You can start earning college credit through Oakton while still in high school. Oakton offers classes online, on-campus, and on-site at partner high schools.
At Oakton or Online
You can take one Oakton course per semester at our Des Plaines or Skokie campus or online if you:
are a high school junior or senior,
have a minimum cumulative high school GPA of 2.0 or higher,
submit our concurrent enrollment application at least one week before the first day of the course(s) you want to take.
You will automatically earn college credit after successfully completing each Oakton course you take on-campus or online (dual enrollment). However, you must contact your high school counselor for approval to also earn high school credit for those courses.
If you attend a partner high school, you could take Oakton courses on-site at your school location that:
are taught by qualified district instructors,
occur during your regular high school schedule,
allow you to earn college and high school credit (dual credit)!
Choose your school from the list below to see the approved Oakton courses selected by your high school. Contact your high school counselor for information about appropriate course options, requirements, and registration for your high school.
IAI Category: Mathematics MAT 252: Calculus III (4 credit hours)
Transfer Electives
HIS 120: United States History Since 1945 (3 credit hours)
MAT 260: Introduction to Linear Algebra (3 credit hours)
You can access the MEHS Dual Credit Course Guide for more information about each course. To access the Maine Township course catalog and more information on course selection, visit SchooLinks.
General Education
IAI Category: Communication EGL 101: Composition I (3 credit hours) EGL 102: Composition II (3 credit hours) SPE 103: Effective Speech (3 credit hours)
IAI Category: Science (Life) BIO 114: Basic Human Anatomy and Physiology (3 credit hours)
ACC 153: Principles of Financial Accounting (4 credit hours)
ART 115: Beginning Photography (3 credit hours) ART 218: Advanced Black and White Photography (3 credit hours)
MAT 140: College Algebra (4 credit hours)
MGT 160: Small Business Management (3 credit hours)
You can access the MSHS Dual Credit Course Guide for more information about each course. To access the Maine Township course catalog and more information on course selection, visit SchooLinks.
General Education
IAI Category: Communication EGL 101: Composition I (3 credit hours) EGL 102: Composition II (3 credit hours) SPE 103: Effective Speech (3 credit hours)
IAI Category: Science (Life) BIO 114: Basic Human Anatomy and Physiology (3 credit hours)
ACC 153: Principles of Financial Accounting (4 credit hours)
ART 115: Beginning Photography (3 credit hours) ART 218: Advanced Black and White Photography (3 credit hours)
MAT 140: College Algebra (4 credit hours) MAT 262: Ordinary Differential Equations (3 credit hours)
MGT 160: Small Business Management (3 credit hours)
You can access the MWHS Dual Credit Course Guide for more information about each course. To access the Maine Township course catalog and more information on course selection, visit SchooLinks.
General Education
IAI Category: Communication EGL 101: Composition I (3 credit hours) EGL 102: Composition II (3 credit hours) SPE 103: Effective Speech (3 credit hours)
IAI Category: Science (Life) BIO 114: Basic Human Anatomy and Physiology (3 credit hours)
"If you are passionate about something, take action. You don't have to wait. I realized I could really help people if I became a nurse. My counselor told me I could enroll in Oakton's Basic Nurse Assistant Training (BNAT) program while I was still in high school."
Learn about the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law that lets you control access to your college student records. During the dual credit application process, you can give others (e.g., parents or guardians) permission to discuss details about your progress or performance in Oakton courses with instructors or other college personnel.
Asked and Answered
First-hand experience with college course content.
Opportunities to earn high school and college credit.
Early exploration of different college and career pathways.
A chance to earn a college certificate or degree faster and at a lower cost.
Take Oakton courses on-campus or online at a fraction of the cost of other colleges/universities.
Since early college students are Oakton students, you gain access to the following:
Library services to request an Oakton student ID that can be used as a library card to access books from over 90 different colleges and universities.
Academic Advising Services for help choosing the right classes for your college/career interest(s) and free tutoring at our Learning Center while taking Oakton classes.
Career Services for assistance with resume writing and interviewing skills.
Access to Oakton campus computer labs, even during evenings and weekends.
Oakton offers a variety of courses within the following categories:
General Education
These are common 100-level college courses all students take and are accepted at other colleges/universities in Illinois as part of the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI). (Note: Many out-of-state colleges/universities also accept these courses but may have different general education requirements.) A combination of these courses across various subjects makes up the General Education Core Curriculum (GECC) and is required for all students seeking a college degree.
Career-Technical Education
These courses are within the academic pathway of a career-focused certificate or degree program at Oakton and may transfer to other colleges/universities in various ways. They help students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the workforce after high school graduation or continue their education journey beyond an Oakton certificate or degree.
Transfer Electives
These courses may count toward college certificate or degree programs in various ways. Each college certificate or degree program requires different electives; therefore, students should consider their potential college or career pathways when taking these types of courses.
Oakton courses offered at high school locations through our early college partnerships are tuition-free to high school students. However, a one-time $25 application fee is added to student accounts but billed to the high school for payment.
Students taking Oakton courses on-campus or online are responsible for paying Oakton tuition and fees through the myOakton portal by semester deadlines to remain enrolled in courses.
Dual credit opportunities allow high school students to take college courses to simultaneously earn high school and college credit before graduating high school. Grades and credits appear on students’ high school and college transcripts after completing dual credit courses. Oakton partners with every in-district public school and two private schools to offer dual credit courses at high schools during the regular school day, taught by qualified district instructors.
Dual enrollment opportunities allow students to take college courses for college credit but not high school credit upon completion. Most often, students take these courses on-campus or online, outside of Oakton early college partnerships, in addition to their regular high school courses or over the summer. Grades and credits for courses taken under these arrangements appear only on the college transcript upon completion. We encourage students to work through their high school counselor before registering for classes not offered through our early college partnerships if they desire dual credit - high school and college credit.
AP courses are advanced placement high school courses developed by the College Board, offered at your high school, and taught by high school instructors. Students earn college credit for these courses by taking an exam at the end of the semester and checking with colleges/universities to see what scores are acceptable. Oakton accepts scores for many AP exams and will award credit for equivalent Oakton courses according to the Advanced Placement equivalency chart.
To enroll in Oakton courses offered at your high school location, you should contact your high school counselor or dual credit liaison for admission and registration details.
If you wish to drop/withdraw from an Oakton course offered through an early college partner, you must inform your instructor and advisor by the designated deadline; then, a high school representative will inform Oakton.
After Early College...
We have great news! If you have taken dual credit/dual enrollment courses while in high school, you have already made progress toward earning a college certificate or degree. So, you can easily continue with us before transferring to another college or entering the workforce.
