Dual Enrollment For Tuscaloosa City Schools Reaches All-Time High

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Tuscaloosa City Schools (TCS) says the number of TCS students enrolled in dual enrollment courses has reached a record high for the spring 2024 semester.

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In total, the city school system says 382 students are enrolled in 473 courses. This marks an increase of 65% from the 232 students enrolled in Fall 2021.

What's more, TCS said of the students eligible for dual enrollment, 32.9% were enrolled as of fall 2023 — ranking above the 25% nationwide average participation in the program.

“In the Tuscaloosa City Schools, the growth of our dual enrollment participation speaks to our high expectations for each and every student,” TCS Coordinator of Post-Secondary Engagement Andrea Markham said. “Dual enrollment participation is one of many ways in which students can access rigorous coursework.”

She then said it is unlikely the number of students taking advantage of the ELEVATE dual enrollment scholarship will decrease any time soon.

“We anticipate that our participation numbers will continue to grow," Markham said.

TCS says Central High School has the highest percentage of the system's three high schools, with 43.4% of eligible students participating in dual enrollment.

For Northridge High School, approximately 34.1% of eligible students were enrolled in dual enrollment, while 25.1% of eligible students at Paul W. Bryant High School are participating.

Eligible students must be in 10th grade or higher in a city high school, be in good standing and have a 2.5 minimum GPA.

TCS explained that the increase in dual enrollment is largely due to the ELEVATE dual enrollment scholarship, which was created by the City of Tuscaloosa in 2020. The program has since expanded to allow eligible 10th, 11th and 12th graders to take up to 12 free credit hours at The University of Alabama, Shelton State Community College (SSCC) and Stillman College.

SSCC gives students who take dual enrollment using the ELEVATE scholarship during high school the option to take 12 additional credit hours at SSCC in the summer or fall after they graduate high school — all free of charge.

“This is access at its best,” TCS Superintendent Mike Daria said. “When we give our students access, we give them opportunity.”

TCS also said students can take dual enrollment courses through SSCC at the Tuscaloosa Career and Technology Academy (TCTA) in welding, cosmetology, culinary arts, modern manufacturing, Ready-to-Work and industrial electronics.

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