Educators – The Independent Learner

Dual Enrollment Examined

You may have heard the term “dual enrollment” before, but what does it mean? Dual enrollment, at its core, is a program that allows students to earn both high school credit and college credit for completing qualified courses. There are many advantages to taking dual enrollment courses, but there are a few things that are important to consider before signing up. Let’s take a closer look and examine these factors:

Advantages

Save time and money

By taking courses in high school that count for both high school and college credit, you save yourself from having to take that same course (or a similar requirement) again in college. Dual enrollment high school courses are also very cost effective since these courses are generally a fraction of the cost of a typical college course!

Explore other interests

Dual enrollment courses can help students satisfy general education requirements before heading to college, which means more time in your schedule to explore other interesting subject areas, join extracurricular activities, study abroad or participate in internships.

Get ahead, graduate early

If you decide to take several dual enrollment courses during high school, you can get ahead with enough credit to graduate early with your postsecondary degree and begin working on your life plans. This could mean starting your career, attending graduate school, or any other number of paths.

Complete college courses online

Many dual enrollment courses can be completed physically in a high school classroom or on a college campus. However, like the University of Nebraska High School (UNHS), other schools offer dual enrollment online, providing flexible college-level coursework to students no matter their location or circumstance.

Considerations

Check to make sure credit will transfer

While many colleges and universities accept dual enrollment credit, the requirements vary from institution to institution. Students should check to make sure that the college they intend to apply to will accept credit earned through dual enrollment.

You will need to meet your high school’s requirements

Most high schools require dual enrollment students to meet a particular standard. Often this involves a certain class standing (junior or senior) and a minimum GPA. Always double-check to see if you meet the necessary requirements before enrolling in a dual enrollment program.

NCAA status can be affected

NCAA policies on accepting dual enrollment transfer credit may vary based on many different factors and circumstances. In some cases, taking college courses in high school can start eligibility clocks early. Though some student athletes experience no problems participating in dual enrollment, students are encouraged to work with academic advisers and the NCAA to make sure that dual enrollment will not negatively affect their future NCAA participation.

Dual enrollment is a great opportunity for motivated high school students to earn college credit while also saving time and money on future college expenses. Are you considering dual enrollment? UNHS currently offers 10 dual enrollment courses in partnership with the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). For details on approved courses, eligibility requirements, application instructions and registration deadlines, visit the UNHS website.

If you have any questions, contact a UNHS academic adviser to discuss if dual enrollment would best fit your needs.

Resilience

hugh-dec2020-blog — Hugh McDermott, principal, UNHS

Editor’s note: A post on this topic was originally published in April 2016 and has been updated with a note from the author, Principal Hugh McDermott:

The current COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on each of us in some way. During this time, I have had first-hand knowledge as to how students and parents have demonstrated their resilience through unprecedented challenges. Disruptions to everyday life such as work, school, athletics, and other extracurricular activities have forced many of our students to return and remain at home. Parents and other responsible adults within households have had to become test proctors overnight and many have witnessed the unique struggles students face in their everyday course learnings. Through this, students have shown how they are able to adapt and overcome barriers to learning. Over much of this past year, students and families have had to approach schoolwork in many different and new ways that have stretched persistence and re-imagined resilience. As I reflect on the current obstacles that many of us have been facing, a previous piece I wrote in April 2016 on the topic of resilience came to mind. As now, more than ever, we have seen the importance of resilience and how it continues to resonate within our communities.

We hope everyone remains safe and healthy during this unique time and that we are able to see an end soon to the disruptions brought on by this pandemic.

As a former English teacher, there are some words I just love—like “resilience.” What is resilience, really? Merriam-Webster defines it as, “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” I love this meaning and what it stands for, and it’s very easy for me to recall example after example of resilience throughout my career.

As a principal, I have witnessed many students demonstrate resilience. For example, with students who struggled to pass their courses, their displays of resilience were often admirable. Many of these students knew they were struggling in their classes—in fact, some had been struggling academically for years! Yet they persisted and saw their courses through to a successful completion and ultimately earned their high school diploma.

Sometimes as a teacher, counselor, or principal, we would discover more about these students from a context outside of the school setting. It was then we better understood the word resilience! Many times, these students came from very difficult personal situations—a broken household, abuse, or low-income families. Even though they were dealing with these troubles, many students did not have an attendance problem. They liked being at school, and once we figured out together how they could be successful, nothing stopped them from overcoming obstacles.

I think resilience springs eternal and internal within each of us. Everyone exhibits some degree of resilience throughout their lives, but how we nurture it makes us all different. Many students who struggle on a daily basis with life circumstances display resilience, but during difficult times, it must seem like it’s nearly extinguished. Others guard and protect their resilience because they feel it is all they have. No matter the situation, your resilience will pay off if you work hard enough.

As educators, we carry a responsibility of inspiring hope within all our students. Students have their hopes and dreams, whatever they are, and it is our job to encourage them, support them, and motivate them into believing anything is possible.

What examples of resilience have you witnessed or what have you overcome?

The Gifts of Wisdom & Common Sense

Every day I hear from parents who worry about the safety, health, happiness, and confidence of their children and teens, as well as the quality of their education. I completely understand these feelings not only from the perspective of a parent, but as a grandmother too. I have worked as a University of Nebraska High School academic adviser for eleven years and one important skill I have learned is that it is important to apply wisdom over worry for the most difficult situations and planning for the future.

“Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.”
– Commonly attributed to Winston Churchill

Our life experiences have taught us as parents to use our strengths and common sense to make the best decisions. As we are currently facing unprecedented times, we have had to use common sense to make decisions for the health and safety of our families. We have discovered our talents for making masks, exercising wisely in our neighborhoods, socializing with distance and precautions, all the while rediscovering the gifts of having more time with immediate family members. We, as parents and grandparents, can teach the same principles of lifelong wisdom and rationality to our children and teens. COVID-19 has reminded us to lead with examples in self-care, self-motivation, self-regulation, self-organization, and self-confidence.

Schooling at home is not for everyone, but if it feels right for your family, the opportunity for your children to study independently with a well-written curriculum can help to reinforce their strengths and talents. Advance thinking and planning allows the University of Nebraska High School diploma program to affirm that students are successful now and will continue to be in the future. They will take the life experiences of living through a worldwide pandemic and come out stronger. They will know how to be resilient, how to use their independent-thinking skills to make good decisions, will hang onto the memories of having more time with family, and take this with them to someday be our future leaders.

Significance of a Distinctive Diploma

What does high school graduation mean to you?

With a myriad of opportunities, expectations, and results, your high school experience and graduation can stir many different emotions and feelings.

At the University of Nebraska High School (UNHS), we look forward to honoring and celebrating our graduates. Here I want share some of my random thoughts on high school graduation and specifically graduating from UNHS.

Graduating from high school is a part of the transition of becoming an adult. It is an important milestone to celebrate and also a good time to . . . .

Reflect on your high school experience and recall the good, and not so good, times. However, whatever you have for past memories it is soon time to get on to the next step, which could be . . .

Attending a two or four year college. Since UNHS is a college preparatory high school, this is the path for most of our students, but not for everyone. Some students . . .

Do something else. Whether it is joining the workforce, the military, taking a gap year, or another route, for their life path. This happens because . . .

Unique individuals make up a graduation class. Isn’t it great that students are distinctive and do not all have the same interests? In fact, at UNHS our graduation class is made up of . . .

Athletes, visual and fine art students, homeschoolers, students from public and private schools, students with health conditions, highly gifted, and don’t forget we serve . . .

Traditional and non-traditional students. Many UNHS students complete their high school program in the typical four years or less, but some graduate later in life. Also, not all are U.S. students . . .

International Students are an essential part of UNHS. At least half of our UNHS graduates are located outside the United States. No matter where our graduates are from, they have this in common . . .

Online courses with the University of Nebraska High School. The state of Nebraska currently has a tourism slogan of “Honestly, it is . . .

Not for everyone.” This statement may also be true for some students who may be considering UNHS, but UNHS is an integral pathway for our honored graduates.

So back to my initial question . . . What does high school graduation mean to you?

The Eye in The Sky Does Not Lie

Do you agree with the idiom that seeing is believing?

Although it may not be true in every situation, sometimes you do need to see something to accept that it really exists or determine what just occurred. It is particularly important in the athletic realm.

I had the pleasure of playing and coaching football for about four decades. An essential and very valuable tool was the study of practice and game film. I have heard more than one coach or athlete remark, “Let’s not make a decision or judgement until we see what the film shows.”

With the advances of technology, being able to critique an athlete’s performance has greatly improved over the years. My initial study as a player was with 16 mm film in which the game film had to be processed and a projector would be used play back the game as a teaching tool. I specifically remember my coaches running a play over and over again to emphasize a particular point. New advancements soon came via video tapes and DVDs. Today, we have video review and performance analysis tools available for athletes and coaches that far surpass previous methods. Besides the game competitions, many coaches can now video record practice situations and use that as a teaching tool with the athletes.

For example, this allows football coaches to not only see a play from the sideline view, but also from an end zone view to see spacing and blocking angles. This added detail can give players and coaches a fresh look at the same play from a different perspective.

Just like seeing is believing in sports analysis, the University of Nebraska High School (UNHS) has passed the eye test for almost 90 years. UNHS was established in 1929 and was first a paper-based correspondence study. Since UNHS became online in 2001, it has become one of most reliable, respected, and recommended online accredited high schools in the United States.

UNHS has a well-constructed curriculum of over 100 courses for students to enroll in. If you are interested in earning additional credits, want to get ahead for next school year, or just learn something new, the courses at UNHS are available to our students any time of day and any day of the year.

Could UNHS work well for you? See for yourself!