High School: Dual Enrollment

Dual enrollment and Full-Time Early Enrollment programs are designed for high school students in grades 10 - 12 and provide the opportunity to attend classes on a college campus or on-line and earn credits which will apply to both their high school and college transcripts. Students who wish to take advantage of the provisions of dual enrollment should be sufficiently mature enough to function in the college environment, as certified by their parents and school officials. In order to be fully qualified for the dual enrollment program, the student must achieve scores on the college placement test (PERT) to exempt them from any “college preparatory” courses.

Courses taken through Dual Enrollment are counted on the student’s high school transcript as credits used for graduation, and are used again as college credit hours toward their Associates Degree for college. For example, a student who takes ENC1101 College Comp I at Polk State College (PSC) instead of English III (the normal 11th grade English course) earns one credit in English for high school and three college credit hours toward his/her college degree. The amount of high school credit varies by course, but almost all of the courses available count in both places. The amount of credit awarded for high school credit is based on the Florida Department of Education's "Dual Enrollment Equivalency List".

The Florida Department of Education has published several reference items which can be downloaded here:
Dual Enrollment FAQ
Notice to suspend PERT Testing due to COVID-19 (Fall of 2020 classes)
Dual Enrollment Equivalency List (Academic Courses) 19-20
Dual Enrollment Equivalency List (Career & Technical) 19-20

FOFCAI has had dual enrollment agreements with several of Florida’s State and Community Colleges for many years, including: Polk State College, Pasco-Hernando Community College, Hillsborough Community College, Daytona State College and Valencia Community College. In addition, several private Christian colleges, including Southeastern University in Lakeland and Warner University in Lake Wales, provide Dual Enrollment opportunities for our students as well.

Parents should schedule an appointment at least six weeks before classes are scheduled to start to complete the application and to allow time for testing.

Enrollment Status and Cost:

From its inception untill the 2012-2103 school term, every eligible student in Florida had equal access to Dual Enrollment. This included public school students, private school students, and county registered homeschoolers. This was consistant with other publicly funded education programs, like the Florida Virtual School (FLVS). However, in 2013 the Florida legislature made changes to the Dual Enrollment legislation intended to ensure that public school districts reimburse the colleges for their sutdents who were taking Dual Enrollment courses. The funds are to be paid from the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) which pays public school districts based on the enrollment and seat hours of its students. Due to loopholes in the legislation, many State Colleges began charging private schools the same rate of tuition that the legislation directed public school districts to pay, even though private schools like Families of Faith Christian Academy International do not receive any funds from the FEFP to pass on. It was the clear intent of the legislature to tie the payments to the colleges to the FEFP fund, because public school districts are not required to pay for Dual Enrollment during the Summer Terms when the District does not receive FEFP funds.

Florida now has a three tier system that gives rights and privileges to some classes of it citizens, while discriminating against the rights of others. We say we believe in a World with Equal Rights for All, but in Florida those rights do not extend to private school students! Here is a division of educational rights the Florida Legislature currently has in place.
Public School Students: Cannot be denied access to Dual Enrollment, provided they pass the PERT test and maintain a qualifing GPA. Tuition is paid to the college from their FEFP allotment and includes books and lab fees. (The privileged class)
County Registered Home School Students: Have access to Dual Enrollment based on their PERT scores. The student cannot be charged for tuition or books. Due to funding issues, many colleges are limiting the number of classes offered. (Possible reduced access, for the less privileged class)
Private School Students: Private school students can and are denied access to Dual Enrollment. (Discriminated Class) most often by being required to pay tuition and book fees that other families do not have to pay, and, if the school they choose does not have the right address, they can be denied access to Dual Enrollment.

Florida colleges must enter into an articulation agreement with a private school only if that school has a campus location in the service area of the college. The legislative mandate for the Florida College System is to serve local students, but the Florida legislature cannot seem to grasp the realities of how education has changed since the invention of the Internet. Florida Virtual School (FLVS) student live in all counties in Florida and have access to Dual Enrollment at their local college, because the FLVS is a Public School District. Private school students who enroll in a private school that operates exactly like FLVS can be denied access to Dual Enrollment. In addition, if the college chooses to enter into an articulation agreement, they can require the private school to pay the State Standard Tuition, which adds over $200 per class (plus books) to the family's cost.

How FOFCAI Students Rights and Access to Dual Enrollment Are Protected:

To protect the rights of all students to continue to have equal access to the Florida Dual Enrollment Program, FOFCAI provides the option for students to choose the option to be enrolled as a full-time or Flex student with FOFCAI. This model is based on the student classificaton system developed by the Florida Virtual school (FLVS), a Florida public on-line school. A student that takes every course from FLVS is a full-time student, whereas a student that takes some, but not all, courses from FLVS is classified as a Flex student.
Students enrolled in FOFCAI as Flex students continue to receive counseling and documentation of all courses taken at home or in one of the many approved Blended class options. Because they are not classified as "Full-time", the student can be enrolled with their county as a homeschooler. The FLEX status provides a system which allows your student to enjoy the same rights and privileges afforded to other qualified students in Florida.

Steps to Enrolling in Dual Enrollment Courses:

Step 1: Before enrolling in classes, the student and parent must complete and sign an Application for Admission for Early Admission and Dual Enrollment Students. This is also a good time to meet with the Guidance Office for a full academic review and highlight what classes would be most appropriate for the student to take at the college level.

Steps 2-10: Each local college has different steps in the registration process. A link to the Dual Enrollment page of several local colleges is provided below. The PERT test is a requirement in Florida Statutes, so each college will include that in the process. Links to several PERT Practice Tests are provided at the bottom of this page.
NOTE: Due to COVID-19 the PERT test requirement has been waived for the Fall 2020 term.

Polk State College (PSC):
PSC has an articulatin agreement with FOFCAI. As of the end of the 2019-2020 school term, the college is not charging the state standard tuition for our students. If you enroll in Dual Enrollment courses as an FOFCAI student, you will be responsible for the cost of purchasing textbooks. If you choose to be a Flex student with FOFCAI and register with Polk County as a homeschooler, your books will be loaned to you free of cost for the semester. If enrolling as a FOFCAI full-time student, you will need the approval from the Guidance Office before you can register for class.
PSC 7 steps to Dual Enrollment web page

Hillsborough Community College (HCC):
FOFCAI had an articulation agreement with HCC for many years, but FOFCAI has chosen not to enter into an articulation agreement as of the 2018-2019 school term, due to the inclusion of tuition charges. To dual enroll with HCC, you would need to enroll with FOFCAI as a Flex student and register with Hillsborough County as a Homeschooler. (A link to the Notice of Intent is at the bottom of the page.) HCC Dual Enrollment web page

Southeastern University (SEU) Lakeland FL:
Dual enrollment at Southeastern University is an opportunity for high school students to earn college credits while also completing their high school requirements. SEU offers dual enrollment on our main campus & online, at local high schools, and at partner sites (FL and OH only). If you attend a partner site that is outside the states of Florida and Ohio, you will need to apply through the SEU Main Campus/Online Dual Enrollment link. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Admission at 800.500.8760.
Email: admission@seu.edu

Liberity University
Liberty University Online Academy, in partnership with Liberty University Online, offers a program specifically designed for high school juniors and seniors who want to earn college credit while still in high school.
Liberity University - Dual Enrollment web page