An Organization for Education Professionals
Administering or Participating in
Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships

NACEP is a professional organization for high schools and colleges that fosters and supports rigorous concurrent enrollment. Established in 1999 in response to the dramatic increase in concurrent enrollment courses throughout the country, NACEP serves as a national accrediting body and supports all members by providing standards of excellence, research, communication, and advocacy.

What is concurrent enrollment?
Through Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships, qualified students can earn college credit prior to high school graduation. Concurrent enrollment is sometimes identified by other terms such as “dual credit,” “dual enrollment,” or “college in the high schools.” While these terms encompass several different models of accelerated learning, NACEP defines a concurrent enrollment program as one that offers college courses to high school students:

• In the high school,
• During the regular school day,
• Taught by high school teachers.

Such programs provide a direct connection between secondary and postsecondary institutions and an opportunity for collegial collaboration. Although concurrent enrollment programs may have some elements or characteristics of the programs stated below, concurrent enrollment is distinct from the following:

• Programs in which the high school student travels to the college campus to take courses prior to graduation during the academic year or during the summer.
• Programs where college faculty travel to the high school to teach courses to the high school students.
• The College Board Advanced Placement Program and the International Baccalaureate Program where standardized tests are used to assess students’ knowledge of a curriculum developed by a committee consisting of both college and high school faculty.

Concurrent enrollment programs provide a unique and sustainable way to deliver rigorous curriculum to a broad range of high school students. They simultaneously provide a mechanism for delivering ongoing professional development to America’s most talented teachers.