Deal signs bill to incentivize dual credit courses

 

Gov. Nathan Deal today signed into law legislation that aims to boost Georgia’s college completion rate. HB 131, signed at Georgia Gwinnett College, gives high school students more incentives to take “dual credit courses” – those where a student enrolls in a college course and simultaneously earns college credit and high school credit for the course.

 

“By 2020, more than 60 percent of job openings in Georgia will require some form of postsecondary education,” said Deal. “Frankly, we need to boost the percentage of Georgians who hold a postsecondary degree in order to create a highly skilled workforce. In the long run, this new law will give college freshman a head start and, we hope, will encourage more to stay until they attain their degree.”

 

Under the new law, grades in these classes will give bonus points to a student’s GPA, just as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses do currently. As further incentive, dual credit classes will now count toward the “rigorous coursework” that the HOPE scholarship now requires.

 

“These partnerships allow high school students to earn college credits before graduating from high school, making their transition to postsecondary education smoother and their likelihood of graduating from college greater,” Deal said.