Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment:

When we say our program is “Dual Credited” it means that a University or College has 1) approved our instructor as an Adjunct Instructor of their University or College and 2) has reviewed our curriculum and determined that what we teach is equivalent to one of their courses or set of courses at their College.  When a student “dual enrolls” that means that they are a student of Caribou Tech AND a student of the University or College that we have the agreement with.

Requirements:  Dual Enrollment is optional, and not all students choose to take advantage of the opportunity; however, regardless of whether or not a student is dual enrolled, they will complete exactly the same course work either way.  In other words, there are no additional course requirements for a student who chooses to dual enroll.  One thing that may differ for a dual enrolled student is that although a 70 is needed to pass the Caribou Tech program, sometimes a University may set the grade slightly higher in order for a student to earn the college credit.  For example, UMPI requires a 77 in all of their dual enrollment courses in order to earn the college credit. 

Benefits:  There are many benefits to dual enrolling.  Tuition is free up to 6 credits per semester and there is no additional cost of buying textbooks.  The tuition and text book savings can quickly add up to thousands of dollars in savings.  Since a dual-enrolled student is actually a student of the University or College, they may also receive student benefits such as local discounts , special invitations to campus events, or access to University facilities (like Gentile Hall, for example).

Enrolling:  In order to dual-enroll in a course, a student and their parent must complete the University/College’s required course registration (might be online).  They produce their own registration paperwork and they set their own deadlines, but typically, we can expect that the Universities’ deadlines will be within a few weeks of the start of the school year, and the Community College’s deadlines may extend into January.  The number one reason why students don’t dual-enroll is because they missed the deadline.  Our Instructors will distribute registration paperwork and will inform students about pending deadlines.

Fees:  There is typically a fee required for dual enrollment.  Caribou Tech will collect the fee along with the registration paperwork, but the fee is not charged by Caribou Tech.  The fee is charged by the University or College to help offset their administrative costs associated with making this opportunity available.  Part of this includes creating a student record and permanent transcript at the University or College.  Current fee rates per 3-credit course are:  EMCC-$0, NMCC-$30, UMPI-$45, and UMFK-$103.  During the 2018-2019 school year, NMCC did not charge a fee at all, so use these figures just to give you an idea, but know they are subject to change from year to year.  Our Instructors will inform students of current year fee information.

Transferability:  We’re often asked if the dual credits will transfer.  Ultimately, it is up to the college that you plan to attend as to whether or not the credits will transfer.  Oftentimes, even if you know what college you’d like to go to, they will also need to know which major you plan to pursue before they can tell you if they credits will transfer.  High School students often do not know this information, or may change their mind several times along the way.  As a general rule, classes with a grade below a “C” may not transfer from one college to another.  We can expect that our dual  enrollment credits will transfer within the Maine University System and the Maine Community College system.  Sometimes, if the credit doesn’t transfer directly into your major, then the college will transfer it a “general elective” credit. 

Articulated Credit:

Articulated Credit is very different from Dual Credit.  A student does not sign up for Articulated Credit and therefore does not pay a fee, nor do they have any association with a University or College.  Articulated Credit is awarded only IF and WHEN a student attends a specific University or College for a specific major.  For example, we have articulation agreements in place with Husson for our Criminal Justice and Business and Marketing  programs.  If a student were to end up at Husson and decided to major in one of these programs after completing our matching program, they could notify Husson to then transcript the credit for them.  Articulated credits are not typically transferrable from one college to another.  At face value, Articulated Credit doesn’t sound as good as Dual Credit, but it is a great option for many students, particularly if they missed the deadline for dual credit, or if they already have their 6 free credits.

Enhanced Articulated Credit:

Enhanced Articulated Credit is an Articulation agreement that can be used at multiple colleges.  We have an Enhanced Articulation agreement between our Culinary Arts program and the Maine Community College System.  This means that if a student chooses to attend any campus in the Maine Community College System and major in Culinary Arts, Baking, or a related major, they will have college credit waiting for them. 

We understand that all of this can be confusing and we are here to help you navigate through this process.  Program Instructors will have the most up-to-date information and enrollment paperwork, and will discuss this with their class at the beginning of the year.  We continue to advocate for early college credit because we’ve seen significant benefits for our students and their families.