English Composition 1
Self-paced online English Composition 1 course (ENG 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
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Why Virginia homeschoolers pay for dual enrollment when public students do not
By the team. Checked 15 Nov 2026.
The short answer
Virginia homeschool dual enrollment usually costs money because tuition-free courses come through contracts between colleges and high schools, taught in the school day. Homeschoolers normally enrol as independent dual enrollment students, on campus or online, and pay tuition and fees, $232.05 per credit at NOVA for Virginia residents in 2026-27.
Two kinds of dual enrollment
NOVA's dual enrollment page splits the programme into two routes. In contract dual enrollment, students take NOVA classes at their own high school during the regular school day, and they do not pay tuition for those courses. In independent dual enrollment, students take NOVA courses on campus or online for full college credit, and they are responsible for tuition and fees.
The difference is where the course sits. A contract course is part of a high school's schedule, set up between the college and the school. An independent course is an ordinary college course that a high school student takes on the student's own account.
| Route | Where it happens | Who pays tuition |
|---|---|---|
| Contract dual enrollment | At the student's high school, in the school day | Students do not pay tuition |
| Independent dual enrollment | On campus or online | The student pays tuition and fees |
Where homeschoolers fit
A home-instructed student is not enrolled in a public high school class, so the contract route is not normally open. That leaves independent dual enrollment, which means paying the college's rate. Some school divisions and colleges have their own arrangements, so it is worth one email to your local community college and division, but plan your budget on paying tuition.
This is not a penalty aimed at homeschoolers. It follows from how the free seats are organised: they belong to courses built into a school's timetable.
- Ask the college how it enrols home-instructed students
- Ask about placement tests and minimum age
- Ask whether any course is offered at no tuition to your teen
What it costs in 2026-27
NOVA lists $232.05 per credit for Virginia residents for Fall 2026, Spring 2027 and Summer 2027. That figure is $202.05 tuition plus a $4.00 student activities fee, a $3.50 auxiliary services fee and the $22.50 NOVA All Access textbook fee. Students can opt out of the textbook fee in a window that opens 30 days before the session.
For a 3-credit course, that comes to about $696, or about $629 if your teen opts out of the textbook programme and buys books elsewhere. Four courses in a year cost about $2,800 at the full rate.
Ways to bring the cost down
Families use a mix. Some save community college for lab sciences and courses where a live teacher matters most. Others take a general education course or two through self-paced options and keep the transcript costs low. AP and CLEP exams are other routes; check the current exam fees with the testing organisation and ask your target colleges how they treat each one.
UPI Study's homeschool lifetime plan is $250 once per family and includes every course. Its courses are ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended, and credit counts only via a college transcript from a partner college such as TESU, UoPeople or Newlane, if that college agrees. UPI Study is not accredited and its courses are not dual enrollment courses.
- Community college for labs and classroom courses
- Self-paced courses for general education
- Exams where a target college gives credit
Before you pay for any course
Ask the colleges your teen is likely to apply to how they treat community college credit and ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit. Get the answer in writing and keep it in the course folder. A course that a target college will not use is the most expensive course of all, whatever its price.
What to ask in writing
Before you enrol
Ask each college your teen may attend to confirm in writing how it treats each course before your teen enrols.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
Questions people ask
Do Virginia homeschoolers ever get dual enrollment without tuition?
The tuition-free route NOVA describes is contract dual enrollment, held at a high school in the school day. A homeschooler would need a specific arrangement with a college or school division, so ask locally rather than assume either way.
Does independent dual enrollment give full college credit?
NOVA says independent dual enrollment courses on campus or online carry full college credit. The course goes on a NOVA transcript, and other colleges then decide whether to take it in transfer.
Can a homeschooler take dual enrollment online?
NOVA lists online courses as part of independent dual enrollment. Check the class schedule for the term, since online sections of popular courses can fill early.
Courses that fit
ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended courses, studied online at your own pace.
College Algebra
Self-paced online College Algebra course (Math 111). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Introduction to Psychology
Self-paced online Introduction to Psychology course (Psychology 110). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →Start when you have it in writing
Every course, self-paced, for the life of the plan.
Sources
- Northern Virginia Community College: Dual Enrollment (official)Two routes: contract dual enrollment, NOVA classes at the student's high school during the regular school day, where students do not pay tuition; and independent dual enrollment, NOVA courses on campus or online for full college credit, where students are responsible for tuition and fees. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.
- Northern Virginia Community College: Tuition and Costs (official)Fall 2026, Spring 2027 and Summer 2027 per-credit charges for Virginia residents: tuition $202.05, student activities fee $4.00, auxiliary services fee $3.50, NOVA All Access fee $22.50 (covers textbooks, opt-out allowed), total $232.05 per credit. Out-of-state total $480.40 per credit. Rates set by the VCCS State Board on May 21, 2026. Checked on 15 Nov 2026.