This year at LC there have been many new college credit courses available to many students. These classes are offered by Roane State Community College and TCAT in Herriman. Similar to AP courses, dual credit classes give students a college and a high school credit. Katie Hutchison is taking Mrs. Blakistone’s Comp II this semester along with a few other courses. 

“Some struggles I’ve had this year with taking a dual enrollment class is trying to balance the workload since I’m already taking all honors and AP classes,” Hutchinson said. 

Her dual enrollment Comp II class only meets two days a week. Despite having other classes everyday it is nice to have an extra hour of free time after school. This gives her plenty of time to do any homework, extracurriculars, and hobbies. 

Like any class, especially college ones, there are always some ups and downs to the course. Here are Katie’s thoughts on those pros and cons: 

“I would say some advantages of dual enrollment is that your classes meet on certain days rather than everyday. This makes it easier to balance all of the homework and assignments. Another great advantage with dual enrollment is that you get a college credit for taking it, which means it’s one less class you will have to take later on. Dual enrollment also helps get me prepared for college and lets me have a small experience of what my classes may be like next year. On the other hand, I feel that one of the disadvantages to taking a dual enrollment class is that the homework and assignments can be a little more difficult since it is at a college level. There are also less assignments, so if you do poorly on an assignment, it will impact your grade more,” Hutchinson said. 

By taking Comp II (and Comp I) Hutchinson is able to get ahead in college and graduate sooner. This allows her to get ahead in her career choice at a younger age! It is a wonderful opportunity to take dual enrollment courses that may have not been offered years before. 

I have also taken dual enrollment. I’ve taken about 5 college courses these past two years. I can say that being able to take a class just two days a week gives you the advantage of time for other classes you may be struggling with. Roane State also offers courses at its downtown location in Lenoir City. There are many other classes available there that are not at the high school. TCAT does classes on skills work. These classes are hands-on and help students get work-based learning degrees. Regardless of what you choose to take, dual enrollment is a great way to get ahead in furthering your education or career choice.