(Frequently Asked Questions)
CTE (Career and Technical Education) Dual Credit is the nationwide program formerly known as Tech Prep. CTE Dual Credit allows high school students to earn high school and college credit at the same time (dual credit) for successfully completing certain Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses at the high school or skill center.
CTE Dual Credit classes are taught at the high school or skills center and integrate academics with technical and real-world skills that help prepare students for advanced education and careers in countless professional-technical occupations.
All CTE Dual Credit courses taught by CTE teachers offer both high school and college credit for successfully completing the same class. The courses are taught at the high school but are also part of a program of study at the awarding college and can provide a clear career pathway for students who choose to continue in that field.
The program is supported by articulation agreements between districts and colleges that align the curricula of the high school classes with the college classes. In Pierce County, the program is facilitated by Pierce County Careers Connection, a partnership of the school districts and colleges in Pierce County.
Classes that are available at your high school or skill center are indicated in the SERS website, http://www.ctesers.org. The Career Specialist at your high school or staff in the Career & College Readiness department at your school district can assist you in determining what classes are available.
SERS (Statewide Enrollment and Reporting System Opens in a new window) is the official CTE Dual Credit registration site for Washington State and includes:
- Registration login for CTE Dual Credit students, staff, teachers, consortium members, district staff, and college registrars.
- Search tool to find CTE Dual Credit articulations by a school district, high school, college, or career clusters.
CTE Dual Credit classes are a part of your district’s regular Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes. You are eligible to begin earning credit anytime between 9th and 12th grade and enroll in an eligible CTE course.
There is no “official” limit on the number of credits that a student can earn in CTE – that is usually determined by the college.
First, go to our website www.pc3dualcredit.org and click the REGISTER link located in the top portion of each page. This will open a new webpage with step by step instructions and a link to the online registration system.
Students will not have to pay any fee for Dual Credit. However, student fees may be considered, but it is not yet decided if they will be re-implemented in the future.
Students must register for Dual Credit online through the Statewide Enrollment and Reporting System (SERS), at http://www.ctesers.org. Registration dates are from December to mid-June of each year.
Your SERS ID number is/was assigned to you when you created your account in SERS (Student Enrollment and Reporting System – www.CTESERS.org)
You can find it by logging back into SERS and clicking the “view/update profile” link to view your profile page – your SERS ID number will be
- just above your mailing address
- on the confirmation email that was sent to you after creating an account
- on the confirmation email that was sent to you when you registered for your class(es)
Please don’t re-register! E-mail gelgar@pc3connect.org to request to delete the class registered in error and we will edit for you.
Log into your CTE SERS account using your User Name and Password.
If you don’t remember your SERS ID # or User Name; there is a Forgot Login option under the login boxes that will email your login information to you if you have provided us with a current email address.
If you still can’t find it, email gelgar@pc3connect.org. Give us your full name, date of birth, current email address and verify your high school. We will reset your account for you.
Yes, simply login to the online registration system and click View/Edit Student Profile. From here you can change your address, email address, phone number, etc.
No. When a CTE Dual Credit class is available for credit at more than one college, you must choose which college you would like to receive credit from. You cannot receive credit for the same class at two colleges.
Unfortunately, you are unable to retroactively register for class in the previous school years. You must register for the CTE Dual Credit program during the same school year that you are enrolled in the qualifying class. Exceptions may apply for classes that are two (or more) semesters long.
CTE Dual Credit is intended as a program for students to earn college credit in professional/technical (non-academic) degree and certificate programs. By law, credit earned through Dual Credit must be accepted for transfer between equivalent Washington State professional/technical college programs.
Up to 15 credits may transfer to Washington State universities as general elective credits. Sometimes credits earned through Dual Credit may transfer and be applied to a student’s major at a university but this depends on the transfer policy of the university.
The college that awards you credit will generate transcripts during summer quarter. A letter AND / OR transcript will be mailed from Bates Tech, CPTC, and/or Pierce College directly to your home address in late August/early September. The college will email a notification to you that your transcript is complete. You will be provided with a Student ID Number (SID) that is unique to the college awarding you the credit. You will need this number to order an official transcript to be sent to a college of your choice. For more information on how to order transcripts, please visit the Transcripts link for transcript information for each of our partner colleges.
An official transcript comes in a sealed envelope and is what you will send to the college that you decide to attend. Once the seal is broken, it becomes an unofficial transcript. An unofficial transcript is a copy of your transcript that you can keep for your own records.
High school CTE teachers have the same qualifications as college professional/technical instructors. This fact, combined with articulation agreements, allow the colleges to recognize high school Dual Credit CTE classes as equivalent to college professional/technical courses.
Students may earn college academic credit through other dual credit programs, such as Running Start, College in the High School, and Advanced Placement.
Contact the CTE/PC3 Staff to request the previous consortium staff to change the home high school so the new consortium can edit the student.
Returning students, who are updating their existing accounts for the new SERS system and have forgotten their passwords, will be sent an email when they use “Forgot my Password”. In the email a link will be provided to create their new password and security questions. If the student’s email address is A) inactivated, invalidated or otherwise inaccessible or B) the address is from a previous school that they are no longer attending, then student will need to contact CTE or PC3 staff to find the student in the system and edit their email address. Then the account can be reset and the email sent.
Students should be prompted to pay attention to email addresses. They need to make sure the address they are giving is VALID. Otherwise, they won’t receive email from the system.
Students and teachers should also pay attention to the note on the email address field in account creation, as it advises AGAINST using school email accounts because many schools do not allow external email to be received. They should use their own personal account or create a free account through Yahoo or Gmail.
Open the instruction document through the link below:
If you are planning to attend the college that has awarded you CTE dual credit, your credit will already be available for use at that college. If you are planning to transfer your credits to a different college or university you will need to request an official copy of your transcript(s) from the college(s) awarding you the credit to be sent to the institution you are enrolled in. They will review these credits as ‘transfer credits’. You may also need to enter the college course name and number on your college application. Information about your college credits can be found on your college transcript and also on your CTE SERS registration history page.
Yes. Speak to your local military recruiter for more information.
Yes. This form is the only way Pierce County Careers Connection knows a teacher is offering a Dual Credit course. The form is also the legal document affirming that a teacher will adhere to the articulation agreement.