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The grade goes on a college transcript and stays there. It counts in the college GPA that follows your teen to every school they apply to later, it can count against them for financial aid once they're enrolled, and it may cost them the high school credit for that course too. One failed course will not keep your teen out of college, but because the record is permanent, what you do in the next few weeks matters more than the grade itself.
Is the grade permanent?
Yes. A dual enrollment course is a college course taken through a college, and the college keeps a transcript exactly the way it does for any other student. When your teen applies to a university later, that application will ask for transcripts from every college they have ever attended, and the failed course comes along.
A bad grade in a high school class fades into a four-year average, while a bad grade in a college class is a line item on a document your teen will be sending to registrars for the next decade.
Some colleges have a grade forgiveness or academic renewal policy that lets a student retake a course and have the new grade replace the old one in the GPA calculation. The original grade usually still shows on the transcript, marked as replaced. Whether that policy exists, and whether it applies to dual enrollment students, is a question for that specific college’s registrar.
Does it affect the high school transcript?
Usually, yes. Most districts record the college grade on the high school transcript as well, and a failing college grade often means no high school credit for the course. If that course was covering a graduation requirement, your teen may now be short a credit and need to make it up.
Call the counselor this week and ask how the grade will appear on the high school side and whether a graduation requirement is now unmet. Districts handle this differently, since some record dual enrollment courses pass/fail on the high school transcript, some weight them, and some don’t, and your district’s policy is written down, so the counselor can read it to you over the phone.
Does it affect financial aid?
Not right now, but it can later. Federal financial aid comes with a rule called satisfactory academic progress. Once your teen is enrolled in college and receiving aid, the school checks that they are passing enough of what they attempt and keeping their GPA above a floor. At many colleges, prior college coursework, including dual enrollment, is pulled into that calculation. A failed course lowers the completion rate before your teen has taken a single class as a freshman.
One F rarely trips the rule on its own, but two or three can, so if your teen has more dual enrollment ahead, this is the moment to make sure the next courses are ones they can finish.
Should we withdraw instead?
If the drop deadline hasn’t passed, often yes. Withdrawing before the college’s deadline usually produces a W on the transcript instead of a letter grade, and a W does not count in the GPA. It still shows up, and a pattern of them raises questions, but one W does far less damage than one F.
The catch is timing. College drop deadlines are earlier than most families expect, and the college sets them, so the high school calendar won’t tell you. Look up the exact date today, and know that withdrawing may also cost the high school credit and, in some states, trigger a bill. Ohio’s College Credit Plus, for example, allows a district to charge a family back for a failed or withdrawn course, which is why it is worth confirming the cost with whoever pays before your teen drops.
Can your teen retake it?
Usually, at the same college or a different one. Whether the retake replaces the old grade depends on the college’s policy, described above. Even when it doesn’t, a retake shows a future admissions reader that a student who failed a course went back and passed it, which reads much better than an F standing alone.
If your teen is going to retake it, we would wait a term and have them take something they are strong in first, or nothing at all, because the next thing on the transcript should be a clean semester.
What should we do this week?
Make four calls, in this order.
- The college’s registrar or dual enrollment office. Ask for the withdrawal deadline, whether it has passed, and what the college’s grade replacement policy is.
- The high school counselor. Ask how the grade appears on the high school transcript and whether a graduation requirement is affected.
- Whoever pays. Ask whether the district or state can charge the family for a failed or withdrawn course in your program.
- Your teen. Ask what went wrong, whether it was the pace, the subject, the schedule, or something at home, because the answer decides whether the next course should happen at all.
FAQ
Does a failed dual enrollment class go on your college transcript? Yes. Because it is a college course, the college records it on a permanent transcript, and future universities will request that transcript when your teen applies.
Can you retake a failed dual enrollment class? Usually, at the same college or another one. Whether the new grade replaces the old one in the GPA depends on the college’s grade forgiveness policy, and the original grade typically still appears, marked as replaced.
Is it better to withdraw from a dual enrollment class than fail it? If the college’s drop deadline hasn’t passed, a W is almost always better than an F because it does not count in the GPA. Before withdrawing, check whether it costs the high school credit or triggers a tuition charge.
Does a failed dual enrollment class affect financial aid? Not immediately. Once your teen is enrolled in college and receiving aid, prior college coursework can be pulled into the satisfactory academic progress check, where a failed course lowers the completion rate.
Will one failed dual enrollment class keep your teen out of college? No. It counts against them without disqualifying them, and a later retake with a passing grade reads well to admissions. What matters most is that the next courses are ones they can finish.