NACEP in State Policy
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NACEP works with state legislators, agencies, and college and university systems to develop quality concurrent enrollment partnerships and hold them accountable to high standards. As the only national set of standards of excellence for concurrent enrollment partnerships, NACEP’s standards serve as a model for statewide quality standards in 20 states. State policy in ten of these states additionally require, provide incentives, or encourage colleges to obtain NACEP accreditation.
NACEP’s October 2010 report Promoting Quality: State Strategies for Overseeing Dual Enrollment Programs documents the strategies employed by six states to ensure that college courses offered to high school students are of the same high quality and rigor as courses offered to matriculated college students.
Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Concurrent Enrollment Policy
All public colleges and universities that offer concurrent enrollment courses must be NACEP accredited or undergo a state authorization review by the Concurrent Review Committee (CRC) and obtain approval from the Coordinating Board.
Indiana General Assembly’s 2005 Double Up for College Act
All public postsecondary institutions offering concurrent enrollment courses must earn NACEP accreditation or otherwise seek state approval from the Indiana Commission on Higher Education. Commission policy requires programs that are not accredited by NACEP to demonstrate adherence to NACEP’s standards and undergo state review
Iowa Legislature’s Senior Year Plus
The 2008 Senior Year Plus legislation standardized concurrent enrollment programs across the 15 community colleges and established a Postsecondary Course Audit Committee to oversee course quality. The community college Presidents agreed to fulfill the law’s quality assurance goals by pursuing NACEP accreditation for each college. In 2015, Iowa became the first state where all concurrent enrollment providers hold NACEP accreditation.
Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education’s Dual Credit Policy
Revisions to the state’s Dual Credit Policy adopted by the Council in June 2015 strongly encourage all participating postsecondary institutions to pursue NACEP accreditation for their concurrent enrollment programs
Minnesota State Legislature’s Concurrent Enrollment Program Aid
When the legislature decided to provide funding for concurrent enrollment courses in 2007, it ensured that it was only paying for quality courses by providing funds to districts only for courses from NACEP-accredited programs, or those that demonstrate adherence to comparable standards. Additionally, the Postsecondary Education Opportunities Act requires that Minnesota public colleges and universities award transfer credit for any courses taken through a NACEP-accredited program. 2015 legislative changes require all postsecondary institutions offering concurrent enrollment to adopt and implement NACEP’s standards by the 2020-21 school year.
Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education
June 2015 updates to the state’s Dual Credit Policy requires all institutions offering concurrent enrollment to demonstrate compliance with the policy by obtaining NACEP accreditation or are subject to review by a committee appointed by the Missouri Department of Higher Education (not yet established).
Oregon Dual Credit Oversight Committee
The Oregon Joint Boards of Education established the Dual Credit Oversight Committee to conduct program approvals of dual credit programs offered by all 17 community colleges and 4 of the 7 public universities. The Committee adapted NACEP’s standards as the basis for approvals in 2010, and exempts those programs that have earned NACEP accreditation from the state approval process.
Rhode Island Board of Education Regulations for Dual Enrollment
2018 updates to the state’s Dual Enrollment Regulations requires all public postsecondary institutions to adhere to NACEP’s standards and encourages them to obtain NACEP accreditation.
South Dakota Board of Regents’ Credit Transfer Policy
In 2010 the Regents, which sets policy for the South Dakota University System, granted blanket acceptance of concurrent enrollment transfer credit for courses taken through NACEP-accredited programs. Credit is otherwise only accepted for concurrent enrollment if a college receives prior approval from the Board of Regents or students earn credit through CLEP or Advanced Placement exams.
Washington State College in the High School
New legislation (RCW 28B.10.035) passed in 2019 requires colleges and universities that offer college courses in public, high schools to be NACEP-accredited by the 2027-28 academic year. Until then, all programs must be approved through a state review process. Washington’s review process, established in 2016, aligns with the NACEP standards. Institutions starting programs after the 2019-20 academic year will have seven years to comply with accreditation requirements.
Washington also continues to expand public funding for students registering to earn college credit in these programs. In 2019, new legislation was passed to implement the Dual Enrollment Scholarship Pilot Project (RCW 28B.76.730). The Dual Enrollment Scholarship Pilot Program is for students participating in College in the High School and Running Start at pilot site schools if they qualify for free and reduced price lunch. The pilot program selected 17 high schools and 3 colleges across the state to participate as pilot site locations, with selection criteria focusing on geographic diversity and a range of other factors. .[i]