Students complete their high school studies in the ninth and tenth grade, after which they begin taking credit-bearing college courses under the same roof.

Unlike some dual-enrollment programs, students stay on the same campus for all four years, and both high school- and college-level courses are taught by the same faculty.

[citation needed] In advance of their opening in the Bronx, the school's admissions and diversity practices were called into question.

[7] In the BHSEC program, students spend what is traditionally ninth and tenth grade finishing the bulk of their high school work.

Students are encouraged to take all required state testing by the end of 10th grade, when possible – in New York City, students take the five Regents exams required for the High School Regents diploma, which they receive in addition to the Associates of Arts degree from Bard College.