College Credits Through Dual Enrollment – Summer 2025

One of the ways Houghton provides access to Early College courses is through dual enrollment arrangements with our partner schools. Houghton’s partner school network comprises more than 40 private Christian schools, some as close as Houghton Academy, or Northstar Christian Academy (Rochester, NY), and some as far as Rift Academy (Kijabe, Kenya) and Alliance Academy International (Quito, Ecuador). One of the many benefits Houghton provides to our partner school is the opportunity to offer dual enrollment courses to their high school students. Dual enrollment courses, unlike online early college courses, are taught by approved high school teachers in a traditional classroom setting. The instructors and their syllabi are reviewed and approved by Houghton’s academic department to ensure appropriate academic content and rigor, and students who complete their classes earn college credits for those classes.

Alumna Lori Miranda ’02 is the English department chair, director of curriculum and instruction, and English teacher for grades 10, 11 and 12 at Northstar Christian Academy in Rochester, New York. Lori is one of Houghton’s approved dual enrollment instructors, who teaches College Literary Studies for seniors at Northstar Academy. Lori holds a BA in Writing from Houghton University and an MA in Missions and Intercultural Studies from Wheaton College Graduate School. She’s been a teacher at Northstar Academy since 2016. Prior to her work at Northstar, Lori taught high school English at Webster Christian School.

Lori shares the following about her early college dual enrollment course:

My Houghton Early College class, College Literary Studies, appeals to students who want to continue challenging themselves in their last year of high school. I rarely have students who plan to study literature in college, so my students are selecting this class very intentionally for its academic rigor and impact. That is quite a contrast to many other seniors who seek to make their academic load as light as possible. My students don’t want a simple, passive final year of high school studies. Instead, they want to continue growing in their academic skills and understanding. By partnering with Houghton, I am able to reward those students’ diligence. Additionally, beyond the academic benefits of the class, my students gain the immediate, concrete benefit of earning college credit, which they can apply wherever they study. The significantly discounted tuition for the course is greatly appreciated by my students, many of whom are preparing to take significant financial responsibility for their lives for the first time in the near future. 

Lori asked her students for anonymous feedback on the impact of the class and was happy to share some of their insights.

“This class has benefited me in many ways. Firstly, it has made college more affordable, as the classes are cheaper to take here at NCA rather than at any college, and I found this class worthwhile. I enjoy coming into class every day to learn about the author’s true intentions of what we have read. Some of the works we have covered this year have impacted the way I think and look at the world in a positive sense.”