General Information

Dual Enrollment coursework means college level courses taught by postsecondary faculty to high school students who are earning college credit, and may be earning high school credit, for these courses. Courses may take place on the college/university campus, through an online format, or on a high school campus. The dual enrollment credits earned at the institution of higher education may or may not be counted toward the student’s high school diploma.

Missouri Dual Enrollment Partners

Dual Enrollment Teacher Qualifications/Credentials

As for any instructor of college-level courses, high school instructors of dual enrollment courses shall meet the requirements for faculty teaching in institutions of higher education, as stipulated for accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission.

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) serves as the accreditation authority for Missouri’s postsecondary institutions; among accreditation standards faculty standards are considered.  In 2023 HLC offered the following guidance for higher education institutions in the state:

Faculty credentials and qualifications, orientation and training (Criterion 3) The institution requires the same level of credentials and qualifications for faculty in dual enrollment courses or programs that it does for its regular higher-education courses.

HLC’s dual enrollment study notes: “The most common of these provisions [about instructor eligibility] is that colleges and universities use the same standards in selecting instructors for dual enrollment courses as they do for courses offered on their own campuses” (p. 19). Additionally, faculty teaching in dual enrollment courses or programs are appropriately trained with proper orientation for teaching at the higher education level”  https://dhewd.mo.gov/cota/documents/HLCDualCreditGuidelines.pdf

Key to determining precise faculty standards for dual enrollment teachers is to consult the credit granting institution(s) that are partnered with the high school.

A sample of institutional faculty standards for 2024-2025 dual enrollment provides insight into how HLC guidelines are being applied. 

Missouri Baptist University’s website MBU ECP Dual enrollment Requirements – Missouri Baptist University (Mobap) describes dual enrollment teacher Criteria as:

 

Fully Approved: Teachers hold a master’s degree in the discipline or a master’s degree including or in addition to at least 18 graduate hours in the dual enrollment discipline or subfield, three (3) or more years of teaching experience in the subject area, and certification in the subject area.

Approved General Education: Teachers hold a master’s degree in the discipline or a master’s degree including or in addition to at least 12 graduate hours in the dual enrollment s discipline or subfield, three (3) or more years of teaching experience in the subject area, and certification in the subject area.

Provisional Approval: Teachers may be provisionally approved for dual enrollment if they meet the following criteria:

  1. Five (5) or more years of teaching honors or advanced courses in the subject area.
  2. Certification in the subject area.
  3. Demonstrate progress toward earning an academic credential. Teachers will be granted five (5) years from the time that they begin teaching dual enrollment courses to complete the necessary academic credential of a) a master’s degree in the content area discipline or subfield or b) if the master’s degree is in an area outside of the discipline or subfield, 12 graduate hours in the discipline or subfield if teaching general education courses or 18 graduate hours in the discipline or subfield if teaching 300-level courses or above.

A development plan must be included with the initial application for dual enrollment teaching and approved by the Associate Dean of the School or the Dean of the College. The plan will be kept on file in the MBU ECP office and copied to the provost’s office. The plan is subject to annual review to monitor progress toward completion.

Failure to demonstrate satisfactory progress toward completion of the credential may result in removal of the teaching responsibilities for courses for which the faculty member does not possess appropriate academic credentials.

North Central Missouri College’s website Dual-Credit-Enrollment-Guide.pdf (ncmissouri.edu) lists Dual enrollment Faculty information – for qualification as:  In order to provide your students with quality collegiate-level education and to enhance transferability, the Missouri Department of Higher Education requires all dual enrollment instructors to meet the following guidelines: • Master’s degree in the subject they wish to teach or • Master’s degree in any other subject area, with a minimum of 18 hours of graduate coursework in the subject they wish to teach.

Missouri Western State University dual enrollment qualifications are noted at Teacher/Faculty Information | Early College Academy | MWSU (missouriwestern.edu) and state, “High school instructors of dual enrollment/dual enrollment courses are, in effect, adjunct instructors of the college or university providing dual enrollment/dual enrollment. As for any instructor of college-level courses, high school instructors of dual enrollment/dual enrollment courses shall meet the requirements for faculty teaching in institutions of higher education, as stipulated for accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission. Dual enrollment/dual enrollment instructors shall possess an academic degree relevant to what they are teaching and at least one level above the level at which they teach, except in programs for terminal degrees for which they must possess the same level of degree. Instructors using credentials for qualification with a master’s level degree in a discipline or subfield other than that in which he or she is teaching must have completed a minimum of 18 graduate credit hours in the discipline in which he or she is teaching.

Tuition Assistance

No tuition support programs are available at this time.

Missouri Institutions that offer graduate credits for instructors who need additional coursework to meet dual enrollment faculty standards at the credit granting institution

University of Missouri

Missouri State University

Missouri Baptist University

Missouri Western University

Additional Information

Legislative References for Dual Enrollment

  • In 2016, SB 997, an omnibus higher education bill including provisions around dual enrollment, was passed and signed into law by then Governor Jay Nixon. Some of the changes created by SB 997 included an annual dual enrollment provider application process, and the establishment of an approved dual enrollment provider list which the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) uses as part of the Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP). In addition, the legislation established a dual enrollment scholarship fund for students with economic need.
  • RSMo 173.2500 – Dual enrollment Providers and Application
  • RSMo 173.2505 – Dual enrollment Scholarship Fund