This program was changed significantly during the 2022 legislative session. It is no longer associated with the A+ Scholarship and financial need is now required for eligibility rather than being used to determine award ranking.
Beginning with the fall 2022 semester, high school students may be eligible to receive a scholarship that covers the tuition and fees for their dual credit or dual enrollment courses. To qualify, students must demonstrate financial need and be taking dual credit or dual enrollment courses from a Missouri college or university in addition to meeting the program’s eligibility criteria. The full list of eligibility criteria is available under Eligibility below.
- Resources
The Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development will provide training webinars and additional resources this fall.
- Eligibility
Eligibility must be verified each semester.
To be eligible for assistance students must meet the following requirements. Please note the requirements related to A+ eligibility have been removed based on the 2022 changes.
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and a Missouri resident
- Enroll in dual credit/dual enrollment classes through an approved Missouri college or university
- Have a minimum 2.5 unweighted, cumulative high school grade point average and have otherwise met the high school’s requirements for taking dual credit or dual enrollment classes
- Students must submit a copy of their high school transcript to verify they have met the GPA requirement. This documentation is only required once per year.
- Meet one or more of the following indicators of financial need:
- Immediate family eligible for free and reduced lunch
- If all students in your school are eligible for free or reduced lunch, you cannot qualify on this need indicator unless your family meets the free and reduced lunch program requirements. You must provide a copy of your approval letter from your high school
- Living in a foster home
- You must provide a copy of your Custody Verification form
CD276 from the Children’s Division of the Department of Social Services (DSS).
- You must provide a copy of your Custody Verification form
- Ward of the state
- You must provide a copy of your court order.
- Homeless as defined by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
- You must provide a letter from your high school certifying you to be homeless.
- Immediate family receiving low income public assistance (SNAP, WIC, etc.)
- You must provide a copy of this year’s approval letter from DSS indicating you are receiving low income public assistance.
- Living in federal subsidized public housing
- You must provide a copy of your HUD-50058 Family Report.
- Immediate family eligible for free and reduced lunch
- Eligible Dual Credit or Dual Enrollment Providers
Students can receive the scholarship for dual credit or dual enrollment courses taken from most Missouri public and private colleges and universities that offer such coursework. In addition to being an approved dual credit or dual enrollment provider, for this scholarship institutions must be approved to participate in the state aid programs.
- Application
The application is available electronically through the State Financial Aid Portal.
To Apply:
- Login to the State Financial Aid Portal.
- Select the Estimate Eligibility link in the menu at the top of the page.
- Select the appropriate academic year from the “Select an academic year” dropdown menu.
- Click the Apply link in the Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment Scholarship row of the table.
You must upload documentation that you meet one of the need criteria as listed above in the “Am I Eligible” section. A release form signed by your parent or legal guardian will also be required to complete your application. In addition, you must upload a copy of your high school transcript. This documentation is only required once per year. Submission of federal adjusted gross income (AGI) documentation is no longer required.
- Deadlines
Fall (August to December): October 1 is the priority deadline for the fall semester each year. Applications received after that date and on or before December 1 will be considered based on funding availability.
Spring (January to May): February 1 is the priority deadline for the spring semester each year. Applications received after that date and on or before April 1 will be considered based on funding availability.
- Awards
Semester award amounts are based on the actual tuition and fees charged for the dual credit or dual enrollment coursework after all non-loan aid, such as a dual credit or dual enrollment scholarship from a postsecondary institution or third party, is applied. As a result, awards will vary by student, depending on the number of hours of dual credit/dual enrollment coursework the student is enrolled in and the per credit hour tuition rate charged. Awards for a single student may also vary by semester, again depending on the student’s enrollment and tuition rate(s) charged. Funds for a single student may be disbursed to multiple providers, if applicable.
This is a sample calculation for a single student’s semester award:
Dual Credit / Dual Enrollment Provider Course Hours Enrolled Credit Hour Rate Total Tuition Fees Non-Loan Aid Award Best Choice University English I 3 $75 $225
(3 x $75)
$25 $100 $150
($225 + $25 - $100)
Best Fit University History I 3 $70 $210
(3 x $70)
$25 $0 $235
($210 + $25 - $0)
Total Award $385
($150 + $235)
The General Assembly appropriates funds for the Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment Scholarship for the each academic year. The reach of this funding will depend on the number of eligible applications received and the amount of certified tuition and fee costs and is expected to be sufficient to fund all eligible students. In the event of a funding shortfall, awards will be made based on the earliest application received date.
- High School Responsibilities
High school certification of student eligibility is no longer required since the scholarship is no longer related to any of the A+ eligibility criteria. However, high schools will need to provide students with either an official or unofficial copy of their current transcript to verify they are meeting the 2.5 unweighted cumulative GPA requirement. Students will upload the transcript to MDHEWD as part of the application process and must have the transcript in order to complete the application.
High schools must also provide a letter certifying a student is homeless in accordance with the McKinney-Vento Act, if applicable. Homeless students will upload the letter to MDHEWD as part of the application process and must have the letter in order to complete the application.
High schools may also need to provide students with their provider and class information if the students need assistance. Students will provide MDHEWD with the name of their provider and the number of dual credit courses they are taking from that provider. Students will not have to provide the number of credit hours they are receiving for the dual credit or dual enrollment. MDHEWD will use this information to estimate awards and evaluate funding availability.
For example, if a student is taking two, three-hour dual credit/dual enrollment classes from College A, the student would select College A as the provider and report 2 as the number of classes from that provider. They would NOT report 6 hours.
- Dual Credit / Dual Enrollment Provider Responsibilities
For the students MDHEWD has identified as eligible and meeting the established need cutoff, dual credit/dual enrollment providers must verify:
- The student is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- The student is a Missouri resident
- The actual number of dual credit/dual enrollment hours the student is enrolled in
- The actual tuition rate charged for the student’s dual credit/dual enrollment hours
The certification process for Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment is now in FAMOUS. The Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment Certification Manual is available.
- Student Notification
MDHEWD will notify students of their eligibility status (ineligible, awarded or unfunded).