Dual Credit

PCC faculty and partners

Faculty partnership manual

Download the faculty partnership manual for more details.

A great deal of the support for Dual Credit is carried out by the Dual Credit office, but there are some elements of the Dual Credit system that require PCC faculty and academic deans to play an active role. These responsibilities and the process are summarized below.

Role of the SAC in Dual Credit

  • Curriculum creation and adherence:
    • The SAC creates and recommends curriculum, which is approved by the administration.
    • Once the curriculum has been approved, it belongs to the college and the college assumes responsibility for ensuring that the accreditation standard of “wherever offered and however delivered” is met.
    • Course outcomes, assessment, content, etc. are defined in the CCOGs, and are expected to be implemented by qualified full-time or part-time faculty according to these parameters.
    • If an entity (e.g., contracting college or secondary school) is unable to meet the standards outlined in the CCOG, the course should not be offered.
  • SACs representative faculty may not:
    • Prohibit the application of demonstrated competency or provisional approval within a program or discipline.
    • Deny articulation based on enrollment concerns.
    • Deny articulation based on assumptions that the students will be under-prepared for subsequent course work. Data with regard to this concern will be evaluated.
  • If the SAC wishes to identify courses that are to not be offered as Dual Credit (even when the high school faculty meets the qualifications and the course’s content, outcome, and pedagogy are aligned), then the SAC will need to explain their position. A high school wishing to offer the course should have an opportunity to address the concerns. The PCC Vice President of Academic Affairs is the ultimate decision-maker in such cases. Examples might include:
    • The high school is unable to provide an appropriate learning environment for the course. For example, a course requires significant experience with equipment, materials, or technology that the high school cannot provide.
    • Topics that are a key part of the course could not be adequately addressed in a high school setting.

Establishing the articulation

  • Approval of the high school Dual Credit faculty member:
    1. When a high school proposes a Dual Credit course articulation, the Dual Credit office will contact the appropriate Program Dean
    2. The Program Dean evaluates the qualifications of the high school faculty and completes PCC’s instructor approval form.
      • High school Dual Credit faculty are approved according to the same criteria as on-campus faculty, which are published on the PCC instructor qualifications website.
      • Approval via demonstrated competency or provision approval is an option that requires evidence of demonstrated competency or appropriate conditions for provisional approval. When the criteria have not been published in the PCC instructor qualifications for that subject area, approval by the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs is required.
  • Identification of PCC faculty liaison:
    1. The Program Dean will serve as the point of contact for the Dual Credit office to identify the PCC faculty liaison, who is responsible for establishing the articulation and conducting regular assessments.
  • Course approval:
    1. The PCC faculty liaison and high school Dual Credit faculty meet to discuss course content, outcomes, and pedagogy as well as review the course syllabus. They fill out and sign the course approval form.
    2. The PCC faculty recommends a course for articulation (approves the articulation agreement), and agrees to provide consultation as needed to the high school Dual Credit faculty throughout the term of the articulation.
    3. The PCC faculty liaison, Program Dean, and Dean of Instruction sign the articulation agreement to indicate recommendation to the Vice President for Academic and Affairs for approval.
  • Site visit and course assessment:
    1. A site visit and course assessment are required at the end of the first year of articulation for the agreement to be renewed for a 3-year term.
      • At least one site visit and assessment must be done before each 3-year renewal.
      • If the evaluation of a course must be carried out by an “appropriate PCC content expert,” then it is acceptable for this to be a standard applied to Dual Credit courses. However, if this is not required for evaluation in on-campus courses, it should not be applied to Dual Credit.
      • PCC is under no obligation to continue articulation beyond the contract (1-year initial or 3-year renewal) if the instruction is not meeting expectations. PCC also reserves the right to void an articulation agreement if the high school Dual Credit faculty relocates (no longer at school), or is otherwise in breach of contract.