Dual Credit Pathways | OCTC

Dual Credit Pathways

MAKE EVERY CREDIT COUNT!

You have many options after high school, including going to a two- or four-year college, pursuing an apprenticeship or going directly to work. 

A two-year degree in programs like skilled trades, advanced manufacturing and healthcare lead to meaningful careers with great pay. Our college has a dual-credit pathway for most of these programs so you can start classes in high school, complete your degree and get to work fast.

If that's not your goal, we can help you get started with your four-year degree by helping you get a head start on your general education courses, which includes your English, math, history and science courses.  

Dual credit courses will help you no matter what your goals are, but choose dual credit courses that fit with your academic and career goals. For example, if you plan to attend a four-year institution, you’ll need at least six credit hours of written communication. If you plan to pursue an AAS degree, on the other hand, you’ll only need three credit hours of written communication. Not all schools accept dual credit courses for their programs. For example, an engineering program may require you to take the math course from their school and a biology program may require you take a specific biology course to count for their program.  It's important that you know what courses you need for a degree at a particular school. Even though your school may offer a lot of courses for dual credit, they may not be what you need to take. Find out what you need and Make sure you Make Every Credit Count! 

Check out our Pathways

We can help you develop a plan to make sure the dual credit classes you take now will get you to your goal after high school. To help you navigate your options, we’ve created dual credit pathways that lead seamlessly from high school to a variety of college programs:

The General Education Pathway is a good choice if you plan to start with us and then transfer to a four-year school. It’s also a good choice if you want to apply your credits to a Kentucky public four-year institution after high school as they should accept the courses in the pathway. Use the Dual Credit General Education Pathway Guide to identify the dual credit courses you should take to Make Every Credit Count!

Course Content

General education courses may include content that is adult in nature. We can’t modify course content for you, but you and your parents or guardians are welcome to preview textbooks and course syllabi before the semester begins to see whether the class is appropriate for you.

The Technical Pathways are a good choice if you want to earn your Associate in Applied Science degree (AAS), which prepares you for in-demand jobs in occupational and technical fields such as healthcare, advanced manufacturing, business and information technology, as well as in several trades. These pathways include a few general education requirements, but the majority of courses required for the AAS degree are technical in nature and specific to your career goal. Use the Dual Credit Technical Pathway Guide to identify the dual credit courses you should take to Make Every Credit Count!

Not sure what you want to do?

These courses are a good place to start, because they’re required for most degrees:

  • ENG 101
  • COM 181 OR 252
  • One dual credit history course
  • One dual credit biology, chemistry or physics course
  • MAT 150
  • POL 101, PSY 110 or SOC 101

Whether you enroll in dual credit with us or another college, it’s important to make sure that every dual credit course you take counts toward your goals.

See our system Transfer Guides to see how your dual credit course work can apply to a four-year degree.