Spring 2023 Dual Credit Briefing
for
Counselors, Administrators, and Site Facilitators

Updated 10/24/2022

Notice to students and parents: This information is intended for distribution to schools and districts only and may contain details that do not apply to your local district’s participation in MTDA services. If you are interested in enrolling in courses with Montana Digital Academy, your first contact should be with the counseling department or administration of your local public school to discuss what is available locally.  MTDA does not take enrollments directly from students or their parents.

Important Note

Site facilitators and administrators must remain mindful of the fact that dual credit courses have increased rigor and requirements of students and should be utilized only when it is an appropriate placement for students.

Cost-Sharing Information

Per an agreement with the Office of the Commissioner of High Education, MTDA will not require a cost-sharing payment for our dual credit catalog for the 2022-2023 school year.

However, site facilitators and administrators should be aware of the fact that a dual credit option should not be utilized as an alternative to MTDA’s original credit program simply because of the cost differential.  Dual credit courses are more demanding of students and require registration for college credit with the appropriate institution.

Registration

• Please review our student registration page for information on data collection, entrance counseling, and student registration in the site facilitator handbook.  (Note: New handbook release pending.)
• Please be mindful of course requirements and prerequisites.  We rely on local school officials to determine appropriate placement in MTDA programs and services.  If you are in doubt about particular course placements, please contact the MTDA support desk for guidance and advice.  Dual credit courses are typically limited by our partner colleges to students of junior and senior standing that are at least 16 years of age.  Schools are responsible for working with any students that don’t meet that criteria to fill out the appropriate waiver with our partner college.
• As noted in our facilitator handbook, each student account must have an accurate, unique, and functioning email address for each student enrolled in the system.  If your district’s student email system blocks outside emails, please work with your IT department to unblock MTDA email addresses BEFORE enrolling.  Additionally note, Apple iCloud.com addresses do not allow access to many automated email systems; please use an alternative.
• Registration for Spring 2023 dual credit courses is open now.  We will again enforce an “Initial Course Request Deadline” on January 18, 2023.  MTDA will finalize sections on that day and assign teachers.  We may or may not have additional slots open in any particular course after this day.  If you choose to enroll a student on or after the course start date on January 23, 2023, you must play an active role in helping that student get in the course and catch up to pace.  Students that are enrolled after the course starts have a significantly higher drop rate and ultimately lower success rate.
• Please use the enrollment counseling forms when enrolling students and give a copy of the form to the student after enrollment.  This form helps decrease confusion on behalf of the student and their parents and opens up communication lines.  Our enrollment counseling page is here: LINK.

Program Information