As soon as you start chatting with other parents of teens, you’ll immediately begin hearing the terms “dual enrollment” or “PSEO” or “dual credit” and others. If you’re confused, that’s fair! The terms can be incredibly confusing, but this post will quickly clear it up!
Dual enrollment is the most commonly used national umbrella term for a high school student taking a real college course before graduating. The National Center for Education Statistics defines dual enrollment broadly as high school students earning college credit for courses taken through a postsecondary institution. Federal education research also uses “dual enrollment” as the general category while acknowledging that these programs may be called dual credit, concurrent enrollment, early college, or another state-specific name.
In Homeschooling for College Credit print, the terms are used as synonyms. But, technically, there can be differences based on where you live or the college you’re considering. States, colleges, and individual programs often create their own terminology. In some states, the terms are interchangeable. In others, each term has a precise legal or administrative definition.
Why the Program Name Matters for Homeschoolers
Programs built around a course taught inside a participating high school are usually designed for students enrolled in that school or district. This is not limited to public schools; it can include online private high schools as well. There is a LOT of Trojan horse marketing targeting homeschool students, offering dual enrollment as a gateway to enrolling in a private (not homeschool) school. Everything you’ll read from me has always been filtered and is always for homeschool students. I never write about or promote dual-enrollment programs that require your student to enroll in a “school.”
Families should never assume that a dual enrollment program is open to homeschoolers based only on its name. Search for the exact state or college program and verify:
- Whether homeschool students are eligible
- Whether the course is taught at a high school, online, or through the college
- Whether the instructor is employed or approved by the college
The terminology may change, but the central question remains the same: Can a student who remains legally homeschooled enroll in the college course?
Dual Enrollment Terminology by State
The table lists major statewide terms and program names. It cannot include every name created by an individual college, school district, or local partnership. Education Commission of the States reports that many states operate multiple programs under different names, which is why families must research the specific program rather than rely only on the state’s dominant term.
Dual Enrollment Terms and Programs by State
This table identifies major terms used in state policy and statewide programs documents. It is not an exhaustive list of names created by individual colleges, school districts, early college high schools, or local partnerships. I do try to keep the program names/content current, but the landscape changes very quickly, so please double-check my work, and then check again every year.
| State | Homeschool-accessible program or pathway | Public-school or school-embedded |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Dual Enrollment for Dual Credit | Dual Enrollment for Dual Credit; CTE Dual Enrollment; Early College Enrollment Program |
| Alaska | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; district-based Early College and Middle College programs |
| Arizona | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Concurrent Enrollment; Tribal College Dual Enrollment (Arizona Legislature) |
| Arkansas | Dual Enrollment | Concurrent Enrollment; Concurrent Credit; Dual Enrollment; high-school-site concurrent courses (Arkansas Department of Higher Education) |
| California | Dual Enrollment | College and Career Access Pathways, or CCAP; Early College High School; Middle College High School |
| Colorado | Dual Enrollment | Concurrent Enrollment; ASCENT; TREP; Early College High School (Colorado Department of Education) |
| Connecticut | Dual Credit | Dual Credit; Dual Enrollment; Concurrent Enrollment; UConn Early College Experience |
| Delaware | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Dual Credit; local Early College High School programs |
| Florida | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Career Dual Enrollment; Early College programs |
| Georgia | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Early College High School; Move On When Ready is a former name |
| Hawaii | Running Start | Running Start; Early College; school-partnership dual credit courses (University of Hawaii) |
| Idaho | Dual Credit | Dual Credit; Advanced Opportunities; school-based concurrent courses |
| Illinois | Dual Enrollment | Dual Credit; Dual Enrollment; Concurrent Enrollment |
| Indiana | Dual Enrollment | Dual Credit; Concurrent Enrollment; Early College High School; Indiana College Core |
| Iowa | Dual Enrollment | Senior Year Plus; Concurrent Enrollment; Postsecondary Enrollment Options; Summer College Credit Program |
| Kansas | Dual Enrollment | Concurrent Enrollment Partnership; Concurrent Enrollment; Dual Credit |
| Kentucky | Dual Credit | Dual Credit; Dual Enrollment |
| Louisiana | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Fast Forward; TOPS Tech Early Start; Jump Start |
| Maine | Dual Enrollment | Early College; Aspirations; Concurrent Enrollment; CTE Dual Enrollment (Maine) |
| Maryland | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; local Early College and Middle College programs |
| Massachusetts | Dual Enrollment | Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership; Massachusetts Early College; Traditional Dual Enrollment |
| Michigan | Dual Enrollment | Postsecondary Enrollment Options Act; Career and Technical Preparation Act; Early Middle College |
| Minnesota | Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) | PSEO; Concurrent Enrollment; College in the Schools; CIS; CITS; College Now (Minnesota Department of Education) |
| Mississippi | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Dual Credit; Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Option |
| Missouri | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Dual Credit, generally for courses taught by approved high school instructors |
| Montana | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Running Start; Concurrent Enrollment; One-Two-Free |
| Nebraska | Dual Enrollment | Dual Credit; Dual Enrollment; Concurrent Enrollment |
| Nevada | Dual Enrollment | Dual Credit; Dual Enrollment; district and college partnership programs |
| New Hampshire | Early College | Early College; Early College at the High School; Dual and Concurrent Enrollment Scholarship; Running Start is a former or locally retained name (NH Community Colleges) |
| New Jersey | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Dual Credit; Early College High School |
| New Mexico | Dual Credit | Dual Credit; Concurrent Enrollment for some college-only-credit arrangements |
| New York | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Concurrent Enrollment; College in the High School; Smart Scholars Early College High School |
| North Carolina | Dual Enrollment | Career and College Promise; College Transfer; CTE; Cooperative Innovative High Schools; Early College; Middle College (NCCCS) |
| North Dakota | Dual Credit | Dual Credit; Dual Enrollment; Early Entry |
| Ohio | College Credit Plus | College Credit Plus |
| Oklahoma | Concurrent Enrollment | Concurrent Enrollment; school-based or college-campus concurrent courses |
| Oregon | Dual Enrollment | Dual Credit; Sponsored Dual Credit; Assessment-Based Learning Credit; College Credit in High School |
| Pennsylvania | Dual Enrollment | Dual Credit; Dual Enrollment; Concurrent Enrollment; College in the High School |
| Rhode Island | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Concurrent Enrollment; PrepareRI Dual Enrollment Fund; local Running Start programs |
| South Carolina | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Dual Credit; Early College programs |
| South Dakota | Dual Credit | High School Dual Credit; Concurrent Credit; Rising Scholar |
| Tennessee | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Dual Credit; Statewide Dual Credit; Early Postsecondary Opportunities |
| Texas | Dual Credit | Dual Credit; OnRamps; Early College High School; P-TECH |
| Utah | Dual Enrollment | Concurrent Enrollment; Step2theU; school-based Early College options |
| Vermont | Dual Enrollment | Vermont Dual Enrollment Program; Early College; Fast Forward |
| Virginia | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; College and Career Ready Virginia; Virtual Virginia Dual Enrollment; Early College Scholars |
| Washington | Running Start | Running Start; College in the High School; CTE Dual Credit (OSPI) |
| West Virginia | Dual Enrollment | LevelUpWV; Dual Enrollment; Early Enrollment; West Virginia EDGE |
| Wisconsin | Dual Enrollment | Early College Credit Program; Start College Now; local dual enrollment programs |
| Wyoming | Dual Enrollment | Dual Enrollment; Concurrent Enrollment |
