2005 Arizona Revised Statutes - Revised Statutes §15-1821.01  Dual enrollment information

On a determination by a community college district governing board that it is in the best interest of the citizens of a district, the district governing board may authorize district community colleges to offer college courses that may be counted toward both high school and college graduation requirements at the high school during the school day subject to the following:

1. The community college district governing board and the governing board of the school district or organization of which the high school is a part shall enter into an agreement or contract that, at a minimum, shall address the responsibility of the community college and of the high school for payment for facilities, personnel and other costs, and the manner in which the college tuition is to be paid by or on behalf of each student shall be clearly stated.

2. Students shall be admitted to the community college under the policies adopted by each district, subject to the following:

(a) All students enrolled for college credit shall be high school juniors or seniors. All students in the course, including those not electing to enroll for college credit, shall satisfy the prerequisites for the course as published in the college catalog and shall comply with college policies regarding student placement in courses.

(b) A community college may waive the class status requirements specified in subdivision (a) of this paragraph for up to twenty-five per cent of the students enrolled by a college in courses provided that the community college has an established written criteria for waiving the requirements for each course. These criteria shall include a demonstration, by an examination of the specific purposes and requirements of the course, that freshman and sophomore students who meet course prerequisites are prepared to benefit from the college level course. All exceptions and the justification for the exceptions shall be reported as provided in paragraph 6 of this section.

3. The courses shall be previously evaluated and approved through the curriculum approval process of the district, shall be at a higher level than taught by the high school and shall be transferable to a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents or be applicable to an established community college occupational degree or certificate program. Physical education courses shall not be available for dual enrollment purposes.

4. College approved textbooks, syllabuses, course outlines and grading standards that are applicable to the courses if taught at the community college shall apply to these courses and to all students in the courses offered pursuant to this section. The chief executive officer of each community college shall establish an advisory committee of full-time faculty who teach in the disciplines offered at the community college to assist in course selection and implementation in the high schools and to review and report at least annually to the chief executive officer whether the course goals and standards are understood, the course guidelines are followed and the same standards of expectation and assessment are applied to these courses as though they were being offered at the community college. The advisory committee of full-time faculty shall meet at least three times each academic year.

5. Each faculty member shall meet the requirements established by the governing board pursuant to section 15-1444. The chief executive officer of each community college district shall establish an advisory committee of full-time faculty who teach in the disciplines offered at the community college district to assist in the selection, orientation, ongoing professional development and evaluation of faculty teaching college courses in conjunction with the high schools. The advisory committee of full-time faculty shall meet at least two times each academic year.

6. Each community college district, on or before September 1, shall annually provide a report to the joint legislative budget committee on the courses offered in conjunction with high schools during the previous fiscal year. In the case of a multicollege district, the multicollege district shall provide a separate report for each college. This report shall include the following:

(a) Documentation of compliance with the requirements identified in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this section.

(b) The number of students in each course who did not meet the criteria prescribed in paragraph 2 of this section.

(c) The total enrollments listed by location, by high school grade level, by course and by whether the program was academic or occupational.

(d) Summary data on the performance of students enrolled for college credit in courses offered in conjunction with high schools, including completion rates and grade distribution.

(e) A copy of each agreement or contract executed pursuant to paragraph 1 of this section.

7. Each community college district shall conduct tracking studies of subsequent academic or occupational achievement of students enrolled in courses offered pursuant to this section. The report of the results of the first tracking study shall be submitted to the joint legislative budget committee on or before September 1, 2003 and subsequent reports shall be submitted to the joint legislative budget committee on or before September 1 of each odd-numbered year thereafter, subject to the following:

(a) The tracking studies prescribed in this paragraph may involve statistically valid sampling techniques and shall include, at a minimum, the high school graduation rate, the number of students continuing their studies after graduation at a community college in this state or a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents, the performance of the students in subsequent college courses in the same discipline or occupational field and the student's grade point average after one year at an Arizona community college or university as compared to the student's college grade point average for courses completed while still in high school.

(b) On receipt of the report of the tracking studies prescribed in this paragraph, the joint legislative budget committee shall convene an ad hoc committee that includes community college academic officers, faculty and other experts in the field to review the manner in which these courses are provided. This committee may make recommendations to the joint legislative budget committee regarding desirable changes in this section or in the manner in which this section is being implemented. A copy of this report shall be provided to each district governing board.

8. A school district shall ensure that a pupil is a full-time student as defined in section 15-901 and is enrolled in and attending a full-time instructional program at a school in the school district before that pupil is allowed to enroll in a college course pursuant to this section, except that high school seniors who satisfy high school graduation requirements with less than a full-time instructional program shall be exempt from this paragraph.