This was a question I received via email today, and the perfect subject of a very important consideration when planning a course sequence for your student.
There are two times when choosing dual enrollment courses in a specific sequence really does matter.
(1) The sequence is tied to the level of difficulty
Course sequences can be tracked for level of difficulty. For example, a student who takes Calculus I at their local community college in 11th grade high school may encounter transfer problems if they take Precalculus at the community college in 12th grade. Since Precalculus is generally taken first, this “backward” sequence may be disqualified as a “duplication of credit” since the knowledge was “already demonstrated” when they passed Calculus I. So while these two classes are genuinely different and do not duplicate each other in a normal situation, taking them in reverse order may cause problems.
- Nuance #1: This is not true if the Calculus I course is a high school course and the Precalculus is a college course. High school and college courses do NOT ever duplicate each other for college credit.
- Nuance #2: There are plenty of colleges that don’t care about sequence and will give you college credit for every non-duplicating credit earned, and in any order.
- Best Practice: Follow a traditional progression where applicable.
(2) The sequence is a 2-part course
College courses, unlike high school courses, always run on a 1-semester cycle. While a high school course often takes a full year (2 semesters), this is not the case in a college schedule. All college classes take 1 semester, so when a course was written to cover a 2-semester scope and sequence, a high school student may not be advised to complete the sequence because they are not in a degree program. This is a small pitfall that leaves high school students at a disadvantage because a dual enrollment advisor won’t be mapping the student’s courses to a degree; they will just be managing the immediate enrollment needs of the student.
For example, General Biology 1 with Lab and General Biology 2 with Lab, taken through a college, are intentionally designed to cover the full scope and sequence over 2 semesters. These courses are usually taught using the same textbook, the same professor, and may even meet at the same scheduled time. These two classes “go together” and are intended to be completed in a set. If a student looks at the prerequisites for General Biology 2 with Lab, it very likely requires completion of General Biology 1 with Lab.
- Nuance #1: There are dual enrollment programs that offer part 1 of a course and not part 2, even when both parts are offered by the college or university. I don’t know why they do this, but if you see the course offerings and notice a broken sequence, you should ask if your student will have access to the second part. If they don’t, it is better to use a different dual enrollment program that allows access to both parts.
- Nuance #2: Sometimes a student earns college credit by exam (AP, DSST, CLEP) and the college awards credit for part 1 or part 2, but not both parts. You should try to close the sequence gap so your student ends up with credit for both parts, even if that means taking an extra class or exam.
- Nuance #3: There are plenty of colleges that don’t care and will award credit for one or the other even when both are not taken.
- Best Practice: Take both parts from the same college in the same school year.
Not a “Real” Sequence
There are plenty of examples of college course numbers that follow each other (102, 103, 104…), but are not actually a sequence. You’ll be able to identify these examples when the subject jumps from one to the next, or when they do not have prerequisites that dictate the progression. When this happens, this is not a real sequence, and you can disregard the need to take both parts.
Example:
- HIST101, United States History 1 (prereq: none)
- HIST102, United States History 2 (prereq: none)
- HIST 105, Civil War and Reconstruction (prereq: none)
- HIST 109, World History 1 (prereq: none)
- HIST 110, World History 2 (prereq: none)
In this history course catalog, you see that the numbers get higher, that there are a few “part 1” type of courses, but since none have prerequisites, this allows any student to take any of these courses in any order they like. This is because the prereq requirement (none) is telling you that the course does not build on content from an earlier course, and therefore it is NOT a sequence.
Best Practices vs Rules
In high school, while your student is still a few years away from heading to college for a degree, the guidance given by Homeschooling for College Credit is considered our “best practice” advice because it helps most students, most of the time, at most colleges. With 4,000 colleges and universities in this country, it’s not the same as getting specific advice for your specific situation. When your student has a specific college picked out, our “best practice” advice should now take a back seat to the actual rules and policies of that college. In that case, seeking specific advise for your specific situation becomes possible. In reality, it is the big mistakes that parents make, not the small, obscure loopholes, that prevent credit from transferring. Homeschooling for College Credit advice will always help you avoid big mistakes.
