Vincennes University has been a pioneer in concurrent enrollment programming. The idea of concurrent enrollment first emerged in 1975, conceived by Dr. Gerald Altstadt, then Dean of Vincennes University's Jasper campus. This led to a partnership with Marian Heights Academy, an all-girls boarding school in Ferdinand, Indiana. Thirteen high school seniors enrolled in VU English Composition I and VU Plant & Animal Biology. The program, currently known as dual credit, then expanded to Loogootee High School, Loogootee, IN, where a high school instructor taught a VU Intro to Chemistry course. In 1985 the name of the dual credit program became known as Project EXCEL.

This dual credit program quickly grew across Indiana, with 1,157 unique students enrolled in VU Project EXCEL courses across 28 counties by the Fall of 2002.

Building upon the foundation laid by Project EXCEL, a new, more comprehensive approach to dual credit began in 2007. This was the launch of the Vincennes University Early College program, a significant evolution in the partnership between the MSD of Wayne Township and Vincennes University. It began at Ben Davis University Early College High School, born from a simple yet profound conversation—and, as legend has it, an idea jotted down on a napkin—between then Vincennes University President, Dick Helton and then MSD of Wayne Township Superintendent, Terry Thompson. From that initial spark, a full-fledged program developed, with its first class proudly graduating in 2010.

From those early conversations and first classes, the dual credit vision has exploded in scale; by 2024, the University supported over 27,000 enrollments across its Fall and Spring semesters.