Transferring credits in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has NO statewide dual enrollment price and no statewide tuition subsidy for students: PDE's Basic Education Circular states that tuition and fees vary by institution and must simply be spelled out in each school-entity/IHE dual credit agreement, and that a school entity 'may, but is not required to' pay tuition, fees, supplies or other costs. Districts may fund it from Title I-A, Basic Education Funding, CTE subsidy, EITC, grants or private sources, and PDE only urges them to minimize the cost to families. The separate Dual Credit Innovation Grant Program funds colleges to expand capacity — it is not a per-student tuition waiver. Net effect: what a Pennsylvania family pays depends entirely on the local district-college agreement and can range from $0 to full published tuition.

Who can enroll. There is no statewide eligibility standard. Under section 1525 each written agreement between the school entity and an institution of higher education sets the 'target grade levels and student participation criteria'; the IHE must be approved to operate in Pennsylvania, credits must be the same credits offered to the college's own students and must appear on both the high school and college transcripts, and courses may be in person, online, or a combination. Agreements must be submitted to PDE and are published through PA TRAC.

Anchored on 19 public colleges in Pennsylvania · verified 2026-07-31.