What to know about dual credit programs in Corpus Christi ISD

When she was deciding which classes to take in high school, Carroll High School student Linda Villarreal looked for guidance from her older sisters and her school counselor.

“My sister told me the ins and outs, because it’s the same teachers as when she was here, about whether you actually take dual credit or AP or a regular class,” Villarreal said.

Now a junior at Carroll High School, Villarreal is taking several dual credit trigonometry, government and history courses. She recommends dual credit, though she is also taking a few AP classes.

Corpus Christi ISD partners with Del Mar College to offer dual credit, which is when students are earning credit for both high school and Del Mar College at the same time.

Dual credit learning environment

CCISD students can take dual credit courses that cover basic core classes. In the six CCISD traditional high schools — Carroll, King, Moody, Ray, Miller and Veterans Memorial high schools — the courses are taught virtually by Del Mar College instructors.

This means students do not learn in the traditional high school classroom setting, with an in-person teacher and a class full of fellow students. Instead, the dual credit courses are self-paced.

“There are modules, sometimes pre-recorded lectures, discussion boards and that type of thing,” CCISD coordinator for college, career and military readiness Bryan Davis said. “So, say they have a reading to do. They'd have response questions for the reading. They’d have projects and essays and such to do throughout the semester. All of the communication with their professor is done virtually.”

Students are assigned to a computer lab for a class period where they can work on the dual credit class. Other students in the classroom are also dual credit students, but they could be taking a different class.

“Any given day in one class period, you might have one kid taking college algebra and the kid next them might be taking psychology and the kid next to them is taking English,” Davis said.

Villarreal says she enjoys her dual credit classes.

“You have to be accountable for yourself because it’s all online,” Villarreal said. “It’s very much at your own pace.”

There’s a lab monitor in the classroom who coordinates with Del Mar and sometimes reminds students when exams are coming up, but the professor isn’t in the classroom.

“Honestly, I think it’s almost easier for me than high school classes, because there’s so much freedom with time,” Villarreal said. “I can do it on my own pace.”

With three class periods dedicated to dual credit classes each day, Villarreal has the flexibility to decide what to work on when.

“I’m not stuck to what the teacher wants me to do at that moment,” Villarreal said.

She did sometimes miss having an in-person teacher, but Villarreal did find ways to succeed in the virtual environment. She recalls going to an algebra teacher at Carroll High School when she had a question in her dual credit algebra class last year, and collaborating with other dual credit students taking the same classes as her.

“You can bounce ideas off each other and talk and discuss, so it’s not totally isolated online,” Villarreal said. “In the dual credit lab, you can still get help from your peers.”

Dual credit affordability and availability

This summer, Del Mar College announced a dual credit financial aid program for all students in the Coastal Bend. With funding from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, dual credit programs are free for students who qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch.

Del Mar College has expanded the initiative, committing to eliminating the cost of dual credit for all high school students in school districts that partner with the college.

Del Mar College works with about 40 school districts and charter schools. Previously, it charged about $33 per semester credit hour for dual credit.

Because of this, dual credit is more accessible than ever in the Coastal Bend for all students.

The earliest a student can take a dual credit course is spring of freshman year.

To qualify for dual credit, students have to pass the Texas Success Initiative Assessment, which determines if a student is ready for entry level college course work in reading, writing and mathematics.

Students in the advanced math pathway can take the TSIA in eighth grade. The test is available year-round in the high schools, where students can request to take it when it is offered about once a month. All algebra II students and English III students also take the TSIA, typically in their junior year.

College credit

If students pass the dual credit course, they earn college credit. Del Mar College credits are accepted at many four-year universities in the state, including Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Texas A&M University in College Station, University of Texas-San Antonio, Texas State University and Western Governs University.

“Typically, the credits from Del Mar are accepted from any public institution in the state of Texas,” Davis said. “It’s really when they look at private schools or out of the state of Texas that it’s really a case-by-case basis as whether they’re going to accept the credit or not.”

In addition to social studies, math, science and English dual credit courses, there are also career and technical education dual credit courses, in subjects like welding and other trades.

The same academic dual credit courses are offered at each high school campus. Some career and technical courses are only offered at specific campuses, which students can apply for a transfer to attend.

Last year, there were about 950 dual credit students in CCISD, taking about 2,500 courses between them, in CCISD’s traditional high schools — Carroll, King, Moody, Ray, Miller and Veterans Memorial high schools.

Students can pick and choose which classes to take as dual credit courses. For students interested in a more in-depth dual credit program, with hopes of earning an associate’s degree or industry certificates, the district offers an early college high school program at Collegiate High School and Harold T. Branch Academy.

Through this program, students can earn up to 60 hours of college credit, including many career and technical education programs.

Ninth grade students can apply to enter the Collegiate or Branch early college high school programs between Nov. 1 and March 8 for the 2024-25 school year. Applications are open all year for grades 10-11.

This article is part of a series outlining the options in Corpus Christi ISD for high school students to earn college credit.

To compare and contrast dual credit, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs, visit INTRO LINK.

To read about AP courses, visit PART II LINK.

To read about the IB program, visit PART III LINK.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi ISD students earn dual credit with Del Mar College