Dual and Concurrent Enrollment in Rhode Island: Early College Opportunities, explained for parents

Who pays, and what the state fund covers

The PrepareRI Dual Enrollment Fund pays tuition and fees for part-time dual and concurrent enrollment at the three public institutions: CCRI, Rhode Island College, and the University of Rhode Island. A public high school student taking one or two college courses alongside high school does not see a tuition bill.

Books are handled separately. RIDE's guidance is that the school or district covers books and associated course materials when the student is taking the course for high school credit. Private and homeschooled students sit outside that arrangement, and CCRI states plainly that they may be responsible for tuition and fees.

What we tell families in Rhode Island is to get in writing which line the district is paying before the add period closes. The answer differs between a concurrent course taught in the building and a course the student drives to, and the district office is the only place that knows.

The two doors: part-time courses and a full-time senior year

Part-time is the common path. At CCRI it is called High School Enrichment, it is open to juniors and seniors, and it allows up to two courses, 8 credits in total, in a semester.

Full-time is a senior-year decision. CCRI runs Running Start for seniors and Accelerate for Providence seniors at its Providence campus, both at 12 or more credits a semester, earning high school graduation credit and college credit at once. Accelerate asks for a 2.7 GPA along with strong attendance or demonstrated leadership.

The money moves differently for the full-time version. Under the state regulation the district supports the cost of a full-time dual enrollment student, and its obligation will not exceed 50 percent of the core instructional per pupil amount. That is a district budget line, so a district that has not planned for it will say no before the college does.

Getting in: grades, GPA, and the principal’s approval

Rhode Island sets no statewide test score or GPA cut. The regulation puts the decision with the principal, director, or head of school, applying local criteria built on the student's academic, behavioral, and attendance record together with assessment results.

Age is off the table as a reason to refuse. The regulation states that student age will not be a determiner of enrollment, which matters for a strong ninth or tenth grader whose school wants to point at the calendar instead of at the coursework.

RIDE still publishes a recommended floor of a 3.0 GPA for early college coursework, and 2.7 for CCRI's full-time Running Start and Accelerate programs. Treat those as the opening of a conversation with the counselor rather than as a wall.

The Advanced Coursework Network, and what it is for

The Advanced Coursework Network, now run as the All Course Network, is the state's catalog of courses a student can take outside their own school's schedule. It carries five kinds of course: dual enrollment, Advanced Placement, career credential, work-based learning, and world language.

Enrollment is free to Rhode Island public school students in grades 7 through 12, and seats are assigned by lottery. A student may take up to two credit-bearing courses in the fall and two in the spring, and a yearlong course counts as one in each.

The value of the network is for a family whose high school does not offer the course. Providers include districts, colleges, community organizations, and the Department of Labor and Training, so a course that does not exist in the building may still exist on the list.

Where the credit lands on the transcript

The grade and credits earned in a dual or concurrent enrollment course are recorded on a postsecondary transcript under the state regulation. That transcript follows the student to whatever college they attend later, and it is read as college work.

On the high school side, the regulation's general conversion is that a three or four credit college course is equivalent to one credit of high school coursework. Ask the counselor to confirm the conversion for each specific course before registering, since which graduation requirement it satisfies is the district's call.

The limit written into the statute

Chapter 16-100, the Dual Enrollment Equal Opportunity Act, is what requires Rhode Island to have a statewide policy at all. It directs the board of education to prescribe that policy by regulation, and it is the authority behind the dual enrollment regulations at 200-RICR-10-00-1.

It also sets a ceiling. Section 16-100-3(c) limits payments to the public higher education institutions for dual and concurrent enrollment to no greater than the appropriation contained in the appropriations act. The program is free to families because the budget funds it each year, and CCRI has already noted that Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner support for High School Enrichment is limited and no longer available for summer terms.

That matters most in the spring, when a family is deciding whether to bank on a summer course. Confirm the summer term is funded before building a plan around it.

Questions to ask your counselor

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

• Is this course dual enrollment or concurrent enrollment, and does the PrepareRI fund cover both for us?
• Who orders and pays for the textbook, and by what date?
• How much high school credit does this three-credit college course earn toward graduation?
• If my teen wants a full-time senior year at CCRI, has the district budgeted for it this year?
• Which All Course Network courses would this school accept, and when does the lottery close?

Frequently asked

Is dual enrollment free in Rhode Island?

For public high school students taking part-time courses, yes. The PrepareRI Dual Enrollment Fund covers tuition and fees at CCRI, Rhode Island College, and URI, and the school or district covers books when the course counts for high school credit. Private and homeschooled students may be charged.

How many college courses can a Rhode Island high school student take at once?

At CCRI, up to two courses, 8 credits, a semester in High School Enrichment. Through the All Course Network a student may take up to two credit-bearing courses in the fall and two in the spring. Full-time Running Start and Accelerate run at 12 or more credits.

What GPA do you need for dual enrollment in Rhode Island?

There is no statewide cut. The regulation leaves approval to the principal using local criteria on academics, behavior, and attendance. RIDE recommends a 3.0 GPA for early college coursework and 2.7 for CCRI Running Start and Accelerate.

What is the difference between dual and concurrent enrollment in Rhode Island?

The state regulation defines concurrent enrollment as a dual enrollment course offered at the high school and taught by a high school teacher the postsecondary institution has approved. Plain dual enrollment is taken at the college or online with a college instructor. The state fund covers both.

Can a Rhode Island 9th grader do dual enrollment?

The regulation says student age will not be a determiner of enrollment, so grade alone does not close the door. Approval still runs through the principal, and RIDE describes junior or senior standing as the usual expectation, so expect to make the case.

What is the Advanced Coursework Network?

Rhode Island's statewide catalog of courses offered outside a student's own school, now run as the All Course Network. It carries dual enrollment, AP, career credential, work-based learning, and world language courses for grades 7 through 12, free to public school students, with seats assigned by lottery.