Dual enrollment reaches new highs at Northeast State Community College
After the increase in college classes high school students are allowed to take was provided by the state of Tennessee, Northeast State Community College is seeing more dual enrolled students than ever.
For the first time since the school’s inception, Northeast State Community College has seen a spike in dual enrollment such that there are more dual enrolled students during this Spring semester than there were in the most recent Fall semester.
This increase comes on the heels of the state of Tennessee voting to increase the number of free college classes in which high school students are allowed to enroll.
Shelby McKenzie, who is Northeast State’s High School Program Director, was quoted in an article from the school’s website as saying that almost 1,000 high school students are currently enrolled in classes there, which is the largest number ever seen in a Spring semester.
She explained the reasoning for this, saying, “Many high school students are taking advantage of the five free college courses. When the state increased the number of college courses high school students could take at no cost, many added more courses to their dual enrollment schedules.”
This current Spring semester has seen an increase in more than 100 dual enrolled students than is normally seen in past Spring semesters.
A student who enrolls in the five free courses at Northeast State can earn a full semester’s worth of college credit by the time they graduate from high school.
The Career and Technical Education Dual Enrollment Program at Northeast State offers students exposure to several different career paths like programming, cyber security, health care, and welding.
High school students who are ready to start their path toward a bachelor’s degree have the opportunity to apply for Northeast State’s University Parallel Dual Enrollment Program which lets those students earn college credits that can be transferred to four year schools.
McKenzie noted that while the state has recently changed some of the requirements to qualify for a dual enrollment grant, students must still meet ACT and GPA requirements for some classes.
More information about all of the offerings at Northeast State Community College can be found on the school’s website.