college-level course taught at a postsecondary institution (PSI) by college faculty. The course

must be nonsectarian and unless the course is offered through a middle or early college

program, nondevelopmental,

Early or Middle College Programs are a type of PSEO program open to students enrolled in a

eligible PSI to offer an early or middle college program specifically designed to allow the

student to earn dual high school and college credit with a well-defined pathway to allow the

student to earn a postsecondary degree or credential. Students enroll in remedial,

developmental, or other courses that are not college level and receive developmental college

between the public school board and the governing body of an eligible PSI. Some concurrent

enrollment courses are known by branded titles, such as “College in the Schools.”

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student’s grade; whether the student is enrolled in a public school or American Indian-

controlled tribal contract or grant school eligible for aid under Minnesota Statutes, section

124D.83, or in a nonpublic or home school; and whether the student seeks to enroll in a career

or technical education course, world language course, or other eligible course. Students must

also meet residency requirements. For more information on student eligibility requirements,

see Minnesota Department of Education, Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO)Reference

Guide, available at https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/ccs/pseo/.

In addition to the statutory eligibility requirements, students must also meet the PSI’s

admission standards to participate in specific PSEO programs and courses. Admission standards

vary by grade and may include a student’s score on the ACT or SAT, class rank, and score on

limit is three academic years, if in 11th grade the limit is two, and in 12th grade the limit is one.

A student may earn enough college credits to earn a college credential such as a certificate or

associate degree. Students may also earn credits that are part of the Minnesota Transfer

Curriculum, a 40-credit package of general education courses. Once a student earns credit for a

course in the transfer curriculum at any Minnesota State institution, all Minnesota State

institutions must recognize the credit; the University of Minnesota also recognizes credits for

Institution Eligibility

The following are defined as “eligible institutions” for purposes of participating in dual

enrollment programs: “a Minnesota public postsecondary institution, a private, nonprofit two-

website.

State law requires all teachers to meet teacher licensure requirements under Minnesota

Statutes, chapter 122A, and sets no additional requirements for teachers of concurrent

enrollment courses.

However, the Higher Learning Commission, which accredits PSIs, sets criteria for faculty

credentials and requires that high school teachers meet the same credential requirements as an

institution’s faculty when teaching a course for credit from that institution. As a result, starting

September 1, 2022, high school teachers teaching concurrent enrollment courses must have a

master’s degree or higher in the discipline the teacher is teaching; if the teacher has a master’s

hours to computer and other technology resources the student needs to complete coursework

for a dual enrollment course. A district must not prohibit the student from participating in

The funding method for a dual enrollment program depends on whether the program is a

traditional PSEO program or a concurrent enrollment program. For a public school student

enrolled in traditional PSEO full-time, the Department of Education pays the PSI 88 percent of

the basic general education revenue for the student, and pays the school district the remaining

12 percent. The other types of revenue that the district would normally receive for the student

are “saved” by the state. For nonpublic school students, the state pays the PSI 88 percent of the

The state does not make any payments to the PSI for concurrent enrollment courses or other

courses offered through an agreement between the district and PSI. The agreement determines

how much the district pays to the PSI for the course. The state provides the same funding to a

district as it would otherwise, except that the district receives additional aid under the

concurrent enrollment aid formula. Students pay no cost to participate in concurrent

enrollment courses.

For more information on dual enrollment program funding, see the House Research publication

information, see Minnesota Department of Education, Rigorous Course Taking: Advanced

In 2021, the commissioner reported that 10,551 students received 165,047 credits through

PSEO in fiscal year 2019. Of that total, 7,520 students were enrolled in public schools, 2,000 in

home schools, and 1,031 in nonpublic schools. That same year, 32,272 public school students

participated in concurrent enrollment.

The commissioner also reports on the number and percentage of students participating in PSEO

and concurrent enrollment statewide, in each district, and public high school. That information

is available on the Minnesota Report Card on the department website.