College Credit Opportunities

Accelerate students can earn high-school and college credits at the same time.

Get Ahead with Dual-Enrollment Courses

The Accelerate program is proud to offer a large number of dual-enrollment courses.  Although "dual-enrollment" can mean different things depending on who is using the term, Accelerate's dual-enrollment courses are those for which students simultaneously earn high-school and college credit.

Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, college credit for Accelerate's dual-enrollment courses will be granted by Coker University.  Located in Hartsville and within walking distance of GSSM, Coker University is a liberal arts college with a student population of 1,200 and a student-to-faculty ration of 18:1.

Undergraduates at Coker can pursue bachelor's degrees in over 40 areas of study, and U.S. News and World Report has ranked the school among the "Best Colleges" in the South.  The Accelerate program signed an articulation agreement with Coker in the spring of 2018.

Credits From Coker May Be Transferred

Coker University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC or SACS), which is the recognized regional accrediting body in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Other schools recognized by SACS include the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, The Medical University of South Carolina, and Furman University. 

For a full list of SACS-accredited schools, see here.

As with most SACS-accredited colleges, credits from Coker are transferrable to other similarly accredited institutions.  In addition, most schools within South Carolina have agreements in place that allow for the transferring of college credits.  For instance, credits earned through Coker can be transferred to, among other schools, the University of South Carolina and Clemson University. 

Minimum Transferability Requirements Explained

A helpful resource in determining whether or how college credits will be transferred is the South Carolina Transfer and Articulation Center (SC TRAC). On SC TRAC's website, students (or their parents) can search for course equivalencies across institutions. SC TRAC is updated semi-regularly, which means that students should confirm the transferability of their credits via the admissions department at the university or college they plan on attending.

Accelerate students who receive a "C" or higher (≥ 70/100) in their dual-enrollment courses are usually able to transfer their Coker University credits to other colleges and universities in South Carolina (and, in many cases, to other institutions across the Southeast). Letter grades below a "C" (≤ 70/100) are almost always ineligible for credit transfer, though they will most likely remain on the student's transcript when it is sent to the institution of matriculation.

To remain in good standing in Accelerate, all students must score a "C" or higher in their courses, whether or not the courses are Honors or dual-enrollment; grades lower than a "C" will result in the student being asked to leave the program.

Only courses signaled as dual-enrollment in the course catalog and on the Accelerate website are dual-enrollment courses.  All other Accelerate courses are Honors courses, which means they are weighted (in terms of GPA) the same as other Honors courses at the student's home school.  Within the state of South Carolina, high schools weight dual-enrollment credits the same as they do Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) grades (see here).