Dual credit – Start-up funding for school authorities

Important dates

Apply for funding

For the 2024/25 school year, Alberta Education is investing $4 million in grant funding for dual credit programming. In addition, Alberta Health is providing $450,000 per year for 3 years to support dual credit health care aide grants. This targeted funding aims to increase the number of students pursuing a career in the health care sector and help alleviate growing workforce pressures.

Funding

School authorities can use the start-up grant to create new dual credit programming at any school or support existing programming at a new school within their authority.

When 2 school authorities partner, they apply together and designate one school authority as the lead. The lead authority will receive the funding and be responsible for managing it and reporting on behalf of the partners.

Eligible school authorities may apply for one start-up funding grant up to $50,000 for dual credit opportunities for the 2024/25 school year.

Eligibility

The following school authorities and schools are eligible to apply:

• public
• separate
• francophone
• First Nations/First Nation Education Authority
• public charter
• accredited funded independent (private)

Mandatory criteria

The dual credit application must:

• align with Alberta Education’s description of dual credit as defined in the Alberta Dual Credit Framework and Dual Credit Implementation Guide: Supporting the Alberta Dual Credit Framework
• not be the same or similar to other government grant funding
• not be connected to a high school upgrading course or post-secondary continuing education course or program
• be completed at the school authority level and signed by the superintendent, education director or an authorized designate
• be submitted via email by the deadline

Assessment criteria

The applicant must identify and describe how the proposed dual credit opportunity:

• connects to the local and/or provincial labour market
• meets students’ interests/and or needs
• will make a difference in the local context
• will be implemented during the current school year

How to apply

Step 1. Review the guiding documents

Ensure the dual credit opportunity aligns with the description, guiding principles and criteria in the:

• Alberta Dual Credit Framework
• Dual Credit Implementation Guide: Supporting the Alberta Dual Credit Framework

Step 2. Complete the application

• Alberta Education Dual Credit Start-up Funding Application

Step 3. Submit the application package

Email the application to [email protected] by May 3, 2024

After you apply

The application review takes up to 3 weeks from the application closing date.

Once the review is complete, applicants will receive an email notifying them about their application status. If start-up funding is approved, it will be distributed to the lead school authority at the beginning of the following school year.

Reporting

School authorities must report on the dual credit start-up funding allocated for a school year by July 31. The report needs to identify:

• any partners who collaborated on the programming
• revenue and expenses for the school year
• how many students participated
• a description of the learning opportunity
• promising practices that worked
• challenges that were addressed
• next steps to sustain the programming

All school authorities must report on the dual credit start-up funding allocated for the school year by July 31. However, if school authorities have not spent the start-up grant funding they were allocated, it can be carried forward to the next school year by completing the grant reporting template. Once that school year ends, another report needs to be submitted for the reallocated amount.

The lead school authority is responsible for completing and submitting the report by using the interactive Dual Credit Start-up Funding Grant Reporting Template.

Contact

Connect with the Alberta Education Dual Credit program:

Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Email: [email protected]