Interested in getting a head start on a college education? 

Frederick Community College (FCC) offers a program called dual enrollment, this program allows high school students throughout Frederick county to take college level courses to get ahead academically. Since FCC is a community college, attendees can only be a student there for two years, before either graduating with an associates degree, or continuing onto another college to get a bachelors degree along with any other forms of school a student would want to attend. 

Advantages of taking Dual Enrollment:

There are several advantages to taking dual enrollment such as that all college level classes that are provided by high schools in Frederick county are completely free, and they’re on school campus, allowing students to get easy access to free college credits, with the expectation that they pass the class with a C (70% or better) to get the credit for the course.  

Classroom Expectations from Staff:

What do FCC teachers at Brunswick High School (BHS) expect from their students? A variety of different expectations that rely on independence, time management, and assignment completion.

Ms. Rebekah McCord, a teacher in the English Department at BHS and teacher for FCC English shared the importance of checking in on classwork, even when class isn’t in session.

“Students in FCC classes have different expectations than high school based classes because students need to be more independent, have to be able to manage their time well because they meet only two times a week, which means that they have to be able to complete assignments and check into Blackboard on the days they’re not in class,” said McCord.

Ms. Laura Gray, college level algebra teacher elaborated on attendance, “Students need to come into class with a good solid foundation of algebra that’s going to guarantee success. But they also have to be able to come in and understand that there has to be a lot of work that has to be done outside of the classroom, that they’re not going to get done in class. So a lot of time management, so strong time management skills and independent work,” said Gray.

BHS Student Opinions of Dual Enrollment:

Upperclassman, Edgar Escobar, points out the difference of leveling of classes from a student’s normal schedule to a college class. “The Dual Enrollment system is helpful because it’s a college class, and although it might be difficult at some points […] it’s a different level compared to normal level classes,” said Escobar.

Requirements for taking Dual Enrollment:

In order to take dual enrollment, students must have an unweighted cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.
Assessment scores may also be required to demonstrate college readiness. These assessments could include the SAT, ACT, Accuplacer, MCAP, and more.

For further information about requirements or any other additional information, look at the Dual Enrollment page.