Dual Enrollment Program Allows High School Students to Earn College Credit Online

A new partnership between the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School (PA Cyber) and the Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) allows high school students to experience college-level courses and earn college credits. The online program, called College in High School, currently offers five courses — Principles of Biology, Western Civilization 1, Vietnam, General Psychology and English Composition — each taught online during the regular school day by a CCBC-approved PA Cyber instructor.

Beginning with the 2015-16 fall semester, the College in High School program is open to PA Cyber juniors who are up-to-date or ahead in coursework, have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, and are recommended by their academic adviser. Students pay $50 per credit; the courses provide three or four credits each. Textbook costs will be sponsored by PA Cyber.

"The beauty of this program is the low cost and the ability of our students to attend college classes seamlessly along with their regular high school classes," said Mike Smith, administrator of the College in High School program, in a press release. "Our online high school students will learn the same course content as their college counterparts sitting in a classroom."

According to the State of Pennsylvania's credit transfer system, College in High School credits will be transferrable to participating colleges or universities within the commonwealth, as well as widely accepted by other colleges and universities across the country.

"This program will enable students to enroll in transfer-friendly, college-level courses and pay a fraction of standard tuition that they would pay at a four-year college," said Melissa Denardo, CCBC vice president for academic affairs/provost. "If they take full advantage of this program, they will graduate from high school far ahead of the game ... both intellectually and financially."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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