College Credit at NO COST


Qualifying Launch students can benefit from free dual credit courses with Missouri State University.
By Savannah Waszczuk
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Qualifying Launch students can benefit from free dual credit courses with Missouri State University.

What if we told you that qualifying students in your district could earn up to 6 hours of college credit for free every semester? Sounds great, right? Thanks to Missouri State University, this is now a reality for Launch students statewide.

At the start of the Fall 2019 semester, Missouri State University announced the pilot of a program in which the university would provide dual credit tuition assistance to students who qualify for free and reduced lunches. The university chose to pilot the initiative with students in the Springfield Public School District as well as students enrolled in virtual courses via SPS’s Launch program. This means that students who attend a Launch partner school district and enroll in dual credit courses online with Launch are eligible to qualify! The partner district is still charged a Launch tuition, but there is no additional dual credit fee for qualifying students.

Launch and Missouri State University are hopeful that this will provide opportunities for students who have financial barriers by allowing them to gain a head start on a college education while in high school. This is a pilot program that the university would like to be able to implement for the foreseeable future.

For more information about the Missouri State Dual Credit program and dual credit course registration, please visit DualCredit.MissouriState.edu.

Launch Student Qualifications for Free Dual Credit:

  • The student must qualify for free or reduced lunches.
  • The student must have at least a 3.0 high school Grade Point Average.
  • The course can only be a dual credit course.
  • The students will be required to meet course prerequisites, if applicable, to enroll in a class.
  • The pilot covers the tuition cost of $70 per credit hour for up to 6 credit hours each semester.