It is a one-time award. To qualify a student must be a North Dakota resident, have graduated from high school in the state or completed home education under chapter 15.1-23, have passed at least one dual credit course with a D or better, be enrolled in a certificate or degree program at an accredited institution with a physical presence in the state, and have finished at least one term there. Applications go through the ND SAMS portal with transcripts attached.

Agency guidance

NDDPI dual credit guidance

North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, Dual Credit .

The department reading chapter 15.1-25 for districts and families. It restates grades 10 through 12 and the written permission, notes that most campuses ask for a cumulative 3.0, and translates the statute’s credit rule into the figure a counselor uses, half a unit of high school credit for a one-semester college course. It also carries the teacher credential standard that took effect September 1, 2023: a master’s degree in the discipline or 18 graduate credit hours in it.

NDUS Procedure 469.2

North Dakota University System, Dual Credit Coursework procedure .

The university system’s own procedure on dual credit coursework, listed in the 400 series alongside Procedure 469.1 on early entry coursework. The difference between the two decides what a student walks away with. A dual credit course carries both college and high school credit and depends on a formal agreement between the superintendent and the institution, while an early entry course carries college credit only unless the high school agrees to add its own. Early entry students pay the standard undergraduate rate, and only dual credit students get the reduced one.

NDUS pre-college credits

North Dakota University System, Pre-College Credits .

Where the system tells a family what to expect before registration. Students must meet the same academic criteria as anyone else in a college-level course, placement testing included, and they need permission from the school district superintendent. The page states plainly that students are responsible for all tuition, fees, books, and other associated costs, and it publishes the approved dual credit course lists by term along with a named contact at each campus and at the Department of Public Instruction.

Who administers it

These are the offices that answer a question about North Dakota 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.

• North Dakota Department of Public Instruction · Publishes the state’s reading of chapter 15.1-25 for districts and families.
• North Dakota University System, Pre-College Credits · The approved course lists by term and a named dual credit contact at each campus.
• Bank of North Dakota, Dual Credit Assistance · Takes the assistance application, with a school official’s certification on it.
• North Dakota University System, Dual-Credit Tuition Scholarship · Where the after-the-fact award is applied for, through the ND SAMS portal.

Frequently asked

Is there a North Dakota administrative rule for dual credit?

None. Title 67 of the Administrative Code, the superintendent of public instruction’s title, lists no article on dual credit or postsecondary enrollment. Chapter 15.1-25 carries the program by itself, with department and university system guidance underneath.

Which section says the family pays?

Section 15.1-25-03. It makes the student and the parent or legal guardian responsible for all costs of attendance, and it defines costs to include tuition, fees, textbooks, materials, equipment, and other necessary charges. Section 15.1-25-04 adds transportation.

How much high school credit does a college course earn?

The statute treats a three semester hour college course as the equivalent of a full semester high school course, and the Department of Public Instruction states that as half a unit. The superintendent sets the number of credits on the permission document itself.

Who has to sign before a student enrolls?

The school district superintendent, in writing, under section 15.1-25-02. That signature carries weight beyond permission: the same document has to state how many credits the student is eligible for, and the college reports the completed course back to the superintendent.

How much is the Dual-Credit Tuition Scholarship?

The university system publishes it as $250 for one dual credit class, $500 for two, and $750 for three or more, limited to the tuition and fees for the term. It is a one-time award, applied for after a student has finished a term at a North Dakota institution.