Dual enrollment is when an individual or individuals enroll into two separate, usually academically related, institutions. Dual enrollment sometimes occurs when a senior or junior in high school takes classes at both a community college and the high school he or she attends. Occasionally, dual enrollment refers to a student participating in a local community service organization and other form of an institute. Sometimes dual enrollment can relate to something between two or more universities such as Five Colleges (Massachusetts), Seven Sisters (colleges) or Five Colleges of Ohio where students can take courses at both universities in the league. Sometimes it is similar to the Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) joint program where students can study certain courses at both universities.

Dual enrollment, technically, can be applied when a person enrolls into two separate programs the largest provider is through the person's workplace. Usually dual enrollment refers to the enrollment into two institutions closely related to another. It rarely refers to two separate things. Dual enrollment most commonly is referred to when a student signs up for a local community college, goes here for an average of two years, and then picks up his major course of study at the university which sponsors the program. Dual enrollment is seen as a common means for over-achievers to achieve more than their peers. Most community colleges have a dual enrollment program of some sort.