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Dual Credit

Dual credit is an opportunity for students attending an Albuquerque Public Schools high school to take classes at CNM or UNM and earn college credit and high school credit for the same class. The tuition and fees are paid for and we will even provide the student with the required textbooks for the class. There may be class fees that the student will be required to pay and if you elect to take an online course at UNM there is a $100 fee that must be paid by the student. Otherwise, the student just has to get themselves to class and do the work!

To be eligible for Dual Credit, students must be in 10th, 11th or 12th grades for CNM or 11th and 12th grades for UNM. Students can take any course offered by the college except remedial courses (below college level) and fitness courses. Students will find that most college classes are 3 credits which means the class meets 3 hours a week. For every 1 credit earned at the college, the student will earn .33 high school credits. This means that for a 3 credit class the student will earn 1 full elective credit at the high school.

The important part here is that you will only earn elective credit at the high school. If you take a college English course it will not count as a high school English credit, it will only count as elective credit. There are a few exceptions to this rule but it is rare that students will earn anything but elective credit. See your Counselor for more information. Some students have asked about taking a dual credit foreign language class to help them meet college admission requirements. Every college has different policies on this so you are encouraged to take this credit at the high school to be safe. You can always contact the colleges you are planning to apply to and ask their opinion. Another benefit of taking a dual credit course is that it is one way to meet the graduation requirement that states all student must successfully complete 1 credit of an AP (Advanced Placement), Honors, Online or Dual Credit to graduate: Graduation Requirements

Remember that if you take a 3credithour class at CNM or UNM it counts as 1full high school elective credit and it is earned in only one semester. Be very careful in selecting classes if you are taking the class to meet the high school graduation requirement. There are classes at CNM and UNM that are only 1 or 2 credits and those will not equal the full credit needed at the high school level.

It is also important to remember that the grade earned in the college course will be used in the calculation of your high school GPA. This can be a great way to boost your GPA but can also be bad if you don't do well in the class. All college classes remain on the college transcript and low grades can impact you after graduation.

Always remember that if you decide not to complete a class that you are responsible for dropping the class. Otherwise, the teacher will give you a grade and it will be on your transcript.