Welcome to the Minnesota State Concurrent Enrollment Credentialing Pathways site! Learn more about what our seven Universities have to offer high school instructors seeking to meet minimum faculty qualifications to teach Concurrent Enrollment.
Your Minnesota State universities offer the graduate programs and courses you need to meet HLC concurrent enrollment guidelines, delivered online to fit your schedule.
We’ve created an easy, one-stop-shop with everything you need to know about funding sources, what courses are offered, when they are offered, and how to get started.
I am interested in graduate courses. What do I do next?
If you are a current or future concurrent enrollment instructor in Minnesota:
*Note: High school instructors are encouraged to follow their local district processes. The steps below may not include steps required by your district.
Step 1: Identify how many graduate credits you need.
Provide your partnering college or university with all relevant documentation of all graduate coursework already completed and request a review of all courses to determine how many graduate credits you need to obtain in order to meet minimum faculty qualifications to teach the course(s) you are currently teaching or plan to teach.
Step 2: Obtain approval to pursue graduate coursework.
Obtain written approval from your high school principal or superintendent to enroll in the graduate coursework prior to pursuing any graduate coursework.
Step 3: Select graduate course(s).
Identify graduate course within your discipline for which you would like to enroll. Note that courses are offered in a variety of modalities (e.g., face-to-face, online, hybrid) and not all are available for state funding.
Step 4: Obtain pre-approval to enroll in the courses.
Contact the Concurrent Enrollment Director at your partner college or university to obtain pre-approval prior to enrolling in any course. Each graduate course must receive pre-approval to ensure that the course will count towards meeting minimum faculty qualifications for your discipline at that college or university.
Step 5: Identify potential tuition support.
- Consult with your district for potential tuition support.
- Review eligible course list at the Statewide Partnership for Concurrent Enrollment or 18 Online sites to identify if your courses are eligible for tuition support. Additional steps are required to obtain tuition support through these programs (more information is available on their websites).
Step 6: Apply to the University.
Submit the Graduate Online Application for the university offering the course(s) you wish to enroll in.
Step 7: Enroll in courses.
Follow the steps provided by the university to enroll in the graduate course(s) you have chosen.
State Tuition Support
High school teacher teaching concurrent enrollment (dual credit) courses are now required by the Higher Learning Commission, the regional accrediting body for Minnesota’s public post-secondary educational institutions, to have a master’s degree in the subject matter they are teaching, or to have a master’s degree and 18 credits in the subject matter they are teaching. To support high school instructors in meeting these requirements, the Minnesota state legislature appropriated funds for two tuition assistance programs: 18 Online, coordinated by Lake Country Service Cooperative and Minnesota State University Moorhead, and the Statewide Partnership, coordinated by the Metropolitan Educational Cooperative Service Unit (Metro ECSU).
18 Online
18 Online offers graduate courses across a variety of disciplines to support concurrent enrollment instructors in meeting the expectations for minimum faculty qualifications. With support from the Minnesota legislature, a collaborative effort between Lake Country Service Cooperative, Northwest Service Cooperative, and Minnesota State University Moorhead, supported the development of these credentialing pathways and provides tuition support for high school instructors enrolling in approved online courses.
Lakes Country Service Cooperative will support $125 per credit towards the graduate tuition for 18 Online courses provided by MSU Moorhead, reducing the cost to concurrent enrollment instructors to $100 per credit. Instructors will be responsible for paying the remainder of the costs associated with enrolling in the graduate courses.
Statewide Partnership
The state legislature expanded and appropriated funding opportunities for instructors throughout all regions of the state. Metro ECSU, serving as the fiscal host for these monies, represents the following service cooperative regions of the state: Southeast, South Central, Southwest West Central, Resource Training & Solutions, NJPA, and Northeast.
Approved instructors in participating districts are eligible for tuition scholarships of up to $300 per credit at participating higher education institutes. Tuition will be paid upon the successful completion of coursework as reported by higher education institutes. instructors that drop courses after the deadline or who do not successfully complete courses will be responsible for tuition costs. In some cases, application or other fees may be charged by the higher education institute. Instructors will be responsible for paying these costs along with costs for any materials required for the courses. Courses will be considered successfully completed if graduate credits are obtained.
Side-by-side Comparison
| Program | Statewide Partnership | 18 Online |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition covered | Covers $300 per credit |
Students enrolling in courses through 18 Online for spring semester 2020 will be responsible for $100.00/graduate credit. |
| Institutions |
Bemidji State University |
Minnesota State University Moorhead |
| Content Areas | Biology, Business, Chemistry, Communications, English, Geography, Gerontology, Health, History, Math, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Spanish, Statistics |
Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, Business, Chemistry, Communications, English, History, Math, Political Science |
| More Information | Visit Statewide Partnership site | Visit the 18 Online site |
What is the Minnesota State Concurrent Enrollment Graduate Education Collaborative?
In 2015, the Higher Learning Commission identified faculty qualification standards for high school teachers instructing concurrent enrollment courses. Minnesota State has responded by providing courses guaranteed to count towards meeting the minimum faculty requirements to teach Concurrent Enrollment courses within Minnesota State. High School instructors can access high-quality graduate courses available in a variety of disciplines from seven accredited Minnesota State Universities with the most affordable tuition rate in the state to become a qualified concurrent enrollment instructor.
Course Submissions
Graduate Course Review Form (University staff only)
We are available extended hours, seven days a week:
Monday-Friday: 7:00am-8:00pm CST
Saturday: 9:00am-2:30pm CST
Sunday: 11:00am-4:30pm CST
