May 14, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
Almost every year at least one or more seniors at DCHS completes the credits necessary to earn an associate degree from Motlow State Community College just as they are finishing up their high school studies in preparation for graduation.
Such is the case this year for Dare Collins, Allison Goodwin, Alyssa Gilpin, and Megyn Patterson who can now proudly call themselves a college graduate while they await their high school diploma which will be presented to them Friday night, May 16 during the commencement for the Class of 2025 at DCHS starting at 7 p.m.
Through Motlow College’s dual enrollment program, high school students like Collins, Goodwin, Gilpin, and Patterson can earn college credits while still enrolled in high school. Students can take classes on a Motlow College campus, online, or even at a partner high school like DCHS.
According to the Motlow website, Dual Enrollment participation requirements are as follows:
• 3.0 High School GPA (2.5 GPA for CTE courses, such as Mechatronics) and a 3.0 GPA in a student’s high school classes in the subject area they wish to take collegiate classes, or ACT subscores of 18 English, 19 Reading, 19 Math
• “Homeschool students must have qualifying ACT scores (must have a composite of 21 or higher to get two free classes in a semester). If a homeschooled student doesn’t have an ACT composite of 21 or higher, he/she may receive more than one grant in a single semester if he/she has maintained a B average after the completion of at least two collegiate courses”.
Some high schools may have more stringent eligibility requirements
Collins and Patterson earned an associate degree in health science while Goodwin and Gilpin received an associate degree in psychology