Dual enrollment at UL Lafayette and SLCC: where LA GATOR fits for a private-school or homeschool senior

Acadiana high school students have an unusually good setup for earning college credit before graduation. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette runs a dual enrollment program for rising seniors, and South Louisiana Community College has a campus in every one of the eight parishes this site covers. The question we hear from parents is how LA GATOR fits in. The honest answer is that it depends on which side of the account your student is on.

What UL Lafayette charged in 2025-26

According to UL Lafayette's University Connection office, the 2025-26 high school dual enrollment program cost $200 per three-credit face-to-face course and $300 per three-credit hybrid or online course, if one is available. Textbooks, course fees and parking are extra. To be eligible, a student must have finished junior year, be on track for the TOPS core curriculum, hold an unweighted GPA of at least 2.50, and meet the program's qualifying test scores. Students may take up to seven credit hours a semester and sit in the same classes as regular UL students, which means seats depend on what is open.

There are limits on what a dual-enrollment student can take: no honors courses, no University 100, and no major-restricted courses such as engineering or nursing. The office also notes that dual enrollment does not guarantee admission as a full-time freshman. Applications for 2026-27 opened on April 1, 2026.

At those prices, a senior taking one face-to-face course each semester spends $400 in tuition for six college credits, before books and fees.

South Louisiana Community College

SLCC grew out of a 2012 merger with the Acadiana Technical Colleges and now has campuses across all eight parishes: its main campus in Lafayette and campuses in Crowley, New Iberia, Ville Platte, Opelousas, St. Martinville, Franklin, Morgan City and Abbeville. For a student in Eunice, Kaplan or Berwick, that is a much shorter drive than the trip to UL. Ask the college and your high school which dual-enrollment courses run at the campus closest to you and on what schedule.

If your student is enrolled full time at a private school

An LA GATOR student enrolled full time at a BESE-approved school uses the account for that school's tuition and required fees, billed through Odyssey. The account does not separately pay for a college course the family arranges on its own. So the useful questions are for the high school:

Do you offer dual-enrollment courses as part of your program, and with which college?
Are they taught on your campus by approved faculty, or does my student go to UL or SLCC?
Is the cost included in tuition, billed as a required fee, or paid by the family?
Will the credits count toward TOPS and toward our diploma?

If the cost is billed as a required fee, it is part of what the account can pay. If the family pays the college directly, it is outside the account.

There are 23 approved schools in the eight parishes that serve grade 12 and enroll at least 90 students, from St. Thomas More and Teurlings in Lafayette to Notre Dame in Crowley, Catholic High in New Iberia and the K-12 parish schools in Opelousas, Eunice, Ville Platte and Abbeville. Our dual enrollment guide lists them with their enrollment.

If your student learns at home

Dual enrollment is one of the approved categories a home-based LA GATOR student can buy through the Odyssey marketplace, from a registered provider. For a homeschooling family in Acadiana, that can turn the award into a junior and senior year built around college courses, plus curriculum, tutoring and test fees. Before you register for a class, confirm that the college or course provider is listed in the marketplace, because the program does not reimburse purchases made outside it.

The catch for long-time homeschoolers is registration. A student cannot hold LA GATOR while registered with the state as a BESE-approved home study program or as a nonpublic school not seeking approval. Our home-based learning page explains how that works.

A senior-year plan, step by step

In the spring of junior year, renew or apply for LA GATOR in the Odyssey window.
Check the student against UL's dual enrollment criteria, or SLCC's, and note the application date.
If enrolled at a private school, ask how the school handles college courses and fees.
If home-based, confirm the provider is in the marketplace before you pay anything.
Budget for books, course fees and parking, which UL does not include in its dual enrollment tuition.

A note on timing for Catholic school families: placement and registration at the Acadiana Catholic high schools can come well before senior year, so the dual-enrollment conversation is one to have during the high school search, not after it. Ask each school you are considering how many of its seniors take college courses and where.

Not every student needs college credit in high school. But for a student who is ready, Acadiana's two public colleges make it inexpensive, and LA GATOR can help pay for it if you plan the route in advance.

Sources

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