Bethany’s dual credit courses offer high school students great savings in time and money by providing concurrent enrollment in high school and college through online classes taught by Bethany Lutheran College faculty. High school students take college courses that can be accessed at any time during their high school day or in the convenience of their home.
Dual credit courses are one semester long (concurrent with the Bethany academic calendar) and are normally priced at $1,185 per credit. However, students that attend a Bethany Advantage Partner School are eligible for the Bethany Advantage Grant* allowing qualified high school students to take courses at just $125 per credit.
Students taking courses through the Bethany Advantage Grant program who then enroll as full-time students at Bethany after high school are eligible to have the entire amount paid for those courses credited towards their tuition cost during the first semester of full-time attendance. This credit will appear in the form of a tuition scholarship, making the net cost of the courses taken through the Bethany Advantage Grant program $0.
*Minnesota PSEO students may enroll in the dual credit courses but are not eligible for the Bethany Advantage Grant.
High Schools: If you are interested in offering a class through one of your on-site instructors, contact us about the Bethany Endorsed Instructor option.
Dual Credit Program Requirements
To assure that dual credit students are ready to succeed in college courses, students must be high school juniors and seniors who demonstrate a GPA of 2.8 or higher as they apply for the Bethany Dual Credit program. A student with a cumulative GPA below 2.8 might still be considered, but must submit a letter of recommendation from a high school counselor presenting reasons the student is expected to be successful.
For dual credit coursework to count toward a Bethany degree students need to earn a grade of C or better. An individual grade of C- or below may disqualify a student from continuing in the dual credit program.
Important Dates
2024-25
Fall Semester
August 20 – December 12
Application Deadline April 30
Apply Today!
Registration opens April 30.
2024-25 Spring Semester
January 6 – May 9
Application Deadline November 15
Apply Today!
Registration opens November 15.
How to Apply
NEW STUDENTS
1. Complete the Bethany Lutheran College application form online.
2. Have an official copy of your high school transcript sent to Bethany Lutheran College.
3. Complete Online Learner Contract through your Application VIP Status Page.
Common Questions about Dual Credit
In dual credit courses at Bethany Lutheran College students learn from professors who are experts in their fields and who believe that the Bible is the true word of God. Bethany professors teach their subjects from Christ-centered perspectives.
There are many practical reasons to take college courses while in high school. Dual credit courses at BLC are a great way to:
- explore college programs
- save money on college tuition
- enrich your future college experience by freeing up credits so you can comfortably participate in athletics, spend a semester studying in another country, or work an internship
- prove your ability to succeed in a college course
As a new student you need to complete the electronic online application, print and complete the Online Learner Contract, and have a copy of your high school transcripts sent to Bethany Lutheran College by mail or e-mail from your high school guidance office.
Once you have been accepted, you will receive course registration instructions in an e-mail from Bethany. You can choose your courses online after registration opens using the “Student” tab in MyBLC.
Returning students need to complete a new Online Learner Contract including signatures from a parent and high school counselor.
Once the Online Learner Contract has been sent by mail or e-mail, and after registration opens, you can choose your courses online using the “Student” tab in MyBLC.
After you register for an online course, a bill will be mailed to the address entered on your Bethany application. Dual credit students must pay for their online courses before the first day of class (or the payment date noted on the bill). Failure to pay by the deadline will result in a dropped registration.
No, these courses will follow the academic calendar of Bethany Lutheran College.
No. Dual credit courses are college courses, so they are deeper and faster-paced compared to high school courses. Students in dual credit courses are expected to read college textbooks, write complete and thoughtful paragraphs and essays, collaborate with other college students, take rigorous quizzes and exams, and work independently to complete work by due dates.
Bethany Lutheran College awards credit for courses completed with a grade of C or above. However, not all courses will apply for all types of degrees. For example, credits earned in the Audio/Video Production course will not be applicable toward a degree in nursing. Director of Admissions Nick Cook and Estelle Vlieger can help you identify which courses are appropriate for specific degree programs.
Bethany Lutheran College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, therefore many colleges will accept credits from BLC dual credit courses. However, other colleges may have their own policies regarding the minimum grade necessary to earn credit for a dual credit course, they may only accept certain courses, or they may not accept any college credits earned in high school. You must check with an admissions counselor from the college you plan to attend to be sure that credits earned in Bethany dual credit courses will transfer.
Different high schools and colleges handle dual credit grades in different ways. Some high schools only accept certain courses for high school credit, and may apply special weighting to dual credit course grades. Check with your high school guidance counselor to see which courses you are able to take and how they will impact your GPA.
If you attend Bethany Lutheran College the grades you earn in your dual credit courses will apply to your college GPA. If you plan to attend a different college, you must check with an advisor at that college about whether grades from dual credit courses will count toward your college GPA.
When students who are U.S. citizens take a dual credit course, a form 1098-T is automatically generated so the tuition can be claimed as their families complete their taxes. This tax form must be sent to the student and cannot be sent to a high school. Consequently, if you are a U.S. citizen your family must pay for the online course, not your high school. If your high school usually pays tuition for online courses, check to see whether you can be reimbursed.
If you are an international student who is not a resident of the U.S., because you will not receive any U.S. tax forms your high school is allowed to pay for your tuition.
Yes. Dual credit courses should be taken by responsible students who are ready for the high expectations of college courses. If you do not exert the effort required to succeed in an online course and you earn a low grade, that low grade will be a part of your permanent college transcript that colleges will see when evaluating your application for admission. If you withdraw from a dual credit course before you receive a grade, a “W” will be recorded on your BLC transcript.
It might. If you take several dual credit courses and then withdraw from the courses, or if you earn grades too low to earn college credit, the credits for those courses still count as credits attempted but not completed. At Bethany, students must successfully complete at least 67% of the credits they attempt to be eligible for financial aid.
It can happen, but only if you take the wrong kinds of dual credit courses in high school. This is particularly problematic if you decide to change your major during college. A typical Bethany degree requires around 128 credits of coursework, but students may take some extra courses of interest that do not apply to their majors and still receive financial aid for those courses. At Bethany, if students take over 192 credits of coursework, they can lose financial aid eligibility. Most students will not approach this maximum, but students who change majors usually need to take more credits of coursework to complete the new requirements. If you already took several high school dual credit courses that do not apply to your major, you may exceed the financial aid maximum.
Most of the dual credit online courses offered by Bethany Lutheran College are general education courses – courses that are required for all majors. Even if you change your major in college, general education courses transfer to the new program because they still apply. While it is beneficial to explore areas that interest you by taking courses in specific programs (i.e. Audio/Video Production or Criminal Deviance and Justice), it is safest to earn general education credits that apply to any program (i.e. Intro to Theatre, College Writing, or College Algebra). Please contact Director of Admissions Nick Cook and Estelle Vlieger for help identifying which courses are most appropriate for you.
Boost Program
From the start of the junior year of high school through senior year, these are the online college classes often taken by area of interest and the typical order.
College Writing (fall)
Introduction to Fiction (spring)
Medical Terminology (fall)
Nutrition (spring)
College Writing (fall)
Introduction to Fiction (spring)
Introduction to Legal Studies (fall)
Criminal Deviance & Justice (spring)
College Writing (fall)
Speech (spring)
General Psychology (fall)
Music Appreciation (spring)
Macroeconomics (fall)
History of USA 1 or 2 (spring)
College Writing I (fall)
Statistics (spring)
College Writing I (fall)
Introduction to Fiction (spring)
Music Appreciation (fall)
History of USA 1 or 2 (spring)
Media/Communication Boost
College Writing I (fall)
Speech (spring)
General Psychology (fall)
History of USA 1 or 2 (spring)
Engineering/Computer Boost
Macroeconomics (fall)
Speech (spring)
Programming 1 (fall)
History of USA 1 or 2 (spring)
Programming 2 (spring)
High School Dual Credit Courses
The courses listed below are traditionally offered for our dual credit students.
For all courses, including those not eligible for high school dual credit, please see our full course catalog.
Semester One:
- ENGL110 College Writing I (syllabus)
- ECON203 Principles of Macroeconomics
- PSYC100 General Psychology (syllabus)
- COMS103 Intro to Programming I
- BIOL280 Medical Terminology (syllabus)
- HIST207 History of USA I (syllabus)
- MUSC102 Music Appreciation (syllabus)
- LEGL210 Introduction to Legal Studies
Semester Two:
High School Dual Credit Courses
The courses listed below are traditionally offered for our dual credit students, please see the full course list for specific semester offerings as not all classes are offered every semester.
For all courses, including those not eligible for high school dual credit, please see our full course catalog.
BIOL280 Medical Terminology – 3 credits
Course Description: A study of the prefixes, suffixes, and roots involved in the language of medicine used by health professionals.
View syllabus here.
COMM111 Fundamentals of Speech – 3 credits
Course Description: Study of the verbal communication process. An introductory course in the principles of public speaking and language awareness. Includes the delivery of several types of speeches as well as opportunities to evaluate speeches and speaking styles.
View syllabus here.
ECON203 Principles of Macroeconomics – 3 credits
Course Description: Theories of economic fluctuation, income determination, international trade, and economic growth are introduced. Additional topics include the role of the banking system in the economy and monetary and fiscal policies for economic stabilization.
View syllabus here .
ENGL110 College Writing I – 3 credits
Course Description: Through a variety of writing assignments and activities, successful students of ENGL 110 will learn to generate ideas, experiment with ways to express them, and craft their thinking on paper into effective, reader-based prose both for academic and creative settings.
View syllabus here.
ENGL205 Introduction to Fiction – 3 credits
Course Description: This course introduces literary terminology most commonly used in discussing and writing about short stories and novels. British and American literature is selected from the 19th-21st centuries. Emphasis is placed on relationships between authors’ lives and their fiction, as well as individual works of fiction that have influenced other authors’ fiction. Cultural literacy is also addressed, with a focus on the research of literary allusions.
View syllabus here.
HIST207 History of USA I – 3 credits
Course Description: This course surveys the history of the United States from its Native American and European colonial roots through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Topics include the American Revolution, Westward Expansion, and the Sectional Crisis.
View syllabus here.
HIST208 History of USA II – 3 credits
Course Description: This course surveys the history of the United States from the late 19th century to the present day. Topics include the Indian Wars, Immigration, Progressive Era Reform, the Great Depression and New Deal, the World Wars, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the War on Terrorism.
View syllabus here.
HLTH201 Nutrition – 3 credits
Course Description: The scientific study of nutritional needs throughout the life span; includes interaction and function of nutrients in metabolic processes and examines dietary choices related to behavior and health.
MATH130 Applied Algebra and Trigonometry – 4 credits
Course Description: This course is designed to study topics in algebra and trigonometry through the perspective of applications. Concepts studied include polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions. Additional topics include right triangle trigonometry, trigonometric identities, and laws of sines and cosines. The course focuses on mastery of critical skills and exposure to new skills necessary for success in subsequent math courses.
MATH120 Introduction to Statistics – 3 credits
Course Description: Beginning statistical theory and practice are introduced through topics of data collection, sampling techniques, organization and presentation of data, measurement of central tendency, probability concepts, discrete and continuous probability distributions, statistical estimation, hypothesis testing, correlation analysis, linear regression and analysis of variance.
View syllabus here.
MUSC102 Music Appreciation – 3 credits
Course Description: Introduction to music as artistic expression. No musical background necessary for this course.
View syllabus here.
PLSC105 American Government – 3 credits
Course Description: Introduces the student to the American system of government, and to foster an understanding of and appreciation for the Constitution of the United States. Review how federal institutions function and the management thereof, the role and function of the state, regional and local units of government, and a glimpse of political campaigns and elections.
View syllabus here.
PSYC100 General Psychology – 3 credits
Course Description: Provides an overview of the major concepts of psychology viewed through contrasting perspectives and gives students a general knowledge base pertaining to the field. A wide range of topics are covered, including: biological influences, learning and memory, development, social factors, abnormal behavior, and therapy. Emphasis is placed on the relevance of psychology to everyday life and faith.
View syllabus here.
SOCL101 Introduction to Sociology – 3 credits
Course Description: This foundational class examines the structure of social groups and analyzes social interaction. Emphasis is given to sociological theories and methodologies, which help understand and explain human group behavior.
SOCL240 Criminal Deviance and Justice – 3 credits
Course Description: Criminal deviance and the social and legal process of defining and punishment are examined. Topics include crime types, criminal careers, theories of crime causation, and an introduction to crime control systems.
View syllabus here.
Have a question about High School Dual Credit Courses? Email dualcredit@blc.edu.
Honors High School Music – join us on campus for special events for musicians currently enrolled in high school.
Next Steps
Interested in studying at Bethany? Scheduling a campus visit is a great way to see what we have to offer. You can meet professors or sit in on a class too! Contact our admissions office to learn more.