With the Illinois General Assembly passing a resolution declaring March 18-24 as Dual Credit Week, Highland Community College remains dedicated to creating a successful pathway for students participating in post-secondary education and acknowledges its continuous growth with the many students and schools that benefit from the program.
Dual Credit is an instructional arrangement where an academically-qualified high school student can enroll in a college-level course, and upon successful completion, earns both high school and college credit. This allows the high school student the opportunity to explore various academic areas and at the same time introduces them to the rigors and expectations of college-level coursework.
Sam Schaible, Coordinator of Outreach and Dual Credit at Highland Community College, works with area students from the participating schools to help guide them to academic success.
“The opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school allows for students to finish a degree or certificate sooner while saving money,” explained Schaible. “Dual credit marks the beginning of a college transcript for many area high school students.”
Students who enroll in the program can see a decrease in the cost associated with completing a degree or certificate in college. Dual Credit is offered by community colleges across the state of Illinois and is governed by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB).
Nineteen schools, and CareerTEC and the CTE Academy in Highland’s District participate in the Dual Credit program offered through Highland. This amounts to 160 Highland classes offered to students with a total of nearly 500 credit hours accumulated by the students.
“Highland continues to support the communities by offering dual credit opportunities,” said Chris Kuberski, Executive Vice-President of Highland Community College. “However, this is a collaborative partnership between the high schools and the college. I am excited to report that Highland is now serving around 900 students a year through Dual Credit. These districts have partnered with Highland to make this program successful.”
For more information on Dual Credit, contact Sam Schaible at sam.schaible@highland.edu or call 815-599-3512.