CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — More than 20 high schools stretching across the state of Illinois will offer dual-credit courses from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign this fall.
The 2026-2027 academic year is the second year of the Dual Credit @ Illinois initiative and the official debut of the Learning Accelerator, with an additional three courses offered. The university’s dual-credit catalogue includes four popular 100-level courses, representing the colleges of Agricultural Consumer and Environmental Sciences, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Media, and Education.
“We are thrilled to partner with these Illinois high schools through Dual Credit @ Illinois this fall, reflecting our university’s commitment to expanding educational opportunity across the state,” said Provost John Coleman. “By reaching more students and families in communities throughout Illinois, the dual-credit initiative is helping young people access college-level learning earlier, gain confidence in their abilities and prepare for success in higher education and their future careers.”
What is Dual Credit @ Illinois?
The Dual Credit @ Illinois pilot opportunity heralds a new approach for the university in providing high school students statewide access to some of its most in-demand general education courses— at minimal to no cost to those students.
Led by the Office of Online Learning and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Illinois in partnership with Illinois Virtual Schools and Academy, the initiative was designed to supply high school students with affordable college credits from a premier university — transferable to virtually any higher education institution in the country —while also introducing those students to career pathways they might not have considered. The initiative is funded by American Talent Initiative, which is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The College of ACES fast-tracked the first offering from the university last year thanks to a dual-credit framework from Anna Ball, associate dean for academic programs in the College of ACES. Ball launched “ACES 102: Introduction to Sustainable Food Systems” in two high schools in fall 2025 and five more schools in spring 2026, paving the way for the larger pilot initiative to scale up.
“Dual Credit @ Illinois gives us an exciting opportunity to reach students where they are and introduce them to the possibilities available through ACES,” Ball said. “ACES 102 is designed to help students explore the breadth of our disciplines and the careers they can lead to. Bringing that experience into high school classrooms across Illinois can help more students discover pathways they may not have considered — and begin to see themselves as part of the Illinois community.”
Which high schools and students are part of Dual Credit pilot?
Lisa Anderson, assistant provost for digital education, made one of the predominant goals of Dual Credit @ Illinois to reach underserved students at public schools from every region of the state.
This year’s partner schools are:
- Bement High School
- Bremen High School
- Calhoun High School
- Crete-Monee High School
- Earlville High School
- Freeport High School
- Grayslake Central High School
- Grayslake North High School
- Homewood-Flossmoor High School
- Kansas High School
- LeRoy High School
- Marshall High School
- Orangeville High School
- Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School
- Rantoul Township High School
- Rich Township High School
- Ridgewood High School
- Sangamon Valley High School
- Shepard Community High School
- South Beloit High School
- Vienna High School
What courses are offered?
Four dual-credit courses were developed to showcase the expansive educational topics offered at Illinois, with faculty liaisons seeking to present advanced learning opportunities to students from underrepresented populations. The participating departments hope that the courses will increase exposure to a variety of careers and potentially spark interest in the future study of those fields.
The courses are:
- ACES 102: Introduction to Sustainable Food Systems
- ASTR 150: Killer-Skies: Astro-Disaster
- MACS 100: Introduction to Popular TV and Movies
- SPED 117: The Culture of Disability
High school students in the initiative also will receive a tangible sense of what the college experience feels like at Illinois, with access the university’s library system — one of the best in the nation — and the possibility of traveling to campus to receive their i-Card or set up a virtual i-Card from home.
With the framework established for these four courses, Dual Credit @ Illinois could accommodate any course from an Illinois academic unit in the future. For now, the faculty members who are bringing their popular course materials to high schools throughout the state are eager to serve a new array of learners.
“I’m deeply honored that MACS 100 is reaching outside of campus to engage high school students,” said Jonathan Knipp, a senior lecturer of media and cinema studies who is the faculty liaison for MACS 100. “The most important part of my participation is the possibility of making a college education more compelling and exciting, as students learn that even popular forms of mass media belong in the classroom where they can discover meaning and substance in the things they watch.”
