Section 1501.313 Dual Credit

a) Dual credit courses offered by the college for high school students during the regular school day shall be college-level and shall meet the following requirements:

1) State Laws and Regulations and Accreditation Standards. All State laws, ICCB regulations, accreditation standards specified by the Higher Learning Commission and local college policies that apply to courses, instructional procedures, and academic standards at the college apply to college-level courses offered by the college on campus, at off-campus sites, and at secondary schools. These policies, regulations, instructional procedures, and academic standards apply to students, faculty and staff associated with these courses. The Board hereby incorporates by reference the following: Higher Learning Commission Assumed Practices: Number: CRRT.B.10.020. (2018), with no later editions or amendments, available from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604-1411.

2) Instructors. The instructors for these courses shall be selected, employed and reviewed by the community college. They shall be selected from individuals with appropriate credentials and demonstrated teaching competencies at the college level.

A) For instructors teaching transfer courses (1.1 PCS (in the ICCB Program Classification System)), these qualifications shall include a minimum of a master's degree within the discipline or any master's degree with 18 graduate hours appropriate to the academic field of study or in the discipline in which the instructors will be teaching.

B) High school instructors teaching dual credit transfer courses who do not meet the faculty credential standards of this subsection (a)(2) to determine minimally qualified faculty may teach dual credit courses if the instructor has a professional development plan, approved by the college and shared with the State Board of Education.

C) For a high school instructor entering into a professional development plan by December 31, 2022, to raise his or her credentials to be in line with these credentials, the following requirements are in effect.

i) The college shall have 30 days to review the plan and approve an instructor professional development plan that is in line with the credentials appropriate to the discipline being taught.

ii) These approvals shall be good for as long as satisfactory progress toward the completion of the credential is demonstrated, but in no event shall a professional development plan be in effect for more than 3 years from the date of its approval.

• Has a bachelor's degree with a minimum of 18 graduate hours in a discipline that he or she is currently teaching or expects to teach; and

• Agrees to demonstrate his or her progress toward completion to the supervising college, as outlined in the professional development plan. [110 ILCS 27/20(1)(B)]

iv) The provisions of this subsection (a)(2)(B) and (C) shall not apply after December 31, 2022.

D) For a high school instructor entering into a professional development plan on or after January 1, 2023, to raise his or her credentials to be in line with these credentials, the following requirements are in effect.

i) The college shall have 30 days to review the plan and approve an instructor professional development plan that is in line with the credentials appropriate to the discipline being taught.

iii) The instructor shall qualify for a professional development plan if the instructor has a master's degree in any discipline and has earned 9 graduate hours in a discipline in which he or she is currently teaching or expects to teach; or is a fully licensed instructor in career and technical education who is halfway toward meeting the institution’s requirements for faculty in the discipline to be taught and agrees to demonstrate his or her progress toward completion as outline in the professional development plan. [110 ILCS 27/20]

E) For instructors teaching career and technical education (1.2 PCS) courses, these qualifications shall include 2,000 hours of work experience and appropriate recognizable credentials and demonstrated teaching competencies appropriate to the field of instruction.

3) Qualification of Students. Students accepted for enrollment in college-level courses must have appropriate academic qualifications, a high level of motivation, and adequate time to devote to studying a college-level course. The students' course selections shall be made in consultation with high school counselors and/or principals and are restricted to students who are able to demonstrate readiness for college-level work, as determined by placement procedures consistent with those that would be used with college level students. The students shall meet all college criteria and follow all college procedures for enrolling in courses. Credit hours generated by freshman and sophomore students for dual credit courses are not eligible for reimbursement.

4) Placement Testing and Prerequisites. High school students enrolling in college-level courses must satisfy the same course placement tests or course prerequisites as other college level students, when applicable, to assure that they are qualified and prepared.

5) Course Offerings. Courses shall be selected from transfer courses that are direct equivalents of those of baccalaureate institutions in Illinois (i.e., have been articulated) (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1501.309(d)) or from courses in ICCB approved certificate or associate in applied science degree programs.

6) Course Requirements. The course outlines utilized for these courses shall be the same as for courses offered on campus and at other off-campus sites and shall contain the content articulated with colleges and universities in the State. Course prerequisites, descriptions, outlines, requirements, learning outcomes and methods of evaluating students shall be the same as for on-campus offerings.

7) Concurrent Credit. The determination of whether a college course is offered for concurrent high school and college credit shall be made at the secondary level, according to the school's policies and the practices of the district.

b) A community college district shall, upon the request of a school district within the jurisdiction of the community college district, enter into a partnership agreement with the school district to offer dual credit coursework.

1) A school district may offer any course identified in the Illinois Articulation Initiative General Education Core Curriculum package under the Illinois Articulation Initiative Act [110 ILCS 152] as a dual credit course on the campus of a high school of the school district and may use a high school instructor who has met the academic credential requirements under this subsection (b) to teach the dual credit course. [110 ILCS 27]

2) The partnership agreement shall include all of the following:

A) definition of roles and responsibilities for both the college and the high school;

B) the dual credit courses that the high school district will offer its students and location of courses;

C) criteria for eligibility for high school students to enroll in dual credit coursework;

D) limitations that the college or school district may have on course offerings;

E) requirements for academic credentials for dual credit instructors, consistent with ICCB rules and Higher Learning Commission standards;

F) criteria by which the school district shall identify, and the college review and approve, high school instructors of dual credit on the high school campus;

G) the collaborative process and criteria by which the community college district and the school district will work to ensure students with disabilities have access to dual credit;

H) criteria as to how the college will take appropriate steps to ensure that dual credit courses are equivalent to those offered at the community college; and

I) identification of costs associated with the dual credit course.

3) The college shall establish a mechanism for evaluating and documenting on a regular basis the performance of students who complete dual credit courses consistent with students in traditional credit-bearing college courses.

4) A partnership agreement entered into, amended, renewed, or extended after the December 31, 2022, shall allow a high school student who does not otherwise meet the community college’s academic eligibility requirements to enroll in a dual credit course taught at the high school, but only for high school credit. Instructors, in coordination with their higher learning partner, may differentiate instruction by credit section. However, this shall not be construed to allow the award of dual credit to a student who does not meet the requirements of the partnership agreement.

A) High schools shall establish procedures, prior to the first day of class, to notify all individual high school students enrolled in a mixed enrollment dual credit course that includes students who have and have not met the criteria for dual credit coursework of whether or not they are eligible to earn college credit for the course.

B) The expectations for maintaining the rigor of dual credit courses that are taught at the high school and including students not deemed ready for college-level coursework are set according to the standards of the community college.

5) If, within 180 calendar days after the school district's initial request to enter into a partnership agreement with the community college district, the school district and the community college district do not reach agreement on the partnership agreement, then the school district and community college district shall jointly implement the provisions of the Model Partnership Agreement, published on the ICCB website. [110 ILCS 27/16]

6) A college may combine its negotiations with multiple high schools to establish one multi-district partnership agreement or may negotiate individual partnership agreements at its discretion.

c) Within 15 days after entering into or renewing a partnership agreement, the institution shall notify its faculty of the agreement, including access to copies of the agreement if requested.

d) The ICCB shall provide a report annually on its website that reports on aspects of professional development plans as specified in P. A. 102-1077

(Source: Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 14801, effective October 6, 2023)