A new education program will introduce students to college courses while they are still in high school.
Spearheaded by Gov. Bev Perdue, the recently launched Career and College Promise program strives to better prepare high school students for college or technical school after graduation. The initiative will allow eligible students to earn college credits, tuition free, while still in high school. The credits can then be transferred to participating North Carolina higher education schools. The program is scheduled to begin Spring 2012.
“This is as much for the students who have set a high bar of achievement for themselves as for the ones we fear will fall through the cracks,” said June Atkinson, North Carolina superintendant of public instruction. “This is meant for all youth, the adults of tomorrow.”
The program provides three pathways for students—college transfer, technical careers and Cooperative Innovative High Schools. The first two tracks allow participants to earn tuition-free credits to put toward college or technical school, and the third option lets students take college courses as early as their freshman year.
To qualify for the first two tracks, students must be high school juniors or seniors with a 3.0 GPA and demonstrate eligibility in specified placement exams. The third track requires that students be enrolled in high school and have access to a cooperative innovative high school approved by the N.C. Board of Education.
“All students can benefit from this given today’s economic and professional climate,” Atkinson said. “The jobs are there, but the people who are willing to do these skill-based technical or entry-level jobs do not have the skills for them. It’s not for lack of interest. It’s not their fault.”
Atkinson added that 18,000 students enrolled in technical career courses in state community colleges this past year. She believes this number is indicative of wide interest for technical professions in North Carolina.
Some high schools have already implemented steps to help students achieve a skill-based education.
“We have a very vibrant and successful commitment to an existing program of courses within [the] Career and Technical Education [department] that has proven to keep students engaged and motivated,” said Hans Lassiter, principal of Hillside High School in Durham.
Hillside High School offers a basic Microsoft IT Academy course, which teaches proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, Lassiter said. The school also offers business and finance courses, where students are engaged in a cross section of courses in both traditional and career and technical paths, he added.
“What is the result? Students who graduate prepared for majors in business, accounting, finance and marketing,” Lassiter said.
The Career and College Promise program is not expected to cost the state any extra resources, said Teresa Daye, executive director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for Durham Public Schools. The programs necessary for its success already exist within high schools and community colleges, Daye said.
“Given that the goal is to have more students eventually prepared to enter the workforce at one level or another, the initial cost may be a fraction of the return dividends to the state’s economy once students have either gone directly into the workforce or prepared for professional careers,” Daye said. “Cost is relative in the end.”
Atkinson added that a formal cost-benefit analysis has yet to be completed but is being worked on.
Daye noted that the initiative will most likely help economically disadvantaged students who struggle the most with education. It will also help close the “achievement gap” between black and Hispanic students and their white and Asian counterparts, she said.
“This is not a controversial issue and has garnered bipartisan support,” Atkinson said. “It’s nice to see people come together, especially on a matter as important as our children’s future.”
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