Dual-Credit Pros and Cons

Some of you may wonder why GBC is interested in dual credit classes. The answer is multifaceted, but simply put, dual credit appears to benefit everyone.

Benefits for the Student

• The student can earn both high school and college credit at the same time.
• The courses and credits will be on the student’s GBC transcript and will transfer to many other colleges.
• Obtaining Dual Credit reduces the number of courses needed for a college degree after high school graduation.
• Tuition fees may be lower in Distance Education courses (interactive video or online) or courses subsidized by the school district.
• Courses are challenging, with college-level content and expectations.
• Students are introduced to the college experience while still at home and with their friends, increasing motivation to attend college after high school.

Things to Consider

• College-level content and college faculty expectations may be a difficult adjustment for some students.
• Failing may delay high school graduation.
• Students are responsible for acquiring their own textbooks and materials, a major shift from high school classes where books are supplied by the school. There may be the extra cost of covering the college fees.
• College classes may conflict with extra curricular activities of the high school.
• High school and GBC calendars don’t match, and there may be conflicts with holidays and vacation breaks.
• Dual credit students are college students. As such, the privacy of their educational records is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Great Basin College strictly adheres to FERPA and Right-to-Know policies and procedures as defined by regulations binding the host college and all its students.
• It is the student's repsonsibility to check for transferability of GBC courses to other post-secondary educational institutions.

Benefits for GBC

• Helps meet our mission of providing higher education to the residents of rural Nevada.
• Provides increased diversity in GBC’s student body