Early College Opportunities

Heartland offers early college opportunities to students across District 540 in accordance with the Dual Credit Quality Act (DCQA). Students can take advantage of early college offerings to: 

  • get a head start on their college career  
  • earn high school and college credit (dual credit)   
  • experience early college and career exploration  
  • take courses on-campus, online, or at a high school/career center  
  • have a better transition to a full-time college or career experience  
  • decrease time-to-degree completion and lower overall college debt  
  • finish a high school diploma & college certificate/degree simultaneously  

HCC's Opportunities

Students can take advantage of HCC's early college opportnities by:

  • taking courses at their high school or career center (CollegeNOW), or
  • taking courses at an HCC campus or online

Find out more information below!

Discover CollegeNOW

Take classes at your high school or career center. Click the button on the right to learn more.

CollegeNow

Take Classes On-Campus or Online

Apply and Enroll

Step 1: Apply

You only need to apply once as a high school student.  Your application remains active until the graduation date you provide.  Review the early college application instructions for more information on completing the application.

Step 2: Meet the Placement Requirements

You must meet any placement requirements before registering for classes. For placement information (including accepted waivers and qualifying scores), visit our Testing Center page.

Step 3. Complete the Financial Responsibility Form

You must complete the Financial Responsibility Form before meeting with an advisor to register for your first semester of classes.

Step 4. Meet With an Academic Advisor and Register

  • Students who have not taken classes on-campus/online should call to make an appointment with an advisor. Advisors are also available for drop-ins in the Community Commons Building on Heartland's Normal campus.
  • Students who have previously taken classes on-campus/online may: (1) make an appointment with an advisor, (2) come to HCC during drop-in hours, or (3) email the Advisement Team 

Advising Appointments

(309) 268-8027

Advising@heartland.edu

Drop-in Hours (Normal Campus)

Mon-Fri, 12-2pm

Community Commons Building 1000

Lincoln-Area Students

(217) 735-1737

Lincoln.Center@heartland.edu

Pontiac-Area Students

(309) 268-8960

Pontiac.Center@heartland.edu

Review Important Information After Enrollment
Heartland Student Benefits

Drop/Withdrawal Instructions

*If taking Heartland courses for dual credit, talk with your high school counselor before following these instructions to drop/withdraw from a Heartland course:

  • Log into my.heartland.edu
  • Select Student Center, then enter your username and password.
  • Choose the Manage Classes option; you should see Drop Classes in the left panel to continue the process.
  • Click on the term header (i.e., Fall 2022, Spring 2023) to view your currently enrolled courses and select the appropriate course(s) for drop or withdrawal.

View HCC's academic drop and withdrawal deadlines:

  • When you drop a course before the drop (refund) deadline, you will receive a refund, and no "W" will appear on your HCC transcript.
  • When you withdraw from a course after the drop deadline but before the withdrawal deadline, you will not receive a refund, and a "W" will appear on your HCC transcript.

Graduating? Continue At HCC!

Successfully completing HCC courses as a College NOW student means you can easily continue on to earn a degree or certificate at Heartland! Simply resubmit the Heartland application, but this time as a First Time College Student with Credit. Don't worry! You'll keep the HCC login credentials and email address. Then, you can plan your transfer to another college/university!

Access Your College Transcript

The grade you earn will be recorded on your unofficial and official HCC transcript.

  • You can download and print a copy of your unofficial transcript instantly from your Student Center.
  • If you intend to transfer your Heartland credits to another college/university, you can request your official transcript after your last HCC course.

*Colleges use official transcripts to determine your financial aid eligibility. If you continue your college education after high school graduation and plan to seek financial aid, you must maintain satisfactory academic progress.

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of courses can I take as a high school student?

General Education

  • These courses are common for 1st-year and 2nd-year students no matter the college/university.
  • HCC offers general education courses aligned with the Illinois Articulation Initiative.

Transfer Electives

  • These courses are designed to transfer but are not part of the Illinois Articulation Initiative. Coursework may transfer to other colleges/universities in various ways.

Career-Technical Education

  • These courses are connected to particular degree and certificate pathways at Heartland. These courses are not designed to transfer.
  • You can review the current degree and certificate options offered at HCC. 

Heartland also offers developmental (non-credit bearing) courses that help students advance to the next level of coursework. Developmental courses are not eligible for dual credit.

How do Dual Credit and Advanced Placement (AP) courses compare?

Both provide opportunities for students to earn college credit while in high school. Four-year colleges and universities routinely accept dual credit and advanced placement course credit; however, students must check with the college/university they intend to transfer to for information about how those credits transfer.

Please note the following:

  • Dual credit courses are college courses for which students earn transferrable college credit; they appear on your collegiate transcript upon course completion.  

  • Advanced Placement courses are high school courses for which students do not automatically earn college credit upon completion. Instead, students must register to take an exam and achieve the required score, as denoted by various colleges/universities. Scores need to be sent to each college the student enrolls in. 

*HCC awards college course credit for some high school AP courses. View our Advanced Placement Website for additional information regarding credit.

Can students started a college or career pathway before graduating high school?

Yes – it is very important that you take the right courses once you know the college major/career you eventually want to pursue. To learn more about your options, connect with the HCC Advisement Team in any of the following ways: 

  • Advising Appointments – call (309) 268-8027 
  • Drop-In Hours (Main Campus – CCB 1000) – Mon-Fri, 12-2pm 
  • Email HCC Advisement – Advising@heartland.edu 
What should students do if they are looking for additional support in their course?
  • Students who are struggling with their dual credit courses offered through high school should ask their high school instructor for assistance. They may also contact the high school guidance counselor for additional support.
  • Students also have access to the same resources as other HCC students.  Connect with support services such as Tutoring, Library and Student Success Peer Mentors. 
    • High school counselors can help students connect with these resources.
    • HCC student success office will also support students' connections.
Is there a credit hour limit for high school students?

College NOW students are limited to enrollment in 8 credit hours in classes taken on-campus/online, and in the fall/spring no more than 18 credit hours can be taken between dual credit classes they are enrolled in at their high school and on-campus/online classes. 

Early admission (Early Bird) students are limited to 1 course (3-4 credit hours) in their first semester of enrollment at HCC. 

A student who would like to enroll in more than the maximum number of credit hours must complete an Overload Request Form that they request and receive from an academic advisor. Submission of the form does not guarantee approval; the Overload Request Form and student's academic record will be reviewed by the appropriate staff before approving or denying the request. 

Contact Us

Early College

EarlyCollege@heartland.edu

Staff

Janelle Beverly

Coordinator, Early College Processes
Janelle.Beverly@heartland.edu

Lisa Sleevar

Director, Curriculum and Early College Processes
Lisa.Sleevar@heartland.edu 

Admissions

E-mail: Admissions@heartland.edu

www.heartland.edu/application

Community Commons Building 1000

Meet the Staff

Portait of Lisa Sleevar

Lisa Sleevar

Director, Curriculum and Early College Processes

Portait of Janelle Beverly

Janelle Beverly

Coordinator, Early College Processes

Locations

Normal Campus

Community Commons Building (CCB) Suite 1000

1500 W. Raab Road

Normal, IL 61761

Appointment Hotline: 309-268-8027

Phone: 309-268-8033

Email: Advising@heartland.edu

Pontiac Center

211 E. Madison Street

Pontiac, IL 61764

Phone: 309-268-8960

Email: Pontiac.Center@heartland.edu

Lincoln Center

2201 Woodlawn Road

Lincoln, IL 62656

Phone: 217-735-1731

Email: Lincoln.Center@heartland.edu