Advantages & Disadvantages of Homeschooling and Dual Enrollment
Find out how you and your homeschooled children can take advantage of homeschool dual enrollment to earn college credits without leaving the comfort of your own home. Earning college credit is possible for homeschoolers through the dual enrollment program.
Dual Enrollment Homeschooling has been around for quite some time, but it undeniably offers numerous advantages. I must confess that I felt a bit apprehensive when I initially enrolled my daughter in dual enrollment (DE) college credit classes as a high school junior. I found myself pondering a few questions:
Is the work going to be too challenging?
Can we expect the professors to be supportive and impartial?
Is it possible to truly save both time and money?
Jumping ahead several years, I find myself as a parent to three homeschool graduates. I have been teaching since 2009 and I have been immersed in the field of DE for several years now. And as a homeschooling parent, there are different options available for DE classes. You may have some similar questions:
Can my teenager manage the workload?
How challenging or impartial are the professors?
Can credits be transferred to other colleges or universities?
Let's explore some advantages and disadvantages of Dual Enrollment, along with a quick checklist to consider before enrolling your teenager in a DE program:
Advantages of Dual Enrollment Homeschooling:
Efficiency - Dual Enrollment classes provide an opportunity for your teenager to earn college credits, typically in general education subjects, which can help expedite the completion of a two-year or four-year degree. If these are achieved during high school, it can potentially reduce the time needed for completion by up to two years!
Convenience is a major advantage of many Dual Enrollment programs, as they offer online options that make attending classes much more convenient for students. It can be a great alternative to the hassle of commuting to and from the college multiple times a week, not to mention the challenge of finding a parking spot within a reasonable distance from the classroom.
Expense - It's no secret that many college graduates begin their post-school lives burdened with significant amounts of debt. Dual Enrollment classes often come at a more affordable price compared to traditional four-year college and university classes.
DISADVANTAGES of Dual Enrollment Homeschooling:
I often receive feedback from homeschooling parents and students expressing concerns about the subpar quality of certain distance education classes. We're discussing instructors who put in minimal effort or occasionally fail to attend class, often without any prior notice to inform students not to commute or log in online! During online classes, it is not uncommon to encounter students who prefer to keep their cameras off and remain unresponsive when the professor tries to engage with them. I've encountered students who have expressed dissatisfaction with their instructors' feedback in the past. They have mentioned receiving minimal or inadequate explanations for incorrect test answers and little to no feedback on their submitted essays. Some students have shared with me their experiences of teachers falling behind on grading for several weeks. One of the students I tutored was enrolled in a Dual Enrollment class. "How is your grade looking at this point?" I inquired with her, 12 weeks into a 16-week semester. "I'm not sure," she responded. "We still haven't received any of our grades!"
My advice is to really investigate the teacher before you register. Read the reviews, ask other students. I don’t let my children take any courses with teachers who have bad reviews. I don’t want to waste my money, their time or their GPA from lazy teachers.
Content Evaluation – It is crucial for you, as a homeschooling parent, to thoroughly assess the content of Dual Enrollment classes before enrolling your student. This is particularly relevant for subjects like English and Psychology that involve aspects that may not align with your values and beliefs.
Homeschooling parents and their teenagers often can have unsettling accounts of their experiences with Dual Enrollment classes. At times, when discussing the class content, students became visibly emotional if they have been sheltered to some degree in previous courses. Provocative and explicit literature readings discussed in class with students of different genders? Disturbing and graphic films and film clips that students were required to watch in class or risk receiving a failing grade? If one of the reasons you homeschool your kids is to protect them from such experiences, it's important to note that objectionable content is increasingly prevalent in Dual Enrollment classes. Typically, subjects such as math and science are less likely to contain material that your family might find objectionable, naturally. However, it is important to note that objectionable content has already made its way into seemingly non-controversial classes.
Subjectivity/Propaganda – Surveys conducted over the years have consistently shown that a significant majority of higher education professors, including those in community colleges, tend to hold specific political beliefs that may differ from your own. Many instructors feel compelled to alter the perspectives of their students, rather than merely presenting information from different angles. One community college professor in my area recently expressed a strong determination to challenge and broaden students' perspectives during their time in his class.
At one major university, a recent survey uncovered an interesting finding: close to 60 percent of students expressed apprehension about participating in class discussions due to concerns about potential consequences. It is quite disheartening to hear about the shared experiences of numerous homeschooled Dual Enrollment students across different states. These students have encountered instructors who have shown a lack of respect for their beliefs, unfairly penalized them by lowering their essay grades due to differences in viewpoint, or even failed them in class, even when the failure was mathematically impossible!
Discover the concept of "transferability." If you're aware that your teenager is considering a different college or university after completing their dual enrollment, it would be beneficial to reach out to the institution and inquire about the acceptance of those dual enrollment classes. Many students choose to take General Education Dual Enrollment classes such as U.S. History, Composition I, International Literature, American Government, and more.
Dual-enrollment homeschooling offers families the opportunity to save valuable time and financial resources. As a homeschooling parent, it's important to thoroughly consider the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating this into your teen's homeschool experience. This will ensure that it becomes a valuable and educational aspect of their journey.
