Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment:

High School students are eligible for 18 free college credits during their high school years. Colleges and Universities will charge tuition and fees when 18 credits have been exceeded; therefore, it is important to plan your early college credits carefully.

When we say our program is “Concurrently Enrolled” 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 “concurrently enrolls” that means that they are a student of Caribou Tech AND a student of the University or College that we have an agreement with.

Requirements: Concurrent Enrollment is optional, and not all students choose to take advantage of the opportunity; however, regardless of whether or not a student is concurrently enrolled, they will complete the same coursework either way. In other words, there are no additional course requirements for a student who chooses to pursue the college credit option. One thing that may differ for a concurrently enrolled student is that although a 70 is needed to pass the Caribou Tech program and earn high school credit, sometimes a University may set the grade slightly higher in order for a student to earn the college credit.

Fees: Currently, there are no fees required for concurrent enrollment, but this may change from year to year. If a fee is charged, it is charged by the University or College to help offset the administrative costs associated with making this opportunity available. Part of this includes creating a student record and permanent transcript at the University or College. Our instructors will inform students of the current year's fee information.

Transferability: We’re often asked if the early college 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 the 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 concurrent 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 as a “general elective” credit.

Benefits: There are many benefits to concurrent enrollment. Tuition is free up to 12 credits per school year and there is no additional cost of buying textbooks. The tuition and textbook savings can quickly add up to thousands of dollars in savings. Since a concurrently enrolled student is 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: To concurrently enroll in a course, a student and their parent must complete the University/College’s required online course registration. The college manages its own registration process and set its own deadlines, but typically, we can expect that the university’s 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 concurrently enroll is because they missed the deadline. Our Instructors will distribute registration information and inform students about pending deadlines. Oftentimes, the college will visit the class to help students register. If a student registers, but a parent does not give permission, the student will be unenrolled by the college/university and will not be able to earn the college credit.

Articulated Credit

Articulated Credit is very different from Concurrent Enrollment Credit. A student does not sign up for Articulated Credit and therefore does not complete paperwork, 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 an articulation agreement in place with Husson for our Criminal Justice program. If a student were to end up at Husson and decided to major in Criminal Justice after completing our matching program, they could notify Husson to then transcript the credit for them. Articulated credits are not typically transferable from one college to another. At face value, Articulated Credit doesn’t sound as good as Concurrent Enrollment Credit, but it is a great option for many students, particularly if they missed the deadline for concurrent credit, or if they already have their 12 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 where Intro to Culinary Arts is required, they will have college credit waiting for them. Enhanced Articulated Credit is nice because it doesn’t count against the student’s 12 free credits per year and allows a student more flexibility and time to explore colleges and programs. However, it is also only awarded if and when the student attends an MCCS campus for a specific major in which the credit would be required.

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.

Caribou Tech Center