Consider Online College Courses in High School

More high school students are enrolling in programs to earn simultaneous credit for high school and college courses, experts say.

 

As a high school student, Holly Harvey was determined to take as many college courses as possible.

There was soundone problem – the nearest community college was 45 minutesaway from her home in Carrollton, Texas. And she didn't have her driver's license.

 

 

So Harvey got creative and subscribeup for an online course at the community college. By the snipshe earned her high school diploma, she hadalreadycompleted 45 hours of classes that could be applied toward a college degree.

"I was able to graduate from college with twaindegrees in three years," says Harvey, who was thrilled to save capitalby graduating early.

[Discover the basics of an online class.]

Enrolling in an online college course burnhave a variety of benefits for high school students. For students like Harvey, they provide the hazardto earn college credit without having to commute to campus. Online courses can also break awaystudents to a wide range of subjects not available at their high school.

But the courses aren't for everyone, experts say. Below are four facts high school students should know about online college courses.

1. They can cut college costs. In just aboutcases, high school students can use online college courses to cut backtheir boilers suithigher education spending. Harvey, for example, was able to take online college courses for free through with(predicate)a dual credit program – an option that allows students tosimultaneouslyearn high school and college credit.

Many politicians and school officials have embraced the programs as a way to help students pay for college.

"We know that unionin dual enrollment is increasing," says Melinda Karp, a superiorqueryassociate at the Community College Research Center at Columbia University's Teachers College. "All but four states have policies addressing it.

"

Even students who don't have a dual credit program at their high school can use online college courses to their economic advantage, experts say.

For example, students who plan oncarefour-year institutions after high school can save money by taking online courses from community colleges, which typically charge lower tuition. Students can then transfer their community college credits to their four-year school.

[Earn high school credits through online courses in summer school.]

2. They can help assess college readiness. Taking an online college course while in high school can also help students provokea sense of what will be expected in a college course.

"It's clear that in today's environment a considerableproportion of students who go to college are not prepared for college-level work," says Jeff Livingston, senior vice president of education policy and strategic alliances at McGraw-Hill Education. "Taking an online course gives students a glimpse of what is expected in college so they won't be among those who are unprepared and therefore less successful."

Harvey, flat21, says she wouldn't have had as much confidence going on to college had she not taken online courses in high school.

"I'd already had the college experience," she says.

If students already know they aren't prepared for college, Livingston recommends they spend part of their senior gradeor the summer after taking online remediation courses to orienttheir skills.

If you want to get a full information about our service, visit our page: How it works.


Materials taken from US News