Throughout the history of Dominion High School, Dual Enrollment has been offered to students at the Northern Virginia Community College, NOVA. Next school year, for the first time ever, Dual Enrollment (DE) will be offered within the school, treated as a typical 90-minute course.

According to Ms. Smith, director of school counseling, “a significant advantage of offering [English Dual Enrollment] at our school is that the course will be free of charge to students, whereas when students take it on NOVA’s campus they must pay tuition.” Specifically, for ENG 111 and ENG 112 during the 2016-2017 school year, tuition was about $600. The course will still fulfill the ENG 111 and ENG 112 credits as long as students pass the course, counting for college credit, along with being printed on a NOVA transcript.

While many students wonder if they are still able to take the course at NOVA, the answer is yes. The process for enrollment remains the same: “Students who wish to take English 12 DE at Dominion High School must register as a dual-enrolled student with NOVA, submit an Intent to Enroll form to their School Counselor, and must earn a qualified score on the SAT, PSAT, or the placement test offered by NOVA,” Smith said.

Mrs. Glynn, head of the English Department, stated, “I really like that it gives students the opportunity to have a challenging course but still pursue their passion in other areas. It’s a wonderful opportunity, but, there are pros and cons to every situation. I personally believe that the on-campus experience is more beneficial, but in order to allow as many people to have such an opportunity is great.”

Mr. Hicks, head of the History Department stated, “In the long run it’s a positive development.  It allows for more independence in lesson plans and the teachers will be better able to tailor lesson plans to the individual needs of classes.  However, it makes figuring out teaching assignments interesting.  Some folks can teach dual enrollment and others cannot.  Due to the teaming structure all teachers in the department are required to teach both academic and high level.  There is also a cost factor.  Some teachers need to earn graduate level credits which can be expensive.”

Regardless of the tuition free course that is offered within the school, if students wish to take ENG 111 and ENG 112 at the NOVA campus, they may choose to do so. The class must be paid for, the cost to be determined by NOVA.

By taking the course at DHS or at NOVA, students who pass both ENG 111 and ENG 112 will receive college credit. “We will continue to offer AP English courses, and students should work with their teacher, counselor, and parent to determine whether AP or DE is right for them,” Smith said.

Smith also added, “Whether a college accepts AP exam scores and what scores students must earn to obtain credit varies significantly among colleges.  While many colleges and universities in Virginia have indicated that ENG 111 and ENG 112 credits will transfer, we encourage students to contact the colleges and universities they’re considering to hear directly from admissions representatives what they may prefer or what their policies are regarding transferring in DE credit.”

Another common question is whether Government courses will be offered within the school as a Dual Enrollment course. “We will not be offering US Government DE at Dominion High School because we do not have a teacher who could be credentialed by NOVA to teach the course.  In order to be credentialed to teach a dual-enrollment course, a teacher must either have a master’s degree in the content area they would teach or a master’s degree and eighteen graduate credit hours in the content area they would teach,”  Smith said.

Alongside of searching for a Dual Enrollment Government teacher, the current English Dual Enrollment teacher has yet to be selected out of the five applicants, stated by Guidance.