Scheduling

Overview

Scheduling courses can be one of the more challenging and technical aspects of implementing dual enrollment pathways. Resources from this section can help partnerships make sure everyone on the team has a shared understanding of how scheduling works for high schools and for community colleges. Partnerships will need to discuss the benefits and challenges of offering dual enrollment within the school day and determine which dual enrollment schedule will best meet the needs of students, particularly those of students farthest from opportunity. Scheduling is distinct from selecting the specific courses and building the pathway. See the Designing Pathways section for more information.

This section of the guide will walk partnerships through five essential questions to consider and discuss when scheduling dual enrollment classes:

1. 1. Requesting Courses. What is the process?
   2. Modality. How will we offer the classes?
   3. Location. Where will we offer the classes?
   4. Schedule. When will we offer the classes?
   5. Instructors. Who will teach the classes?

1. Requesting Courses. What is the process?

Once a partnership has designed the pathways and determined which college courses they would like to offer, it is essential for there to be a process for how and when class sections should be requested from the college. Setting up the process involves close attention to timelines and the needs of the high school and specific college departments. Factors to consider include:

Deadlines

Colleges usually begin their scheduling and staff assignment process at least a year in advance. Colleges should provide deadlines for requesting class sections to their high school partners on a regular basis. Requesting all the classes for both fall and spring, an entire academic year, can help ensure proper course sequencing and give partnerships more time to identify and prepare instructors and share opportunities with and enroll students.

Points of Contact

Establishing points of contact can streamline communication between the high school and college. The people in these roles can be responsible to collect all of the information necessary to schedule classes. There are often several people involved in the process of forming a master schedule and organizing faculty assignments, so it is crucial that the high school and college dual enrollment leads know exactly who to communicate scheduling requests to, and what information they need to provide.

Class Details

The information needed to request and schedule classes may vary by college and by partnership. Colleges should provide templates for requesting classes and scheduling details to their high school partners to ensure that they are collecting all of the information that they will need to schedule the classes.

2. Modality. How will we offer the classes?

Classes can be scheduled using various modalities. The most common modalities for classes are in-person, virtual, and hybrid. Hyflex is a newer modality that offers an innovative approach based on student choice. Class modalities are determined by each partnership based on several factors such as time available in the high school schedule, availability of instructors, availability of facilities, and student preferences. Additional descriptions and considerations for the common modalities for classes are included below.

In-Person

Offering classes in person is often considered the best way to provide a more traditional college experience for high school students. Whether a class is taught by college faculty or a qualified, approved high school instructor, in-person classes give students more opportunity to engage with their instructor and experience the college classroom environment, on the high school or college campus.

Virtual

Virtual classes can either be asynchronous, with no scheduled meeting times, or synchronous, with scheduled meetings times. High school students, especially those taking their first online class, may need additional support with navigating online platforms and may benefit from additional accountability measures and academic support, like check-ins with a high school teacher, tutor or counselor, as they progress through the online class.

Hybrid

Hybrid classes combine in-person with online class time, which can be either asynchronous or synchronous. This option may be especially helpful with classes that require lab hours, which can be done in person, reserving lectures for online. Scheduling at least some of the class meetings in person can help partnerships fit college course schedules within the high school’s term and also reduce the number of days per week that an instructor needs to go to the high school location. For days when the course does not meet online or in-person, the high school should consider where students should be at that time, what they should be working on, and if the students will need supervision and/or support.

Hyflex

In Hyflex courses, students choose between in-person, asynchronous, or synchronous virtual instruction based on their needs. All students must meet the same learning objectives, and colleges may define the required mix of modes for full participation. Though a newer format, it shows promise in addressing diverse student learning needs with flexibility.

3. Location. Where will we offer the classes?

Classes can be offered on high school campuses, college campuses, or at other community locations.

In-Person Classes on the High School Campus

Offering college classes on a high school campus will typically require a formal agreement (i.e. CCAP agreement or MOU) between the community college district and the high school district. Under a CCAP agreement, the community college may close classes that are offered at a high school campus—either in person or using an online platform—during the high school’s regular school day, restricting enrollment in the sections to only students at that high school. See the Instructor Onboarding section for suggestions on how to support college faculty teaching at high school sites.

In-Person Classes at the College Campus

Some partnerships find it beneficial to offer dual enrollment opportunities for students on a local community college campus. While formal agreements are not required for high school students to enroll in classes at the community college, having a CCAP agreement or MOU can help with defining the pathway and setting terms for enrollment, transportation, materials, data-sharing and other elements that are considered between partners that are designing a dual enrollment program.

If the college campus is not located within walking distance of the high school, the partnership should consider transportation between the high school and college location to help ensure equitable access. Partnerships should also consider if they will be able to provide materials for students enrolling in classes at the college, especially if they are enrolling in the course as part of a program or pathway established between the high school and college. College and high school districts may voluntarily share apportionment, which may support the cost of texts and supplies (see CCCCO Legal Opinion 16-02, question G). When high school students are attending classes on a college campus for the first time, they may need additional support navigating the campus, accessing available resources, and interacting with adult peers.

If a high school does not have enough students to fill a class, or lacks the time or facilities to offer the class, colleges can strategically schedule classes at community locations where they can be accessed by high school students from multiple high school locations, as well as members of the community.

Virtual and Hybrid Classes

Offering virtual and hybrid classes can be a great way to increase access for high school students, especially those in remote areas or those interested in a pathway that is not offered at their high school location. If possible, finding ways for students in online classes to interact with their course instructor during the term can strengthen the college experience for students. Some examples of this include scheduled office hours, the instructor visiting the high school classroom, and the class taking a trip to the college campus.

It is important to consider that students may not have access to computers and the internet outside of the school day. Partnerships may be able to provide additional resources to students who do not have adequate means to access and engage with the online course. Some high schools provide a designated class period and/or space on campus for students to receive ongoing support as they participate in their online course.

4. Schedule. When will we offer the classes?

While classes that are embedded into the high school schedule tend to be more accessible for students who have other obligations or limitations on transportation, partnerships have utilized various scheduling methods to help students maximize the amount of college credit that they can earn while in high school.

Scheduling Classes During the High School Day

A common challenge for dual enrollment partnerships is scheduling classes into the regular high school day. CLP created the Scheduling Tool to help partnerships use high school bell schedules to calculate instructional minutes and explore potential class meeting schedules for dual enrollment classes during the high school day. Here are some considerations to support partnerships in scheduling:

• • Comprehensive high schools need to meet an average of 240 instructional minutes in a day to be able to claim state apportionment known as Average Daily Attendance (ADA).
  • If the college course is scheduled outside of those 240 minutes (about four class periods), but still within the regular bell schedule, the high school has met their ADA for those students and can claim full apportionment without counting the college class minutes.
  • See the CLP Dual Enrollment Scheduling Tool for examples of classes scheduled during the school day, outside of the 240 instructional minutes that comprehensive high schools need to claim full ADA.
  • Some structures for offering dual enrollment, including Early and Middle College High Schools and early and middle college programs, only require 180 instructional minutes to claim full ADA (see the FAQ from the California Department of Education). This opens more opportunities to schedule college courses within the school day.
  • Consider scheduling implications for instructors. If the instructor is an employee at the high school, they would most likely be more comfortable with the course being scheduled five days a week, during a period of the normal bell schedule. If the instructor is coming from the college, going to the high school campus five days a week may be challenging. Partnerships can consider reducing class meeting frequency to two or three times a week by scheduling longer class meetings times or by adding online hours to the course (i.e., using a hybrid modality).
  • Block scheduling at the high school, when classes meet for about 90 minutes on alternating days, is much more conducive to traditional college course schedules. Some high schools have changed to a block schedule to better accommodate dual enrollment.
  • It’s important to note that college courses offered through a CCAP partnership agreement may be closed to the general public only if they meet the following conditions: The course must be offered at a high school campus, either in person or using an online platform, during the regular school day, and the course must be part of the CCAP agreement. If courses are offered before or after the regular school day on the high school campus or at a community location, then they must be open to the general public.

Scheduling Classes Before or After the School Day

Many partnerships have addressed the challenges of scheduling classes during the high school day by utilizing time directly before or after the school day. High schools can also extend the first or last period of the day to start or end outside of the normal bell schedule; this allows college classes to meet for more than 50 minutes, increasing the contact hours and lowering the frequency of class meetings per week. For example, classes that meet for 85 minutes count as 1.7 contact hours, and there are often enough weeks in a semester for classes that meet for 85 minutes at a time to meet only twice per week.

Scheduling classes outside of the high school day can create additional barriers to accessing dual enrollment opportunities and may interfere with students’ extracurricular activities, jobs, or family obligations. It is important to consider these factors to determine what supports and resources can be built in to ensure students are set up for success and not shut out of dual enrollment opportunities. Partnerships should also consider additional needs for supervision, student transportation, and meals that may need to be provided for classes outside of the school day.

Scheduling Classes in Evenings, Weekends and Summer Term

Partnerships may also find a solution to scheduling difficulties by offering classes in the evenings, on weekends, or over the summer. Evening and weekend classes could be held at the high school, at the college, online, or at community locations where other learners can access and benefit from them as well. Some classes may be easier to schedule over the summer, when there are fewer restrictions on schedules and facilities. Summer classes could be scheduled at the high school during or outside of the summer school session. Some colleges also host academies over the summer where they bring the high school students to the college campus to enroll in classes and get exposure to the campus culture and resources.

Navigating Different Academic Calendars

Another challenge with scheduling classes is that high schools and colleges often have different academic calendars, holidays, breaks, and term lengths. It is helpful for partnerships to review the following together before scheduling dual enrollment classes.

High school terms often start before community college terms. High school and community college partners should work together to determine if they will start classes with the high school term, the college term, or on some other schedule. For a community college, the term in which a course is scheduled is typically determined by when the course ends, not when it starts. Knowing the end date for a course can help partners backwards map a schedule.

College courses typically do not meet five days per week. Because high school classes meet five days per week, there are usually more than enough contact hours available in the term to satisfy the requirement of the college course. Partnerships may use “extra” days and times in their schedule to start college courses later in the semester, which allows additional time for outreach and enrollment, or to space out class meetings days, which provides time for supplemental instruction and other student support between class meetings. Partnerships need to factor these extra days into their program design.

High schools have more “non-instructional days” than colleges. High schools often have non-student days, minimum days, testing days, rally days, drills, and other scheduled events that would prevent a college course from meeting for the regularly scheduled time. These days should be considered as non-instructional days or “holidays” by the community college when scheduling courses. The CLP Scheduling Tool can help partnerships identify non-instructional days and determine course meeting days and times that will meet the required number of contact hours for each course.

High schools and colleges have different grade deadlines. Community colleges need to post final grades for all students (dual-enrolled and college) soon after the end of the term. Students need grades for college classes posted to their transcripts for transfer purposes and/or to satisfy prerequisites for other classes or programs. It is recommended that partnerships follow the same schedule as the community college in determining the dates for classes ending and collecting grades.

5. Instructors. Who will teach the classes?

Any instructor teaching a community college class must meet the minimum qualifications set by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors and any additional requirements of the college. College departments have their own processes to determine instructor qualifications and equivalencies.

College Faculty Teaching Dual Enrollment

College department chairs and deans assign faculty to course sections based on the requests and needs for certain courses, availability of faculty, and capacity (load) of current or new faculty. When a high school requests that the college provide faculty to teach classes, it is important to consider the following:

Instructor Assignments. Scheduling assignments are offered to faculty based on a process within the college or department that usually factors in seniority, status, and how instructors were hired. Classes count in the overall teaching load for any faculty member employed and paid by the college. Ed Code section 87482.5 sets adjunct teaching load at 67% of full time, although faculty unions may negotiate a lower percentage. Colleges may be limited in their ability to hire new faculty to meet scheduling needs, even when the sections will meet a minimum enrollment. Some colleges may hire faculty specifically for classes offered through dual enrollment.

Preparing College Faculty to Teach at the High School. Navigating the high school campus and high school procedures may be challenging for college faculty. Providing orientations and introductions to the staff, students, and facilities can help faculty feel more comfortable and included on the high school campus. Many college instructors have never taught high school-age students. Providing opportunities to learn about classroom management, pedagogy, and engagement for adolescents can better prepare instructors to teach in dual enrollment. See the Instructor Onboarding section of this guide for more information.

Additional Requirements. Teaching classes may add additional requirements and costs for faculty, such as travel time and costs, requests to update grades, submitting attendance, provisioning progress updates, recommending students for interventions or drops, and other activities. There may also be additional training or background requirements for college faculty teaching on the high school campus, such as mandated reporting training, vaccination requests, and fingerprinting. Some colleges provide stipends to compensate instructors for any additional requirements or costs.

Engaging with Bargaining Units. High school districts should consult with their teacher bargaining unit to discuss any concerns or barriers to college faculty teaching on the high school campus. Colleges should engage with faculty bargaining units to discuss issues or concerns and garner support among faculty.

High School Teachers Teaching in Dual Enrollment

If partnerships are exploring opportunities to have high school employees teach classes, they should consider the following:

Instructor Onboarding. Instructors must apply and be approved by the college (usually the department chair, dean, and/or vice president) to teach courses. Each college has its own application, hiring, and onboarding processes. See the Instructor Onboarding section of this guide for more information.

Additional Requirements. There may be additional requirements of high school employees who are teaching classes. Additional time and cost considerations should be discussed with administration and teacher bargaining units; these may include orientation and onboarding requirements, training and professional development, department engagement, syllabus creation, enrollment and roster management, along with additional reporting requirements to the college like attendance, progress, and grades. Some high school districts provide stipends to compensate teachers for any additional requirements.

Engaging with Bargaining Units. Colleges should consult with faculty bargaining units to discuss any concerns or barriers to high school instructors teaching courses offered through dual enrollment. Colleges should consult with faculty bargaining units to discuss any concerns or barriers to high school instructors teaching courses offered through dual enrollment.

Collaborative Teaching Models (College Faculty and High School Teachers)

Collaborative teaching models, where the college provides faculty to teach the class some days of the school week or online and the high school assigns a teacher to support the students in the class, can provide the following benefits:

Collaborative teaching models may provide a solution for partnerships that face barriers in finding high school instructors who meet minimum qualifications. This model also may eliminate the need for college faculty to travel to high school campuses throughout the week.

High school teachers can provide supplemental instruction and additional support for students. The high school teacher can reinforce ideas and concepts covered in the class, offer structured time for students to do their homework, and provide support for navigating online learning management systems.

High school teachers can support instructor and high school site needs. As employees of the high school, these teachers can notify program leads and counselors of students who are struggling, collect class attendance, and help provide progress reports during the term. The high school teacher can also check in with the college instructor to see how they can support them and/or students who are struggling in the class.