Nye County School District officials think a request by Great Basin College to operate dual credit courses on a college schedule this fall is denying many high school students the opportunity to earn college credit at the same time as they attend high school.

Mike McFarlane, Great Basin College vice-president for academic affairs, said the college began operating dual credit classes this semester on a 15-week college schedule, which means the fall semester lasts from Aug. 31 to Dec. 12. Previously the classes were offered to coincide with the high school semester which runs on a 20-week schedule that doesn't end until Jan. 15.

"In the past what they were doing is they were basically scheduling high school type of schedules. They were not fitting the definition of a dual credit class," McFarlane said. "These are to be college classes in all respects."

Dual credit is a definition set by accreditation facilities like the Mountain States Association of Community Colleges, he said.

Under the dual credit program, some Pahrump Valley High School students complete much of their work toward a two-year associate degree in college by the time they receive their high school diploma.

McFarlane said in Elko last spring, one high school student crossed the stage to receive a Great Basin College degree then went on to participate in high school commencement ceremonies.

"The hours were way too many and our curriculum is not gauged to that type of schedule. A college class is designed for 15 weeks plus a finals week and it meets three hours per week," McFarlane said. "It was highly excessive time and most of it was basically seat attendance time."

Instead of 45 hours in a three credit college class, there were over 100 hours, McFarlane said.

"A number of college students basically weren't in those classes. They didn't want to do that. Plus it's hard to find instructors who would take that type of schedule," he said.

McFarlane said Great Basin College officials offered to host eight dual credit classes in Pahrump this fall semester during high school hours but only four days per week. Nye County school officials balked.

"We have six school districts in our service area, and Nye County is the only district that doesn't participate in this," McFarlane said. "It was their choice not to put their students in them for their internal policy reasons."

In Elko, for example, high school students can take a history class on Mondays and Wednesdays for college credit, and English on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the first period. But Nye County wants Great Basin College to take care of that student on Friday as well, he said.

"They wanted us to baby-sit the students for all the other time," McFarlane said.

Pahrump Valley High School Principal Max Buffi said local Great Basin College officials came up with a good compromise to accommodate the high school schedule, but it was shot down by college officials in Elko.

"They said, 'This is a glorified high school schedule, we're a college, we're offering the classes, we only do 15 weeks, we only meet two days a week, that's not our problem.' Well, what it comes down to is, by state law we have to account for our kids when they're not in college classes. Now the college says we don't, my district says we do. Well, my superintendent is my boss," Buffi said.

Nye County School Superintendent Rob Roberts said underclassmen have to be in school six hours out of the seven-hour class day; seniors only have to attend four hours.

Buffi said he did schedule a study hall students could attend three days a week to round out the week after their two-day-a-week dual credit course is over. That will turn into a study hall five days per week after the college semester ends in December.

High school students can take advantage of a low enrollment fee of $40 in a college dual credit course. Most courses listed in the fall 2009 Great Basin College program guide are offered via the Internet, with no time schedule, like elementary algebra, marketing principles, general psychology and first-year Spanish. The rest are through interactive video taught by a live instructor from a remote location.

A few dual credit courses are offered via interactive video during the school day -- like Introduction to Business from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays; Introduction to American Politics from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays, or the crininal justice course Introduction to Criminology from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., Mondays and Wednesdays. Most of the others are in the evening.

McFarlane said high school enrollment in dual credit courses dropped last spring in Pahrump once Great Basin College started requiring college placement testing.

Buffi said there's likely going to be a drop in dual credit enrollment due to the scheduling from last year, when high school students took a combined 300 credits of college. This year he complained dual credit courses were put in two narrow time blocks instead of dispersed throughout the school day.

"We have, without a doubt, the best dual credit program of any county in the state. We're really afraid we're going to lose kids because of the narrowing of when and where kids can take these courses," Jerry Hill, Nye County assistant superintendent for student achievement, said.

Hill derided McFarlane's comments about having too many class hours with the high school schedule, recalling his own experience teaching a dual credit class while at Pahrump Valley High School.

"What a terrible shame to receive more instruction," Hill said. "I didn't hear anybody complaining, especially me. It just gave us more time. Teachers always want more time and sometimes even the students do if they're enjoying the course and they're learning something. I didn't see this as a huge crisis but evidentally they did."