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Seniors show their future at Decision Day

Earning College Credit in High School

Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) high school students have many opportunities to earn college credit while in high school, through Kirkwood Career Academies, dual credit courses in their high school or by enrolling part-time at Kirkwood in college-level courses.

Dual credit

High school students are eligible to enroll in college-level courses through Kirkwood’s dual credit program. Credit earned through this program counts towards your high school diploma and future college degree. This program is free for high school students and most courses can be taken at students’ high school or at Kirkwood’s Main Campus or even online. Certain college credit in high school programs have different qualifications that must be met – such as age, prerequisite courses and minimum performance measures on placement testing. To find out more, students should meet with their high school counselor to explore options. Learn more about earning dual credit.

Kirkwood Career Academies

One of the most popular ways students can earn free college credit is through the Career Academy programs. In Cedar Rapids, we’re fortunate to offer these options at the Linn Regional Center in Hiawatha, just a short commute from either of the comprehensive high schools. This program is geared toward juniors and seniors and is a packaged sequence of courses focused around specific careers or areas of interest.
  • Programs include:
    • Advanced Manufacturing and Welding
    • Allied Health
    • Application Software and Development
    • Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE)
    • Arts & Sciences
    • Automotive Technology
    • Business
    • Criminal Justice and Human Services (Social Work)
    • Dental
    • Digital/Visual Arts, Social Media Marketing
    • Education
    • Patient Care Exploration
    • Pre-Med, Nursing and Professional Health Careers
    • Pre-Nursing with Nurse Aid Certification

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