Dual Credit Orientation

1. Dual Credit Orientation Tarrant County College Connect Grapevine-Colleyville ISD

2. Purpose of the Dual Credit Program Exceptional college bound students who are currently a junior or senior in high school have the opportunity to complete college level coursework while simultaneously fulfilling high school graduation requirements.

3. An Investment with Benefits Benefit: Transferable Courses The State of Texas’ Senate Bill 148 requires each institution of higher education to adopt a Core Curriculum of up to 48 hours of college. This core of classes can be transferred in block to any state college/ university in Texas to be substituted for the core of the receiving institution. Tarrant County College has implemented the 46-hour transferable core curriculum. TCC Dual Credit Subjects: English (12 credits) Government (3 credits) History (6 credits) Economics (3 credits) Mathematics (6 credits) Psychology (3 credits) Sociology (3 credits) Biology (8 credits) Chemistry (8 credits)

4. The Basics • Grading -# of grading opportunities are significantly less -Extra Credit • Blackboard -Important class announcements -Grades will be posted -Syllabus should be posted • Syllabus -Contract between professor and student -Professor expectations and learning objectives -Important Class Dates -Download immediately onto desktop

5. Being a Parent of a Successful Dual Credit Student • Communicate with your student first if you think there is an issue. • The syllabus is the determining factor relative to all assignments and grading procedures. • Dual Credit Students are treated as any other Tarrant County College student by faculty when it comes to expectations, motivations, and responsibility. • A Dual Credit Course is NOT a high school course but a post secondary course acknowledged by the ISD to satisfy the high school credit requirement.

6. Who has Access to Your Records? The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 or FERPA •  The purpose is to set requirements for the protection of privacy for students under section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act • Eligible student means a  student who has reached 18 years of age OR is attending an institution of postsecondary education. • When a student becomes an eligible student, the rights accorded to, and consent required of, parents under the Act are  transferred from the parents to the student.  Eligibility is in place upon acceptance to the postsecondary institution. • Students can elect to allow their parents to have access to their records by completing a FERPA release form. • Parents need to be aware that representatives of Tarrant County College (Administrators, Faculty, Staff) are not to engage in conversations regarding a student’s records, course performance, or conduct issues without the signed FERPA release form.

7. HOW TO USE Blackboard www.blackboard.tccd.edu • grades, announcements, syllabus HOW TO USEWebAdvisor www.waj.tccd.edu • class schedule, official transcript

8. Help Desk To log onto your accounts at TCC From WebAdvisor: • Click on What’s my user name? • Enter your Last Name, Social Security Number or Colleague ID and click Submit. • Click on Log In tab • Enter your User Name and the LAST SIX digits of your Social Security Number and click Submit. If this does not work, then you MUST call the help desk (please have your Social Security Number available when you call): 817-515-8223

9. Dual Credit Textbooks GCISD will use the common core textbooks outlined by TCC. Books can be purchased at any TCC bookstore, or ordered at any store with a valid ISBN number.

10. TCC ChoiceCard A direct draft refund program for all Tarrant County College Students. http://www.tccd.edu/Student_Services/Costs_and_Payments/Refunds/TCC_Choice_Card.html

11. Dual Credit Restrictions • Dual Credit students may only enroll in courses for which they have met the course prerequisite requirements. • Student may enroll in up to two Dual Credit courses each semester. • Students are required to make a TCC grade of “C” or better in all courses to continue in the Dual Credit Program. • Student may not drop a Dual Credit course without the high school counselor’s permission.

12. Disability Support Services (DSS) • If students require ANY form of accommodation please notify the counselor or Dual Credit Coordinator to fill out a TCC-DSS packet. • TCC does not follow High School accommodations, all paperwork submitted will go through our DSS department and accommodations will be given through TCC. Contact #: (817) 515-6333

13. Communicating With Your Professors Arrange a time to discuss questions and concerns with the instructor during their office hours. If you have spoken to the instructor, and believe that you need additional assistance. Please contact the Dual Credit Coordinator. - Parents, you cannot call/e-mail the instructor to discuss an issue your child might be having in the class. The student must contact all TCC staff directly.

14. Attendance • Please look at the syllabus for your professor’s attendance policy. If you are tardy/absent to class, if could impact your final grade. • Remember that this is an 8-week college course, and you will need to maximize all class meetings with your professor.

15. Classroom Expectations • Give your professor the same respect that you would give to any adult on campus. • There should be no eating or side conversations during class. • Do not use your cell phone, tablet, or other technology devices during class, unless instructed to do so by your professor. • Come to class prepared everyday!

16. Questions and Answers

17. Dual Credit CoordinatorTamesha Hilliard-Daniels tamesha.hilliard@tccd.edu (817)515-1436