Dual Credit Handbook

• TSI
  • An institution of higher education, including a college district, shall assess, by an instrument approved in 19 Texas Administrative Code 4.56, the academic skills of each entering, non-exempt undergraduate student as defined in 19 Texas Administrative Code 4.53(24) to determine the student’s readiness to enroll in freshman-level academic coursework prior to enrollment of the student. An institution may not use the assessment or the result of the assessment as a condition of admission to the institution.
• Assessment Instruments
  • Effective Fall 2013, the Texas Success Initiative Assessment (TSIA) was the only coordinating Board-approved assessment instrument used under Administrative Code Title 19. The TSIA, Version 2.0 (TSIA2) replaced TSIA in January 2021, at which time TSIA2 is the only Coordinating Board-approved assessment instrument offered under Administrative Code Title 19. Test administrators of the TSI assessment must follow the requirements and processes for test administration as set forth by the Coordinating Board and the test vendor. Education Code 51.334(a); 19 TAC 4.56
• TSIA2 Standards
  • Effective January 11, 2021, the following minimum college readiness standards (also known as “cut scores”) for English Language Arts Reading (ELAR) and mathematics on the TSIA2 shall be used by an institution to determine a student’s readiness to enroll in entry-level freshman coursework:
    • Mathematics (for college-level coursework with mathematics-intensive designation by the offering institution):
      • A College Readiness Clarification (CRC) score of at least 950; or
      • A CRC score below 950 and a Diagnostic level of 6.
    • ELAR (for college-level coursework with reading, writing, or reading and writing-intensive designation by the offering institution):
      • A CRC score of at least 945 and an essay of at least 5; or
      • A CRC score below 945 and a Diagnostic level of 5 or 6 and an essay score of at least 5.

EXEMPTIONS

The following students shall be exempt from the requirements of Administrative Code Title 19, including the TSI, whereby exempt students shall not be required to provide any additional demonstration of college readiness and shall be allowed to enroll in any entry-level freshman course as defined in 19 Administrative Code 4.53(12):

• ACT
  • Composite score of 23 with a minimum of 19 on the English test shall be exempt for both the reading and writing sections of the TSI assessment, and/or 19 on the mathematics test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI assessment; or
• SAT
  • Administered on or after March 5, 2016: a minimum score 480 on the Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) test shall be exempt for both reading and writing sections of the TSI Assessment; a minimum score of 530 on the mathematics test shall be exempt for the mathematics section of the TSI Assessment. There is no combined score.
• Mixing or combining scores for the SAT administered prior to March 5, 2016, and the SAT administered on or after March 5, 2016, is not allowable.
  • On the eleventh-grade exit-level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) with a minimum scale score of 2200 on the mathematics section and/or a minimum scale score of 2200 on the English language arts section with a writing subsection of at least 3, shall be exempt from the TSI assessment required under Title 19 for those corresponding sections; or
  • STAAR end-of-course (EOC) with a minimum level 2 score of 4000 on the English III shall be exempt from the TSI assessment required under this title for both reading and writing, and a minimum Level 2 score of 4000 on the Algebra II EOC shall be exempt from the TSI assessment require under this title for the mathematics section.
• College Prep Courses
  • A student who successfully completes a college preparatory course under Education Code 28.014 is exempt for a period of 24 months from the date of high school graduation with respect to the content area of the course. The student must enroll in the student’s first college-level course in the exempted content area in the student’s first year of enrollment in an institution of higher education. This exemption applies only when the institution of higher education may enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with a partnering institution of higher education to accept the exemption for the college preparatory course.
  • Dual Credit Course Limitations
    • A dual credit course offered under this section must be:
      • In the core curriculum of the public institution of higher education providing college credit;
      • A career and technical Education Course; or
      • A foreign language.

Instructors in contract programs with public secondary schools must meet qualifications required by the public two-year college as well as the minimum guidelines approved by the State Board of Education. 19 TAC 9.125(b)(1)

Faculty Qualifications

• The college shall select instructors of dual credit courses. A course offered for joint high school and college credit under this section must be taught by a qualified instructor approved by the public college for the subject in which they are teaching. If teaching general education credit courses or associate degree courses designed for
  transfer, instructors must have a:
  • A doctoral or master’s degree in the discipline that is the subject of the course;
  • A master’s degree in another discipline with a concentration that required completion of a minimum or 18 graduate semester hours in the discipline that is the subject of the course.
• Instructors teaching associate degree courses not designed for transfer to the baccalaureate degree must hold a:
  • Minimum of a baccalaureate degree in the teaching discipline or a closely related discipline;
  • Minimum of a baccalaureate degree in a non-related teaching discipline plus adequate related work or practical experience and/or sufficient undergraduate or graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline to demonstrate qualifications for teaching to the content and learning outcomes of the assigned courses; or
  • An associate degree in the teaching discipline or a closely related discipline plus adequate related work or practical experience.
• Faculty who teach certificate courses that are stackable components of an associate degree must hold:
  • An associate’s degree in a closely related field;
  • An associate’s degree and one year of work experience in the field;
  • Three years of full-time work experience in a closely related field; or
  • Under extenuating circumstances, approval by both the Ranger College Vice President of Instruction and the Workforce Division Chair.
• Faculty who teach in a terminal certificate program should have, at minimum, the same level of education they are teaching plus adequate documented work or practical experience unless approved by extenuating circumstance.

The college shall supervise and evaluate instructors of dual credit courses using the same or comparable procedures used for faculty at the main campus of the college. Dual credit courses may be taught on the college campus or on the high school campus. For dual credit courses taught exclusively to high school students on the high school campus and for dual credit courses taught electronically, public colleges shall comply with applicable rules and procedures for offering courses at a distance in 19 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 4. Dual Credit courses may be composed with dual credit students only or of dual and college credit students. Students in dual credit courses must be eligible to utilize the same or comparable support services that are afforded college students on the main campus. The college is responsible for ensuring timely and efficient access to such services, to learning materials and to other benefits for which the student may be eligible.

• A college course offered for dual credit must be:
• In the core curriculum of the public institution of higher education providing the credit;
• A career and technical education course; or
• A foreign language course.

• The High School Partner will designate at least one person responsible for:
• Coordinating and tracking submission of all required documents for admissions and registration.
• Adhering to all established College deadlines, policies and procedures including but not limited to schedule changes, additions, drops, and withdrawals.
• Working in collaboration with Ranger College’s Dual Enrollment Director on all issues regarding dual enrollment, such as admissions, advisement, registration, grading, reporting, and programming improvements.
• The High School Partner’s designated contact is required to attend all the College’s dual enrollment training events.

Ranger College’s designated supervisors must conduct an adjunct faculty evaluation with each High School Partner instructor. To ensure the quality of high school dual credit courses are equal to that of regular college courses, the appropriate Division Chair/Program Coordinator will provide a syllabus, student learning outcomes, and required formal assessment activities, called PLOs or GLOs, for all dual credit courses. A quality teaching environment is required of all dual credit courses. All High School Partners must ensure adequate and appropriate physical resources, which may include a laboratory or shop, if required. Ranger College Division Chairs/Program Coordinators will evaluate the classroom/lab facilities to ensure they are conducive for dual credit instruction. It is up to the High School Partner to keep the facilities up-to-date and appropriate for instruction.

Students are welcome to submit required admission documents to the Registrar’s Office (admissions@rangercollege.edu). However, it is the ultimate responsibility of the Counselor to follow-up and ensure we receive required documentation from your students. Please only send documents requested for students that are applying/enrolling instead of bundles that include all students. The student documents that are requested at the beginning of their college journey are high school transcripts, parent permission form, and qualifying scores.

The enrollment rosters must be sent at dc@rangercollege.edu for each semester.

Roster Deadlines:

• Spring Semester:
  • Applications & Rosters due December 1st
• Summer & May Semesters:
  • Applications and Rosters due April 30th
• Fall Semester:
  • Applications & Rosters due on June 1st

The roster verification is a document with the courses and students enrolled from each high school. It is broken down to courses and every student enrolled in the course. The purpose of this roster verification is for the high counselor to confirm that we have successfully enrolled all students in every course that they had requested. Our goal is to send those verification rosters the week before the first day of class up until it is confirmed.

Counselors must submit drops for students. The Drop Form should be completed and submitted to the Dual Credit Office (dc@rangercollege.edu). A copy of the Drop Form may be found in the Important Forms section.

View a List of Important Dates

Instructor Campus Connect becomes available once you are assigned a course(s).

1. Go to rangercollege.edu
2. Select arrow beside “Academics”
3. Select Campus Connect
4. Select “Campus Connect for Faculty”
5. Username: fac_firstinitialfirst7lettersoflastname Password: letmein

Each Instructor must submit a Roster Certification in Campus Connect by the designated deadline for each course they teach. Instructions are as follows:

1. Login to Campus Connect.
2. Select Roster Certification and term.
3. Select the course from the drop down box (you probably have multiple sections).
4. Choose between:
   1. Attending
   2. Never Attended
   3. Stopped Attending
   4. Click Submit.

1. Login to Campus Connect.
2. Select Grade Entry and term.
3. Select the course from the drop down box (you probably have multiple sections).
4. Select the appropriate grade for each student.
   1. If a student has dropped with a “W” or “Q” you must give a last date of attendance.
   2. If you give a student an “F” you must give a last date of attendance.
   3. Dual Credit students must receive both a letter and numeric grade.d. The grade of an “I” must be pre approved by the Vice President of Instruction.
5. Click submit.
6. You should receive a confirmation email of the grades for your records.

If you need to change a student’s grade for any reason after grades have been submitted through Campus Connect, you must complete a Grade Change Form located in the Registrar’s Office.

Academic Courses are those that are typically required for a student who intends to transfer from Ranger College and pursue a traditional baccalaureate degree at a four-year institution. Some of the more popular academic courses are:

• American History
• English Composition
• American Government
• Economics
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Anatomy & Physiology
• College Algebra
• Art Appreciation
• Speech
• Introductory to Biology

All these courses satisfy core curriculum requirements at Ranger College and will transfer to any public college or university in the state of Texas as a curriculum.

Workforce courses are those intended primarily to prepare students with entry-level job skills. Some of them will also transfer toward four-year degrees. Ranger College has a number of strong workforce programs that are offered as dual credit, including:

• Welding
• Machining
• Automotive
• Cosmetology
• EMT

Undocumented student applicants that do not have a social security number must be assigned a Ranger College identification number before applying. The number assigned will be used to submit an admission application and will be their assigned campus I.D. from then on.

1. Please email the Registrar directly by email admissions@rangercollege.edu to request an assigned number (900000XXX) for undocumented students.
2. Include the student's full name and campus.
3. Once the student receives the assigned number, they must submit an admission application using the assigned number in the social security field.

The following documents are required for Dual Credit applicants and must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office admissions@rangercollege.edu prior to registration:

1. Ranger College admission application
2. High school transcript (unofficial since it does not have a date of graduation yet)
3. TSI (SAT or ACT) Scores – not required if enrolling only in workforce courses or non-core courses.
4. Proof of Bacterial Meningitis Vaccination is required if the courses the student is enrolled in are in-person at the Ranger Campus or one of the centers.
5. Parent Permission Form is required to be eligible for enrollment, not admission. It can be submitted later to the Dual Credit Director with the Registration Rosters. A copy of the Parent Permission Form may be found in the Important Forms section at the end.

Librarians are available at the Ranger College Library, online, by email, and by phone.

Librarians can help students:

• Find articles, books, audio, and more
• Access databases off-campus
• Evaluate Resources
• Prevent plagiarism
• Cite sources

Dual Credit students have access to the full range of Library Databases available to Ranger College Students through the Ranger College Library website. This includes over 70 unique databases available through TexShare, a Texas State Library and Archives Commission product. In addition, as students at the college, they have the ability to check out physical materials from local colleges and universities in their area through the TexShare reciprocal borrowing program.

Dual-Credit students can receive information literacy instruction as well as assistance conducting research, finding resources, completing assignments, writing papers, citing sources, and navigating Blackboard and Campus Connect from trained librarians at the main Ranger campus by calling (254-647-1414) or emailing the library at library@rangercollege.edu. The library website contains many additional tools, tips and tricks that are of benefit to Dual-Credit students as well.

Visit the Ranger College Library

The College utilizes Brainfuse, an online tutoring service, to assist all students when faculty are not available. Brainfuse is an established company and service that is used by many higher education institutions. In addition to providing live one-on-one tutoring for students in a multitude of academic subject fields, it provides pre created lessons on a variety of topics, an online writing center with 24 hour turnaround, lessons calibrated to ESL needs, an online meeting room for student academic collaboration, and integration with Blackboard (the college's learning management system) so that individual faculty members can use Brainfuse to assign and track student work in the system.

Ranger College hosts a third-party owned and operated bookstore (run by Follett) for the convenience of students. Course supplies, required textbooks, school merchandise, and more can be purchased in the physical bookstore on the main campus or through the bookstore website.

Visit the Ranger College Bookstore

 

 

 

The Dual Credit Parent Permission Form is required for all students enrolling in Ranger College’s Dual Credit program, regardless of age. This form confirms student participation, authorizes the exchange of academic information, and outlines important responsibilities for both the student and parent/guardian.

By completing this form, students and parents/guardians:

• Confirm the student’s intent to participate in the Dual Credit program
• Accept financial responsibility for any applicable tuition or fees
• Authorize the high school to send test scores and transcripts to Ranger College
• Grant permission for Ranger College to register the student in courses
• Allow Ranger College to share academic records with the high school and parent/guardian (unless revoked by the student)

Students must also:

• Complete an application for admission
• Meet Texas Success Initiative (TSI) requirements, unless exempt

This form must be signed by both the student and parent/guardian and returned to the high school counselor. Students are not officially enrolled until all required documents have been submitted and processed.

The Single Class Drop Form is used by students who wish to drop an individual course while remaining enrolled in other classes at Ranger College. A separate form must be completed for each course being dropped.

To complete the process, students must:

• Provide course details and a reason for dropping the class
• Indicate the current term of enrollment
• Obtain all required signatures, if applicable

Additional approvals may be required for certain students:

• Dual Credit students must have their high school counselor sign the form
• Student-athletes must have their coach sign the form

Completed forms must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office by email. The official drop date is the date the completed form is received.

Students will remain on the course roster but will receive a grade of “W” (withdrawal) for the course. Dropping a class may impact financial aid and potential tuition refunds, so students are encouraged to review the College Catalog and consult the Financial Aid Office before submitting the form.

Students must sign and date the form, and all required approvals must be completed before the drop is considered official.