Dual Credit Innovation Grant

The Dual Credit Innovation Grant is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through its Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education. The program was established under Section 2004-I of the Pennsylvania School Code to expand access to dual credit opportunities for high school students. Dual credit programs enable students to simultaneously earn high school and college credits, and research cited by the Department indicates that such programs improve college readiness, enrollment, and completion rates, particularly among underserved populations. The grant is designed to address inequities in participation by increasing course availability and targeting students who face systemic, financial, or geographic barriers. The primary purpose of the grant is to provide funding to eligible public institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania to expand or enhance dual credit programming. Funding must be used specifically to increase the number or accessibility of dual credit courses offered to high school students enrolled in qualifying school entities such as school districts, charter schools, cyber charter schools, regional charter schools, or career and technical schools. The program prioritizes initiatives that align coursework with high-demand occupations and that serve key populations including low-income students, students in rural areas, students enrolled in career and technical education, students experiencing educational instability, and historically underserved groups. Funding is awarded on a competitive basis, with institutions eligible to request up to 1000000 dollars. The total program funding for the 2026 cycle is approximately 7000000 dollars. Funds are allocated based on the number of dual credit courses offered rather than the number of students served, emphasizing course-level cost structures. Allowable uses include instructional costs, textbooks and materials, transportation, administrative costs capped at 15 percent of course costs, accreditation-related expenses, student support services, and professional development for instructors. Funds may also support efforts to reduce or eliminate costs to students, including making courses tuition-free. However, funds cannot be used to support general administrative positions unrelated to course delivery. Eligibility is limited to specific categories of Pennsylvania public higher education institutions, including State System universities, community colleges, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, the Pennsylvania College of Technology, and rural regional colleges. Only one application per institution is permitted, and consortium applications are not allowed. Applicants must demonstrate partnerships with eligible school entities and provide letters of support from each participating partner. Proposals must clearly describe how funding will expand or improve existing programming, particularly for institutions that have previously received funding under this program. Applications must be submitted through the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s eGrants system. The application process includes multiple components such as applicant information, a project summary, program goals and objectives, a budget narrative, and compliance assurances. Applicants must outline how funds will be used, provide detailed cost calculations per course, and demonstrate alignment with priority outcomes. The submission window for the 2026 grant cycle opens on January 7, 2026 and closes on February 6, 2026 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. Applications submitted after the deadline or outside the eGrants system will not be considered. Applications are evaluated competitively based on a scoring rubric that allocates points across proposal narrative, expected outcomes, and budget justification. Each application is reviewed by multiple evaluators. Awarded institutions must comply with reporting and invoicing requirements, including submitting invoices within 30 days of approval and final expenditure reports by July 31, 2028. The anticipated project period runs from June 1, 2026 through June 30, 2028. The program is recurring annually, and future cycles are expected to follow a similar timeline. Technical assistance is available via a designated email address, and applicants were required to submit questions by January 14, 2026 for inclusion in a publicly distributed FAQ.

Align proposals with underserved populations and workforce priorities; ensure budget justification ties directly to course delivery; avoid unallowable expenses such as administrative salaries