Dual Credit and Concurrent Enrollment Program

Quick link to Dual Credit packet

Dual credit refers to enrollment of high school students in college-level courses offered by a post-secondary institution, either academic transfer or career technical, for which
the students may earn credit towards both high school graduation and a post-secondary degree or certificate.

Concurrent enrollment refers to enrollment of high school students in courses at the post-secondary level that are not designated as dual credit. These courses may include credit, non-credit, academic transfer, career technical or developmental courses. Each high school determines the courses it accepts for high school credit. Students must contact their high school counselors for information regarding high school credit for courses taken from Luna.

All Luna Community Courses are open to dual credit students. However, all students must meet prerequisites if the courses have one. An advisor or HS Counselor can assist in this area. It is important that the student asks if there are any courses offered at their high school, as this changes often.

Luna Community College serves school districts primarily from the Northeastern sector of the state including:

Cimarron High School
Maxwell High School
Mora High School
Pecos High School
Raton High School
Robertson High School
Santa Rosa High School
Springer High School
Wagon Mound High School
West Las Vegas High School

Benefits for Dual Credit Students

The dual credit program offers high school students a chance to take courses that fulfill both high school and college course requirements. Students can take almost any for-credit course offered by Luna, including most CTE courses, so long as they meet all class pre-requisites. Non-credit courses and specialized programs such as Nursing or Cosmetology are ineligible for dual credit. Dual Credit courses can take place either on campus or virtually, including synchronous and asynchronous.

The Luna dual credit program:

provides tremendous savings for the ever-increasing burden of paying for college, by offering free tuition to all seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen who qualify. In addition, books are supplied by your high school. Students are responsible for class fees, supplies, PE, and/or audit courses.
brings college directly to students who would otherwise never imagine going to college.
affords students with the opportunity to earn a certificate or associate degree while in high school.
lets students enroll for courses right at your high school or get a better college experience and attend the LCC main campus.
provides students with free tutoring services in Math and English, through the STEM program and the Reading lab respectfully.
offers students the opportunity to finish the General Core requirements, which are transferable to any four-year institution within the state of New Mexico.

General Dual Credit Information

Dual credit courses can be taken at no cost to the students. Required books and material for dual credit courses are covered by the student’s high school.
First time dual credit students must apply to Luna, and then fill out a Dual Credit Agreement form. Once completed, students can then register for courses using a Dual Credit Request Form.
Some courses will require students to take an Accuplacer test to determine if they can take them. Note, not all courses require Accuplacer scores to be eligible to register. The Accuplacer test primarily denotes eligibility for college level Math and English courses, and for some science courses.
Students require their HS councilor’s approval to register for dual credit courses and are advised to speak with their councilors to discuss potential course pathways.
Students under the age of 18 require a parent’s signature.
Students who register for dual credit courses are considered students of Luna and as such have their information protected under FERPA. Students may sign a Student Authorization to Release Education Records form to grant parents access to their student information.
Students seeking dual credit enrollment must speak to their HS councilors to discuss the program and can reach out to Luna either through their schools assigned off-site campus manager or the dual credit office on site in Las Vegas NM.

Important Considerations

It is a dual credit student’s responsibility to acquire all required signatures and to fully complete the student information sections of all forms (e.g. LCC ID, STARS #, SSN #, GPA, date of birth etc.).
Only original forms should be submitted by students. Incomplete and copies of the forms will not be accepted.
A student is only officially registered for courses when they have submitted all necessary paperwork, it has been processed through the registrars, and they are cleared for class.
All required forms are available online, at your school, Dual Credit office on main campus, and any of the Satellite/Site offices.
Students must work with their high school councilors to ensure they are able to attend and have access to their dual credit courses. For online classes, students must have online access. For classes which would require students to go to main campus, such as the case with many of our CTE courses, the student must both be allowed and have the means of leaving their high school to go to the Luna Campus, then return to their high school. It is up to the high school councilors discretion on whether a student is able to do this or not.

Dual Credit Eligibility

Student must meet the College’s eligibility requirements.
Student must have not yet received a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential (GED).
Student must be enrolled as a second semester freshmen, sophomore, junior, or senior at an accredited public or private high school. Each high school may have different restrictions regarding what grade students may participate in the dual credit program, so please check in with your high school councilor.
The student’s high school may have additional requirements for eligibility before they allow students to participate in dual credit. Please check with your high school counselor to ask about any requirement.

Private School Students and Dual Credit

To apply, Private School students must:

meet the College’s eligibility requirements.
show home school registration with the New Mexico Public Education Department.
have a state-issued student ID number (STARSID), if you don’t have one please contact your high school or the school district office for your state issued Student ID# (STARS ID or Uniq-ID)
not have already received a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential (GED).

Home School Students and Dual Credit

Home school students are eligible to participate in the dual credit program until their 18th birthday. These students are subject to the same qualification and provisional policies as are public school students and are limited to a maximum of two dual credit courses per semester, until their last year of high school, at which time, they may take a maximum of four courses.
Homeschool students do not have to pay for dual credit, however they must pay for the cost of books and course materials.

To apply, homeschool students must:

meet the College’s eligibility requirements.
show home school registration with the New Mexico Public Education Department.
have a state-issued student ID number (STARSID), if you don’t have one please contact your high school or the school district office for your state issued Student ID# (STARS ID or Uniq-ID)
not have already received a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential (GED). Home school and private school students are limited to 2 courses per semester. Should they have completed all of their requirements to graduate from high school, they are able to take up to 4 classes.

Important things to remember:

Use a black or blue ink pen when filling out applications/documents.
The Dual Credit Request form is available online, from the school counselor or any Satellite/Site office.
It is the student’s responsibility to acquire all required signatures and to fully complete the student information sections of all forms (e.g. LCC ID, STARS #, SSN #, GPA, date of birth etc.).
Only original forms should be submitted, incomplete and copies of the forms will not be accepted.
A student is officially registered for courses when they receive a printed schedule and clear for class.
All required forms are available online, at your school, Dual Credit office on the main campus, and any of the Satellite/Site offices.

Prior to the start of a college semester, visit with your high school counselor make a Next Step Plan, then review the semester Course Schedule. Only select courses that fit into your high school schedule and discuss your eligibility for Dual Credit/Concurrent Enrollment with the LCC Advisors. Students may take courses in the fall, spring, and/or summer semester. Students, in the second semester of their Freshman year, may take one course, then two per semester after that, if successful.

Select a Program/Pathway offered through the LCC Dual Credit Program; choose courses that apply toward that selected pathway;

Dual Credit Provisional Status

First time Dual Credit students are considered to have provisional status. If they complete their first course with a C or higher, they are removed from provisional status and may take more courses per semester (see Dual Credit Course Limits).
Students that do not receive a passing grade, a D, F, or W (withdraw after the add/drop period) in any one course, are placed onto provisional status and will be limited to a single course per semester. Students can be taken off provisional status by passing a dual credit course with a C or higher.

Dual Credit Student Course Limits

First time Dual Credit Students are limited to a single dual credit course for their first semester (3 to 4 credits). If they pass that course with a C or better, they may enroll in a maximum of 2 courses per semester. Classes which have a lab component are considered to be a single class for these purposes.
Only after completing all high school graduation requirement credits, students may enroll in a maximum of four courses a semester (typically during a student’s senior year.), subject to restrictions within the Statewide Dual Credit Master Agreement.

Dual Credit And Students Future Financial Aid Status

Dual-credit courses count toward your college enrollment status for FAFSA/Pell.
Students must take 12+ credits per semester to qualify for a full Pell Grant after HS graduation.
9–11 credits = 75% Pell, 6–8 = 50% Pell, etc., based on the school’s full-time credit baseline.
Schools recalculate Pell disbursement if you drop courses before their Pell recalculation date.
Up to 30 semesters (45 quarters) of remedial classes can be paid for by Pell—after HS you don’t want to waste this limit on low-level courses.
Course credits gained through Dual Credit will affect the total eligible credits afforded by Financial Aid after graduating high school. While students aren’t eligible for aid during dual credit enrollment, the courses still affect SAP (GPA + pace) and maximum timeframe once they become aid-eligible.
Dual credit courses DO NOT count toward the Opportunity Scholarship’s credit limit. The Opportunity Scholarship covers up to 90 attempted credit hours or the completion of an associate degree, whichever comes first, after high school graduation. Dual credit coursework is not included in the 90-hour cap as long as it was taken before receiving the scholarship (i.e., while still in high school).

This allows students to stack up credits early without using up their scholarship eligibility. Post Secondary Education Tuition and Financial Aid New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship Program

Dual Credit / Concurrent Enrollment Students

STEP I - Get Admitted to Luna (Apply)

Complete the online Admissions Application and bring/email an Official High School Transcript to Admissions Office, (skip this step if you are already admitted/have an LCC
Student ID#).
Call or come in to Student Success Center to schedule your ACCUPLACER.

STEP II - Schedule and Take ACCUPLACER

Take the ACCUPLACER placement exam (skip if you have taken the ACT/SAT test);
Take a copy of your ACT/SAT/ACCUPLACER scores to an advisor or school counselor;

STEP III – Visit the Dual Credit Advisors

Complete the Concurrent Enrollment Form or Dual Credit Request Form, and visit the Student Success Center for academic advisement and signature/approval; (MAKE SURE ALL FORMS ARE COMPLETELY FILLED AND HAVE APPROPRIATE SIGNATURES)
Deliver your Registration page to Registrar’s desk; and
Pick up a copy of your class schedule from the Cashier or Fiscal Office, at the same time
If you are a concurrent student, make arrangements for paying the tuition & fees associated with taking classes at Luna
Concurrent students are also responsible for purchasing all books and class materials

Developmental Courses

Students who do not place into college-level courses with the ACCUPLACER test, are encouraged to take developmental courses that help them build their Reading, Writing and Math skills that are needed to be successful in college. Students will be placed into these courses based on ACT/SAT or ACCUPLACER test scores.

Credits for these courses do not count towards graduation, but they do count towards classification (e.g. sophomore, junior or senior). These grades are also averaged into a student’s cumulative GPA, which could affect their financial aid.

The required developmental courses are:

ENG 078 Reading and Writing Strategies (3 cr. hrs.)
ENG 098 Essentials of College Writing (3 cr. hrs.)
MATH 075 General Math (4 cr. hrs.)
MATH 095 Algebra w/Applications (4 cr. hrs.)

Students who place into a developmental Writing and Reading course must take it in their first semester.

Additional Dual Credit Forms & Resource Links:

Academic Calendar
Academic Catalog
ACCUPLACER Information
Dual Credit Add/Drop Form
Dual Credit Agreement Form
Dual Credit Complete Withdrawal Form
Dual Credit Instructors
Dual Credit Request Form
Dual Credit Success Checklist
Concurrent Enrollment Form
Course Schedule
Frequently Asked Questions
High School Counselors
Higher Learning Commission
Public Education Department
Student Handbook
What classes should I take?

Student Services Buidling
Alejandro Montoya
almontoya@luna.edu
(505)454-2557