Help Your Student Navigate Dual Enrollment
Your support is one of your student’s most important resources. Whether you attended college yourself or not, your encouragement that college is importantwill help them succeed.
Prepare your student for what to expect
College gives students a tremendous amount of freedom and expects students to communicate and advocate for themselves.
- College faculty don’t necessarily monitor their daily progress or attendance. Colleges
do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. There are no attendance
reports given to students or parents.
- Expect conflicts with extracurricular high school activities. Seriously discuss priorities with your child before they enroll in a dual enrollment course.
- If your student is having difficulty in a course, they need to communicate with their instructor either face-to-face, by phone, or by e-mail. Encourage your student to use professional communication that is not accusatory or negative. Faculty are willing to work with students when they are polite, respectful, and timely.
Students should be self-motivated and disciplined to complete work on time according to the standards of the course syllabus.
- A course syllabus contains information on instructor’s grading, policy, assignments, and so much more. It’s important for students to read it and understand it!
- Honesty is important! Students should understand that plagiarism on assignments may result in an “F” for the course and/or dismissal from the course. The instructor’s syllabus will address the consequences of academic dishonesty.
- Grades are important. They become a part of your student’s permanent college transcript.
- Prepare for class. A general guideline is that for every one hour spent in class, college students should spend two hours out of class reading, studying, and completing assignments.
Let them do it on their own.
- Dual Enrollment students are treated no differently than any other Great Falls College MSU student.
- There are no parent/teacher conferences.
- The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) governs Dual Enrollment students. The Student Release of Information that your student completes at registration allows them to choose what information, if any, parents are entitled to.
- Dual Enrollment is a great time for parents to transition from being their child’s primary advocate to becoming a supporter. Remind your student that their academic success depends on their taking responsibility for their own education and behavior.
- Encourage them to use all of the resources available to them.
For another perspective on how to help your student, see this letter written by a faculty member:
Academic Success Center - free tutoring and study skills
Advising & Career Center - get help with planning your courses and making short and long term goals
Academic Success and Accessibility - making programs, services, and activities accessible to those with disabilities
students.gfcmsu.edu/disabilityservices
eLearning Resources-helping students access the on-line learning portal
Library-help with research and library resources