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The idea of showing up for your first day of college with a couple dozen hours of credit is attractive to many high school students. But Texas state universities and private or out-of-state schools have different rules for accepting those credits.
Jordan Buescher is a senior at Lubbock High; he's preparing for the future by taking dual credit classes from South Plains College. When he graduates in May he'll start college as a sophomore with 35 college credit hours.
"I'm glad it will save us a lot of money because tuition is more and more expensive each year," says Buescher.
But it will depend on where he chooses to continue his education for the credits to count. The state identifies core curriculum and and requires public universities to accept credit for them. But those rules don't apply to private and out-of-state schools.
South Plains College's dual credit program started 15 years ago. 25 percent of enrollment comes from distance learning high school students. The college makes agreements with universities in Texas to make sure their credits are accepted.
But occasionally students are caught off-guard says Jim Walker with SPC's distance education program.
"Most typically it would happen with a private institution as opposed to a state institution," says Walker.
SPC student Kevondrick Jordan graduated from Estacado High School last year with 12 college hours from dual credit. After this year he'll transfer to a university. He's prepared for the possibility of credits not transferring.
"I would be disappointed maybe, but the fact that you already have a feel and you got the experience from the class here, I don't think it's a lose-lose situation," says Jordan. "I just think it'd be something to learn from."
Jordan is looking at transferring to either Texas Tech or Oklahoma State. He plans to check first to see which university accepts the credits before making the move.
Counselors say it's best to research and plan ahead before deciding which dual credit courses to take. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is working on producing materials to show which courses apply toward specific majors in public universities.
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