GCU High School Dual Enrollment Classes
Grand Canyon University offers dual enrollment classes as an affordable and efficient way for high school students to gain a head start on earning their college degree. Earning college credit provides students with college-level academic skills while still in high school and an accelerated college pathway that reduces time to graduation.
Easy Transferability
Courses transfer into GCU degree programs, and high school students who attend GCU will be eligible for freshman scholarships. GCU is regionally accredited, so in general, universities that accept transfer credits should accept dual enrollment credits. However, it is at the discretion of the receiving university whether or not to accept credits for transfer.
Dual Enrollment for Homeschool Students
GCU offers the same dual enrollment resources and opportunities to home-schooled students. We will accept your academic transcripts and do not require additional testing* or validation for your transcripts. You can get a head start on your college journey through dual enrollment, where you can choose from 50 university-level courses, take up to 60 credits during high school and attend classes online for your convenience.
Find out more about what GCU offers for home-schooled students and the benefits of taking dual enrollment classes.
*English and Math courses may require a student to complete GCU’s free, fully online placement exam
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Online dual enrollment classes are seven weeks and offer high school students the flexibility and convenience to start earning college credits on their schedule, among many other benefits. GCU's various online offerings also help high school students earn the credits they desire.
See the table below to view a list of dual enrollment courses offered online.
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GCU offers a discounted tuition rate for dual enrollment courses; all courses are $52.50 per credit and students can earn up to 60 college credits while still in high school! Compared to courses while in college, GCU’s dual enrollment opportunity offers the potential for significant cost savings in the long-run.
Student support resources available to both undergraduate and high school students in the dual enrollment program include the Academic and Career Excellence (ACE) Centers, Learning Management System orientation, tech support, library assistance, student IDs for accessing campus and more.
Dual enrollment students earning college credit while still in high school experience the same level of instruction and academic rigor as our traditional college students. This way, students will be prepared to succeed at the next academic level of study when they enter college.
Registration is typically completed in under 10 days, guided by a counselor who is committed to enrolling students in classes that best meet their needs, interests and goals.
Accelerate Your Academic Journey
When you choose GCU Dual Enrollment, you’ll work directly with a counselor who specializes in helping dual enrollment students like you create individualized pathways toward their intended areas of study.
This pathway will help you take the right courses towards your major and get you into your area of study faster once you reach college.
Tackle your general education requirements and electives before leaving high school, shorten your time to graduation, save money on tuition and increase your earning potential for the future.
Whether your dream is to be a software engineer or a nurse, GCU will tailor your dual enrollment journey to you, so by the time you step onto a college campus you’re jumping into core classes right away.
For more information regarding dual enrollment classes, contact us at 855-GCU-LOPE.
Student Qualifications
- High school juniors or seniors with an unweighted GPA of
3.0 or above - High school sophomores with an unweighted GPA of 3.25 or above
- All students taking English or math courses will be required to take an online placement test
Dual Enrollment Courses on GCU's Main Campus
Courses may be available during traditional semesters and/or summer. Students attend lectures and labs in person on GCU's main campus where they get a glimpse into college life at GCU. See a list of dual enrollment courses offered on GCU’s main campus in the table above.
Dual Enrollment Courses at High Schools
High school dual enrollment classes are available for students who attend eligible Arizona high schools. These dual enrollment courses range from general education classes to individual courses that can help students find their purpose before attending college.
For High School Districts and GCU
- Increases high school graduation rates
- Promotes high school student motivation and engagement
- Provides students with more advanced, rigorous coursework, as well as more diverse course offerings and electives
- Helps build college awareness
- Supports college access for a wide range of students
- Prepares students for the academic and behavioral expectations of college
For Students
- Eligibility for standard scholarship opportunities at GCU
- Access to the ACE Centers (online and walk-in tutoring) and GCU library services
- Open invitations to GCU campus and sporting events
- Savings in college tuition, books and fees by completing degree in three years
- Early career exploration with professional support by the ACE Centers
High schools and homeschool co-ops can create a custom 15-week online cohort modality program to give students a head start on earning their college degree. This allows your students to get used to the academic rigor of college coursework while still in the comfort of their current environment. Course curriculum is 15 weeks; however, we understand that scheduling can be difficult. Therefore, our scheduling is flexible in terms of extending the course. For example, the course can be adjusted to 16 weeks with one week off to accommodate for fall break.
Choose from any of our seven-week courses below and build your own dual enrollment program based on your school’s needs and schedule, as well as your student’s interests. Each course in the custom cohort runs for fifteen weeks to ensure that your students have plenty of time for regular schoolwork and extracurricular activities. You’ll work directly with GCU’s dual enrollment team to create your custom cohort program based on your desired courses and dates.
The new 15-week course option allows for a collaborative experience between GCU and your institution, if desired. All 15-week courses will staff a GCU instructor as the teacher of record, but if there is a faculty member at your school who is interested in guiding classroom discussion and participation for the course, then we can ask our instructor to work with the facilitator for a joint experience. Discussion and participation would be the only things guided by your instructor – all grading, feedback on assignments and course materials will still be handled by GCU. Of course, if a hands-off approach is more appropriate for your faculty, then we will have the GCU instructor handle all aspects of the online course, including discussion and participation.
Dual Enrollment instructors deliver content that incorporates best practices in teaching, technology, classroom engagement, ethics and more in a specific area. GCU and instructors collaborate to provide academic support, curriculum approval and monitoring of the course effectiveness. Dual Enrollment instructors receive ongoing training, support and professional development from GCU faculty.
Instructor Requirements
- Master's degree or higher in the content area OR a master's degree with 18 graduate hours (500+) in the content area
- Exceptional expertise qualifications set and approved by the colleges
- Completed online dual enrollment adjunct faculty application with resume and unofficial transcripts (official transcripts are required for final approval)
Curriculum Approval
- Create syllabus that incorporates university templates, standards and objectives into current curriculum
- Utilize university benchmark exams/assignments and grading rubrics
- Provide course materials for approval