2008 Woodie Awards
Dual credit courses help high school students speed through college
By Adriana F. De Leon
Issue date: 9/14/07 Section: News
Originally published: 9/13/07 at 6:46 PM CSTLast update: 9/13/07 at 6:45 PM CST
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High school students enrolled in the dual credit program get a head start to help them succeed in future college courses.
"We try to show these kids that they can do it. They can do college-level work," Fabian Cortez, dual credit coordinator, said.
The program allows a student to enroll in a community college to earn college-level credit, while at the same time the student is fulfilling high school academic requirements, he said.
To enroll in dual credit courses, high school students must pass college placement tests and meet academic requirements at their high schools.
Students have the same requirements as incoming freshman.
"Students have to submit Accuplacer scores, Assets scores, SAT scores or ACT scores," he said.
Tuition and fees are waived for up to two courses per semester.
Freshman and sophomores are limited to one dual credit course and juniors and seniors are allowed to take two courses, Cortez said.
Students may earn up to 36 college-level hours before high school graduation.
"We cap our students at 27 hours because we do not want them to have problems with scholarships," he said.
If a student surpasses 27 hours, it could affect their scholarships, he said.
"Students that graduate with 30 or more hours are no longer considered incoming freshmen. They could be considered as transfer students and it could affect students applying for scholarships," he said.
Students will not have problems applying for financial aid, he said.
Every student participating in the program does not pay for tuition.
"The school districts and the public schools are picking up the cost. These students are getting free college. They're not paying for books. They're not paying for tuition and they're not paying for fees," Cortez said.
The courses are offered at the high school campuses of the student.
"Almost any course that you can think of that you need for high school graduation, we can do for dual credit," Cortez said.
"We try to show these kids that they can do it. They can do college-level work," Fabian Cortez, dual credit coordinator, said.
The program allows a student to enroll in a community college to earn college-level credit, while at the same time the student is fulfilling high school academic requirements, he said.
To enroll in dual credit courses, high school students must pass college placement tests and meet academic requirements at their high schools.
Students have the same requirements as incoming freshman.
"Students have to submit Accuplacer scores, Assets scores, SAT scores or ACT scores," he said.
Tuition and fees are waived for up to two courses per semester.
Freshman and sophomores are limited to one dual credit course and juniors and seniors are allowed to take two courses, Cortez said.
Students may earn up to 36 college-level hours before high school graduation.
"We cap our students at 27 hours because we do not want them to have problems with scholarships," he said.
If a student surpasses 27 hours, it could affect their scholarships, he said.
"Students that graduate with 30 or more hours are no longer considered incoming freshmen. They could be considered as transfer students and it could affect students applying for scholarships," he said.
Students will not have problems applying for financial aid, he said.
Every student participating in the program does not pay for tuition.
"The school districts and the public schools are picking up the cost. These students are getting free college. They're not paying for books. They're not paying for tuition and they're not paying for fees," Cortez said.
The courses are offered at the high school campuses of the student.
"Almost any course that you can think of that you need for high school graduation, we can do for dual credit," Cortez said.
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