Dual Enrollment Programs and Courses

PROCEDURES FOR POLICY: 2-09
VCCS POLICY NO: N/A
REVISED DATE: 07/07/2025

Purpose:

To provide the procedures for the offering of dual enrollment programs and courses to students in participating high schools.
Procedure and/or Process Definitions:

Advance College Academy: A high school-based dual enrollment program pathway that provides qualified high school students the opportunity to earn an associate degree by completing college courses that also satisfy the requirements for a high school diploma.

Concurrent enrollment: High school students who take college courses that do not count for high school graduation requirements. NOTE: It is possible for concurrent enrollment courses to also count for dual credit with approval of the high school principal.

Dual enrollment: Community college coursework taken by high school students pursuant to a written contract and/or memorandum of understanding between a public school division, an individual public high school or technical education center, or an individual private school and Reynolds Community College (Reynolds) wherein the college-level coursework, upon successful completion, earns both college credits and high school credits applicable to eligibility for a high school diploma.

Dual enrollment partnerships: Agreements governed by an annually renewable contract between a school or public school division and Reynolds to allow academically qualified high school juniors and seniors to enroll in college courses.

Early College Academy: A dual enrollment program pathway in partnership with Richmond Public Schools, offered on the college campus, which provides qualified high school students the opportunity to earn an associate degree by completing college courses that may be substituted for the requirements for a high school diploma.

Procedures:

Student eligibility

Prospective dual enrollment students should first meet with their high school dual enrollment counselor to discuss dual enrollment (DE) options. Interested students must complete and submit the Reynolds Community College (Reynolds) online application for admission.

High school juniors and seniors who meet each of the following criteria may register in college-level credit-bearing courses:

The student submits an application for admission.
The student is a rising high school junior or senior.
The high school student has permission from the principal or designee, and the parent or legal guardian.
The student demonstrates readiness for each college-level credit-bearing course in which they want to enroll. High school students are not eligible to enroll in developmental or direct placement co-requisite English and math courses. In demonstrating readiness, a student must meet one of the criteria established for each type of course in which they want to be registered.

College Course Placement Based on High School GPA and Standardized Test Scores
Course Type	High School Transcript*		SAT		PSAT		ACT		VPT
Transfer courses **(except math)	Current cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 or higher	or	ERW score of 480 or higher	or	ERW score of 390 or higher	or	18 or higher on both English and Writing subject area tests	or	Placement into ENG 111
Career and technical courses ***(except math)	Current cumulative high school GPA of 2.0 or higher	or	ERW score of 480 or higher	or	ERW score of 390 or higher	or	18 or higher on both English and Writing subject area tests	or	Placement into ENF 1 or higher
MTH 101–133	Current cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 or higher and a 2.0 (C) grade or higher in a high school math course	or	ERW score of 480 or higher and math score of 530 or higher	or	ERW score of 390 or higher and math score of 500 or higher	or	22 or higher on math subject area test	or	Placement in MTH 111 or higher (satisfaction of MTE 1–3)
MTH 154, 155	Current cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 or higher and a 2.0 (C) grade or higher in a high school math course	or	ERW score of 480 or higher and math score of 530 or higher	or	ERW score of 390 or higher and math score of 500 or higher	or	22 or higher on math subject area test	or	Placement in MTH 154 or higher (satisfaction of MTE 1–5)
MTH 161, 167 – Individual colleges may establish criteria for direct placement into calculus or other high-level math class	Current cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 or higher and a 2.0 (C) grade or higher in Algebra 2 or in a higher-level math course	or	ERW score of 480 or higher and math score of 530 or higher	or	N/A	or	22 or higher on math subject area test	or	Placement in MTH 161 or higher (satisfaction of MTE 1–9)
* Cumulative GPA may be weighted or unweighted and may be self-reported.
** A transfer course is any course that a college offers and will transcript in fulfillment of the requirements for a degree or certificate that is designed to transfer (e.g., AA, AS, AA&S, AFA, Uniform Certificate of General Studies).
******* A career and technical course is any course that the college offers and will transcript in fulfillment of the requirements for degrees and certificates that are not designed for transfer (e.g., AAS, Certificate, Career Studies Certificates).

In addition to meeting the eligibility criteria above, a dual enrollment student must meet all course pre- or co-requisites as listed in the VCCS Master Course File and established by Reynolds.

Student Issues- addressed in the following order
1. DE faculty member.
2. Career coach and site director/coordinator (where applicable).
3. High school administration (counselor, principal, central office staff).
4. Director of Dual Enrollment.
5. Academic Affairs (Academic Dean, Associate Vice President).
6. Reynolds Vice President of Academic Affairs.
7. Reynolds President.
Admissions and enrollment
1. Prior to the official start date of each college class for which dual enrollment credit is being sought, high school counselors must submit to the Reynolds Office of Dual Enrollment, for each student, a completed Dual Enrollment Course Request Form, signed by the student, the student's parent or legal guardian, and the counselor, plus a completed Residency for Dual and Concurrent Enrollment Applicants Form signed by the student's parent or legal guardian.
2. For each student, any documentary evidence to support a waiver of placement test requirements to establish college readiness must be provided.
3. Upon receipt of the required documentation, students will be enrolled in the appropriate courses and course sections by authorized college personnel.
4. Any subsequent changes to a student's schedule must be initiated by the dual enrollment counselor, the assigned Reynolds career coach, or other authorized high school personnel, using the appropriate college forms.
Contractual agreements
1. Each year, the Reynolds Office of Dual Enrollment, in collaboration with the Vice President of Finance and Administration shall be responsible for the preparation of a dual enrollment contract for each public school division, each private school, and any other secondary school entity with whom the college intends to pursue a dual enrollment partnership.
Tuition and billing reimbursement
1. Each semester, after all enrollment transactions are finalized, the Reynolds Admissions Office shall collaborate with high school counselors and dual enrollment instructors to verify the accuracy of each dual enrollment class roster.
2. Upon completion of the roster verification process, the Reynolds Office of Dual Enrollment shall issue a billing authorization to each school division and other dual enrollment partnership entity.
3. Each dual enrollment partnership entity shall review the billing authorization for accuracy, annotate the authorization with any proposed corrections, and affirm said review by signature of a duly authorized representative of the dual enrollment partner.
4. Upon reconciliation of any proposed corrections, the Reynolds Office of Dual Enrollment shall forward the authorization of the college Finance and Administration division, whereupon the college shall invoice the dual enrollment partner for all tuition and fees pursuant to the terms of the dual enrollment contract.
Faculty Credentialing
1. High school partner provides transcripts to the Director of Dual Enrollment for review.
2. Director conducts a preliminary review of transcripts, licensure/certifications and work experience and shares this information with the school dean.
  1. Dean communicates final decision (confirmation of approval) to the director.
3. Director shares the decision with the high school partner and submits the VCCS-10 and accompanying documents to the Office of Human Resources.
4. Director of Dual Enrollment completes and submits the online Computer Access Request Form.
5. Director of Dual Enrollment notifies the academic school of the hiring of a new DE instructor, so the school may provide discipline specific training and onboarding before the instructor begins teaching a Reynolds course.
Faculty responsibility
1. Dual Enrollment faculty are expected to adhere to all program policies, procedures, and expectations (refer to the Reynolds Dual Enrollment Faculty Handbook).
2. Faculty employed directly by the college to teach dual enrollment at a high school site are expected to contact the dual enrollment counselor at the high school, prior to the start of classes, to receive information about high school policy and procedures, including adherence to high school attendance and grading requirements. Contact information for high school dual enrollment counselors may be obtained from the Reynolds Office of Dual Enrollment.
3. For dual enrollment programs and courses that are subject to external accreditation, dual enrollment faculty are expected to ensure that all aspects of those programs and courses adhere to the standards of that accreditation.
Non-compliance with college expectations
1. In the case of concerns from Reynolds administration over the quality of instruction or non-compliance with college expectations, or in the case of dual enrollment faculty members failing to meet the annual requirements of providing a syllabus for every section, obtaining at least two hours of discipline-specific and two hours of general professional development, facilitating annual classroom observations by the full-time faculty liaison, department chair, and/or dean, submitting grades and other required reports in a timely manner, and/or providing student course evaluations, the following steps should be taken:
  1. The faculty liaison, department chair, or dean will discuss the concerns with the dual enrollment faculty member and set up a reasonable time to address the concerns and correct the problems. The Director of Dual Enrollment and the appropriate director of college or CTE academies should also be informed at this point.
  2. If the concerns are not corrected within a reasonable time (that is, one semester), the Director of Dual Enrollment should be notified of the concerns regarding the instructor and contact the appropriate high school central office or school administrative representatives.
  3. If the above steps do not correct the problems, the Director of Dual Enrollment and the Academic Dean will co-write a letter to the appropriate parties listing specific issues:
    1. Include a specific date by which the concerns listed in the letter need to be addressed or corrected, as determined on a case-by-case basis within one academic year. Include the consequences of not correcting the problems.
    2. Include a place for dated signatures of the dual enrollment faculty member, the full-time faculty liaison (if applicable), the department chair, the academic dean, and, if applicable, the Director of Dual Enrollment.
    3. Hold follow-up discussions with the appropriate parties on the issues.
    4. Keep a copy of the letter signed by all appropriate parties.
    5. Follow up with the instructor to see if the issues addressed in the letter have been corrected before the deadline.
    6. Future teaching assignments may be denied if the concerns addressed in the letter are not corrected.
Extended absence
1. The high school is expected to notify the Reynolds Office of Dual Enrollment when an instructor is absent for more than five consecutive class meeting days.
2. The college is expected to assist the high school with intervention strategies in such cases when normal high school procedures for providing substitute instruction are insufficient to assure delivery of instruction by suitably credentialed faculty.
College or high school closings
1. In the event of scheduled or authorized unscheduled closings of the college due to inclement weather or other unanticipated circumstances, if the high school site remains open, dual enrollment classes taught at the high school site will continue to meet as scheduled. Exceptions to this provision must be clearly articulated in the course syllabus.
2. In the event of scheduled or authorized unscheduled closings of the high school site due to inclement weather or other unanticipated circumstances, if the college remains open, dual enrollment classes taught on the college campus site will not meet. Exceptions to this provision must be clearly articulated in the course syllabus.
3. Dual enrollment students enrolled in college classes with the general college population are expected to attend those classes if the college is open, even if the high school is closed.
Faculty orientation and evaluation
1. Upon certification of faculty qualification for appointment, the dean of each school in which dual enrollment courses are taught will add new faculty members to their roster of individuals to participate in orientation.
2. The school dean will see that dual enrollment faculty are added to appropriate email distribution lists for intra-unit communication.
3. The school dean will follow these steps in ensuring dual enrollment faculty receive orientation:
  1. identify and assign appropriate personnel to do initial in-take orientation;
  2. report to the Office of Human Resources the names and contact information for new faculty, so that they may receive invitations to general faculty meetings as well as information about ongoing professional development opportunities available to all faculty;
  3. monitor completion of orientation activities of dual enrollment faculty and report to the Vice President of Academic Affairs, or designee, their successful completion.
4. Reynolds department chairs, faculty liaisons, or designee are required to perform on-site classroom observations of dual enrollment faculty, using the same procedures used to observe adjunct faculty.
5. As part of annual evaluation, the school dean, or designee, will identify any areas of additional professional development dual enrollment faculty may require in support of their classroom teaching and then see that those resources are provided.
6. Orientation may be delivered by way of one-on-one meetings with department chairs or other college designated personnel, workshop training with other faculty, and computer or web-based resources, where applicable.
Program Start up Process
1. High school partner requests a program. Director of Dual Enrollment clarifies high school interests with preliminary questions about location, modality, faculty availability, DE enrollment expectations etc. and then meets with the school dean to determine preliminary feasibility (depending on variables below).
  1. Director requests more details from high school partner and provides in a single package to the school dean
  2. Requests instructor transcripts and works with the academic school to determine instructor eligibility, and reports the results to the high school partner
  3. Facilitate site review and approval as needed by academic school.
2. The school dean and director review the packet of information and determine the next steps.
  1. If a new SACSCOC site or program accreditation review and approval is needed, the Director of Dual Enrollment prepares sub change paperwork with AVPAA, with support from school dean as needed.
Course Start up Process
1. High school partner requests a course. Director of Dual Enrollment clarifies high school interests with preliminary questions about location, modality, faculty availability, DE enrollment expectations etc. and then meets with the school dean to determine preliminary feasibility (depending on variables below).
  1. Director requests more details from high school partner and provides in a single package to the school dean
  2. Requests instructor transcripts and works with the Academic school to determine instructor eligibility, and reports the results to the high school partner
Annual DE Pathway Approval
1. In mid-January, the Director of Dual Enrollment updates all DE pathways to align with approved Curriculum Committee changes to Reynolds academic programs and pathways for the next academic year.
2. In mid-February Academic Schools (deans, associate deans, department chairs) are asked to review and approve all DE course pathways in the Dual Enrollment SharePoint folder for the upcoming academic year.
3. Approved pathways are then shared with high school partners and included in the annual DE contract for the upcoming academic year.
DE Site Review
1. Site reviews are determined by each academic program and school based on course curriculum requirements.
2. Director schedules a time for department chair/liaison/discipline faculty to visit and review facilities for lab courses and CTE programs. Lecture class facilities may be reviewed by the Director of Dual Enrollment.
3. Department chair informs the dean and Director of Dual Enrollment of the decision.
4. Director of Dual Enrollment informs the high school partner of the decision and of any deficiencies that may exist.
5. If deficiencies exist, the high school partner may choose to address these to gain approval to offer the college courses.
6. If identified deficiencies are addressed by the high school partner, the department chair may reevaluate the site for approval.
DE Schedule Development at High School Courses
1. DE courses are scheduled based on the curriculum pathway that is approved by the academic school and included in the annual DE contract.
2. High school partner provides SIS scheduling details to the Director of Dual Enrollment in an Excel document.
3. The Director of Dual Enrollment provides the Excel scheduling document to the Schedule of Classes team.
4. Schedule of Classes team inputs scheduling details on the Google DE Planning Sheet and schedules these classes in SIS.
5. Any changes or additions are made using the Google DE Planning Sheet.
DE Schedule Development On-Campus Courses
1. DE courses are scheduled based on the curriculum pathway that is approved by the academic school and included in the annual DE contract.
2. High school partner provides SIS scheduling details to the Director of Dual Enrollment in an Excel document
3. Based on the approved ECA pathway, the Director of Dual Enrollment creates an Excel document and collaborates with STEM and HSS to determine the ECA schedule at DTC.
4. The Director of Dual Enrollment provides the Excel scheduling document to the Schedule of Classes team.
5. Schedule of Classes team inputs scheduling details on the Google DE Planning Sheet and schedules these classes in SIS.
6. Any changes or additions are made using the Google DE Planning Sheet.
Quality assurance
1. The Office of Dual Enrollment will develop, implement, and maintain a quality assurance plan that identifies annual outcomes and the assessment measures that will be used to assess attainment of outcomes as well as a timeline that indicates when assessment activities will occur. The quality assurance plan will address the following:
  1. dual enrollment instruction course equivalency;
  2. student readiness, eligibility, and support;
  3. faculty qualifications, professional development, and support;
  4. administrative characteristics; and
  5. student outcomes assessment.
2. Department chairs or designees will ensure that the quality of each high school dual enrollment course is equivalent to its on-campus counterpart in curriculum, delivery, rigor, assessment, and classroom management.
3. Department chairs or designees will provide discipline-specific professional development to help high school adjunct teachers stay current with the latest information, trends, and technologies in their field.
Satisfactory academic performance and continuing eligibility
1. For students participating in an Advance College Academy or Early College Academy, academic performance will be monitored throughout each academic term by the instructors, career coaches, and the Director of Dual Enrollment.
2. Students who are identified, prior to the official withdrawal date of the term, as being in danger of failing to maintain satisfactory academic performance standards will be counseled to withdraw from the course(s) in question and, where appropriate, to discontinue participation in the academy
3. At the end of each academic term, instructors, career coaches, and the Director of Dual Enrollment will identify students who fail to meet satisfactory academic performance standards and will coordinate advisement of students who are no longer eligible to continue participation in the academy.
4. For all other dual enrollment students, monitoring satisfactory academic performance during the academic term is the responsibility of instructors, high school counselors, and career coaches.
5. At the end of each academic term, the Reynolds Office of Dual Enrollment will inform high school counselors of students who have failed to meet satisfactory academic performance standards and who are, thus, unable to continue participation in dual enrollment.

Other Information:

Governing Principles for Dual Enrollment between Virginia Public Schools and the Virginia Community College System

VCCS Policy 6.6, Dual Enrollment for High School Students

Reynolds Dual Enrollment Faculty Handbook

JSRCC Form 36-2000, Classroom Observation Planning Form

JSRCC Form 36-2001, Classroom Observation Form – For Face-to Face

JSRCC Form 36-2002, Classroom Observation Form – Online Class

JSRCC Form 36-5003, Adjunct Teaching Faculty Observation Form

JSRCC Form 40-0009, VCCS/Reynolds Information Technology Employee Acceptable Use Form

General Information

Reynolds Community College
Campus Locations
(804) 371-3000