Dual Enrollment

Dual Enrollment in History

Get a head start on your degree.

Dual Enrollment History classes offer highly motivated students the advantage of earning college credits while they are still in high school. Benefits of enrolling in the classes include students’ chance to complete general education requirements before leaving high school, and their opportunity to study in an academically rigorous environment.

Within the UNO History Department, the Dual Enrollment Program is overseen by a committee comprised of tenured and part-time history faculty. The committee functions within the legal framework of the History Department and under the leadership of the History Department Chair. Aspects of the program under the committee’s auspices include approval of high school teachers who offer UNO history courses, and provision of the curricula and technical enhancements to history classrooms requested by participating school districts.

Mission Statement

Our Mission: To increase the historical content quality of all high school history classes.

Our Mission for students: To provide highly motivated high school students with an opportunity to earn college credit by completing university-level classes.

Our Mission for teachers: To expand teachers’content knowledge about their history curriculum.

Our Mission for school districts: To foster creation of high school classroom environments conducive to the study of history by providing additional instructional tools and technology for use by all History/Social Studies students.

Teacher Benefits

The following list includes the benefits applicable to all public school History teachers who are approved – either provisionally or fully – to teach in the History Department’s Dual Enrollment Program.

1. A blanket registration fee will be paid to the Missouri Valley History Conference (MVHC). Payment of the fee will permit all teachers in Omaha-area school districts participating in UNO’s History Department Dual Enrollment program to attend the MVHC without paying any additional registration fees. However, teachers wishing to attend the conference need to submit a registration form so that a name-badge can be prepared for them. Lunch tickets must be paid for by the teacher.

2. The program will reimburse each teacher’s school district for a full day’s substitute teacher salary to enable the teacher to attend the Missouri Valley History Conference.

3. The program will reimburse each teacher’s school district for one whole day’s substitute teacher salary to enable the teacher to undertake a day-long enrichment activity to increase her/his understanding of any topic taught in her/his classroom. While this day may be undertaken at any time during the school year, it is subject to approval by the Dual Enrollment Committee. Arrangements for the substitute teacher must be made within the teacher’s school district.

4. The program will provide each teacher participating in the program a petty cash “kitty” of $75 annually. The fund should enable the teacher to obtain classroom materials not ordinarily purchased by her/his district. Items purchased require reimbursement by the UNO Accounting Department.

5. The program will reimburse each teacher's school district for the fees charged by an outside speaker hired to enhance the classroom learning environment in a History Dual Enrollment classroom. The fee charged by the speaker must be “usual and customary” for the high school classroom. It is subject to approval by the Dual Enrollment Committee. The speaker’s gas mileage costs will also be reimbursed provided that the speaker (in general) lives no more than fifty miles from Omaha.

6. The program will reimburse each Dual Enrollment teacher’s school district once annually for either the transportation costs or the museum admission fees associated with a "field-excursion" to a local historical site. All students in the class receive the benefit, even those not enrolled for UNO course credit.

Teacher "Kitties"

Each year, every instructor approved to teach one of the UNO Dual Enrollment History courses (listed elsewhere on this web site) has an available classroom kitty of $75. The kitty can be spent at any time during the year. Approved teachers can purchase items such as books, software, computer speakers--even paper clips. Desired classroom materials must be purchased by the teacher; receipts for the purchased items must then be submitted along with the Accounting form. The form must include the teacher's home address, to which a check for up to $75 of the amount of expenses will be mailed. The teacher must also include her/his SS # for Accounting purposes.

Mail the completed form and receipts to Jo Behrens; History Department, ASH 287; University of Nebraska at Omaha; Omaha, Nebraska 68182

If you have any questions about this process, please contact Jo Behrens in the History Department.

Equipment & Field Trips

Equipment

The History Dual Enrollment annual budget includes revenues generated by students’ tuition in the schools participating in our program. From those funds, an amount equal to a previously decided ratio of program expenses to income is made available for purchases by each participating school or school district. Please contact Jo Behrens at any time to see what funds are available for spending by your school or district.

Your school’s portion of those revenues can be used to purchase classroom supplies or technology. The funds can be also be used for field trip admissions and/or transportation costs. The acquisition process for equipment should begin with the creation of a purchase order on school or district letterhead so that University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Accounting Services is certain that a school official approved the purchase. Selection of the vendor from whom the purchases are made rests with the school or district.

When the ordered items arrive at your school, please send Prof. Jo Behrens the original purchase order and the “packing slips.” Payment for the equipment can be made in one of two ways: UNO Accounting Services can directly pay your vendor, or UNO Accounting Services can reimburse your school or district if the district has already issued payment to the vendor. Such situations may occur if the district or school places a large order that includes items not reimbursable by the Dual Enrollment program. If UNO Accounting Services issues payment to your school/district, Accounting must receive an invoice from the district that included all back-up documentation for the expense. If UNO Accounting Services issues payment to the vendor, you must provide the original invoices to UNO.

Please remember all equipment purchased or reimbursed by UNO Accounting Services is UNO property. Periodically, UNO takes an inventory of all equipment recorded in their accounting records. Do not be alarmed if you are asked by UNO Accounting Services to provide serial numbers on equipment for which the University has paid. Please, call or e-mail the program coordinator if you have any questions or concerns.

The mailing address to which documents related to your purchases should be sent is: History Department; ASH 287; University of Nebraska at Omaha; Omaha, Nebraska 68182.

Field Trips

Believing that museum exhibits and their artifact explanations greatly enhance the learning experience, the UNO History Department Dual Enrollment Program encourages students and teachers to visit area museums to further enrich classroom curriculum. To facilitate those opportunities, the program will reimburse the schools in which our program operates the cost of museum admission fees for all students in an AP-Dual Enrollment History class, even those students not enrolled for UNO Dual Enrollment credit. We will also reimburse the school district for the substitute teacher that may be necessary in the classroom so that the teacher can be away from the school for the museum visit.

  • Transportation to a Local Museum

To encourage museum visits, local museums have some funds available to facilitate your visit. However, such funds are not inexhaustible so it is best to apply for them as early as possible. Links to local museums can be found on the bottom left of this page.

Out-of-Town Museum Visits

Some local schools have arranged day a trip to Kansas City museums, using their district funds to pay for bus transportation. In such situations, payment of admission fees was arranged by the school; however, districts were reimbursed for any necessary substitute teacher required for the teacher’s classroom on the day of the trip. Further information can be found on this site under the label of “Teacher Benefits.” Contact Dual Enrollment Committee Chair Jo Behrens with any other questions.

Course Offerings

The History Department acknowledges and accepts approved College Board Advanced Placement curriculum criteria as consistent with, and of equal learning value to, the following History courses from the UNO catalog:

American History I accepted as HIST 1110: American History to 1865
American History II accepted as  HIST 1111: American History since 1865
European History I accepted as  HIST 1510: Western Civilizations I
European History II accepted as  HIST 1520: Western Civilizations II
World History II accepted as HIST 1010: World Civilizations II

To be accepted as World Civilizations I at UNO, the Advanced Placement curriculum for World History I requires modification to include more content from the Ancient World. Any changes require approval from both the College Board and the UNO History Department Dual Enrollment Committee.

AP Test Award 

Background to the Dual Enrollment Requirement for the AP Test

In May of each year, any high school student enrolled in a College Board approved Advanced Placement history course is eligible to take an exam to test the student’s comprehension of the course material. Each course exam is created by the College Board and reflects the particular course curriculum. Students who earn a qualifying score on that AP exam can receive college credit from most colleges and universities in the United States, as well as from those in more than sixty other countries. Exam takers must also follow the AP criteria for earning credit hours established by the college or university they wish to attend.

Those same students enrolled in an AP history course can receive credit at the University of Nebraska at Omaha if the instructor of the AP class has been approved to offer college credit by the History Department at UNO. Just as with classes taken on campus, each student concurrently enrolled in his/her high school and UNO receives a transcript that reflects the grade and credit hours earned at UNO.

Although the test was created by the AP Program and not the UNO Dual Enrollment Program, most school districts participating in UNO’s Dual Enrollment program require AP/ Dual Enrollment students to take the AP Exam regardless of where the student is planning to attend college. Those exams will be offered again in May 2014.

To encourage UNO Dual Enrollment students to study for this exam, the History Department Dual Enrollment program offers a $250 UNO bookstore voucher to students who score a 5 on the test and subsequently enroll in UNO. The award will be made to qualifying students in Fall 2014.

Rules

  • High School students must be enrolled during the 2013-2014 academic year in one of the AP History courses listed under “Course Offerings” on this web site.
  • The course must be taught by an instructor previously approved by UNO’s History Department.
  • The student must take an AP Exam in May 2014 that is associated with one of the courses listed under “Course Offerings” on this web site.
  • The bookstore voucher is available only to those 2013-2014 high school seniors and juniors who are enrolled in UNO in Fall 2014 or Fall 2015.
  • A student may earn only one voucher, regardless of the number of AP History Exams taken.

Wisdom is personal and belongs to the person who studies to acquire it, therefore the History Department encourages all students to prepare well for the AP Exam. The resultant knowledge attained through such study will provide not only a head start on college credits, but will serve the student well with a more thorough understanding of the world in which we live.

Contact the UNO History Department Office of Dual Enrollment at 402-554-2584 with any questions.

Student Requirements

Only curricula from College Board approved Advanced Placement high school courses qualify for UNO History Department Dual Enrollment credit. Therefore:

  • The student’s high school must offer the Advanced Placement curriculum course.
  • The student must be a high school junior or a high school senior.
  • The student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 to enroll in the Advanced Plaicement course.
  • The high school’s administration must seek prior authorization for the teacher to offer the AP course for UNO Dual Enrollment credit, and the UNO History Department must grant that permission.

Teacher Requirements

The following criteria are necessary to gain full approval as a University of Nebraska at Omaha Dual Enrollment teacher.

  • The teacher must be qualified to offer one of the five eligible Advanced Placement history courses.
  • The teacher must have a masters degree. This is a requirement of the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Post-Secondary Education.
  • The masters degree must be in History.

If the teacher’s masters degree is not in History, the teacher may be provisionally approved according to the following criteria:

In principle, all those teaching history courses for credit from the University of Nebraska at Omaha should hold at least an M.A. in history. The Nebraska Coordinating Commission on Postsecondary Education requires a minimum of a master’s degree.

“Provisional” approval was created when the Dual Enrollment Program was inaugurated to allow experienced Advanced Placement teachers lacking an M.A. in history to teach Dual Enrollment history courses while earning graduate credits in history. Provisional approval to teach in the History Dual Enrollment program has always been at the discretion of the Dual Enrollment Committee and the chair of the Department of History.

Since the standard for teaching at the college level is at least an M.A. in the content field, provisional approval to teach in the History Dual Enrollment Program will be granted only to teachers enrolled in the University of Nebraska at Omaha history M.A. program and making satisfactory progress toward the degree. Provisional approval cannot be granted to a teacher who does not meet the admission requirements for the M.A. program in history at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Any teacher seeking provisional status must apply for, and be admitted to, the graduate program in history at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

A teacher with provisional approval must begin graduate coursework in history no later than one semester after being granted such status and must complete the M.A. in history within five years of gaining provisional status.

A teacher with provisional approval, like any graduate student, must be advised by the Chair of the Graduate Program in History before registering for any history classes. The graduate chair must approve the proposed schedule. Teachers with provisional approval may not pursue a graduate minor.

“Satisfactory progress” is defined as completing a minimum of six semester hours of graduate credit in history per calendar year, with no final course grade lower than a B-. In the event that a teacher is admitted to the graduate program and required to complete HIST 3930, Historical Research, that course may be substituted for three of the six hours in the teacher’s first year. Failure to maintain satisfactory progress will result in revocation of provisional status.
Please note that, to complete the degree within five years, a candidate entering with no graduate hours in history must take more than six hours a year.

A teacher who commits academic misconduct will have provisional approval revoked.

The Dual Enrollment program will provide a tuition scholarship for the first nine hours of the graduate program for teachers granted provisional approval. Scholarships may be awarded for additional hours, pending available funds. 

Annual Reports

Annual reports for the History Department’s Dual Enrollment programs and activities are available upon request.