March 29, 2024

Students Tout Dual Enrollment

Dual Enrollment

U.S. Education Secretary John King Jr., left, and Under Secretary Ted Mitchell, second from left, spoke with College of Southern Maryland students, from left, Tierra Harris of Hollywood, Hassan Yousaf of Hughesville and Taylor Mutchler of Huntingtown about their experiences in the dual enrollment program while they were high school students prior to a roundtable discussion May 16 at the La Plata campus.

CSM’s Dual Enrollment Program Considered by US Education Officials

US Education Secretary John King Jr. and Under Secretary Ted Mitchell visited the La Plata campus of the College of Southern Maryland in May to talk to students who participate in the college’s dual enrollment program.

Students Tierra Harris of Hollywood, Taylor Mutchler of Huntingtown, and Hassan Yousaf of Hughesville spoke with Mr. King and Mr. Mitchell about their experiences in dual enrollment, which works because of cooperation between CSM and their county boards of education.

CSM is among 44 post-secondary institutions selected to participate in a The US Dept. of Education  experiment giving access to Federal Pell Grants to high schoolers taking college-credit courses. Close to 10,000 high school students would become eligible for about $20 million in Pell Grants to take dual enrollment courses, according to a fact sheet from the Department of Education.

“The research evidence is clear. We know that students who have those early college experiences while in high school are more likely to graduate from high school, enroll in college, persist in college and graduate from college. This experimental cycle will allow us to bring that effort to greater scale around the country and more importantly to engage in more low income students in those experiences,” Mr. King said.

“Tuition is just a part of what it costs to enroll in college — there are fees, textbooks and transportation. Sometimes those elements get in the way of broad participation in programs. So through this experiment, we hope to make Pell Grants available to students and families to defray those costs as well. We see this as a partnership between the federal government, community colleges like CSM and progressive school districts like those represented here today,” Mr. Mitchell said.

“These types of robust dual enrollment programs require extensive collaboration between colleges and school districts,” said CSM President Dr. Brad Gottfried. “The College of Southern Maryland has a long history of effective interactions with our educational partners in the Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s public school districts. We are all focused on ensuring that our youngsters are fully prepared for a successful transition.”

Other roundtable participants were Molly Gearhart, supervisor of student services for Calvert County Public Schools; Alicia Jones, supervising school counselor for Charles County Public Schools; Jeffrey A. Maher, chief academic officer for St. Mary’s Public Schools; CSM professor and Chair of Languages and Literature Division David Robinson; and CSM Admissions Director Brian Hammond.

Dr. Gottfried facilitated the informal discussion, which highlighted the benefits of dual enrollment. The discussion allowed the participants to see the unique perspective of the students and gain an understanding about what is successful about the program, what is challenging and what could make the program better.

CSM has been offering early admissions enrollment for juniors and seniors at the local high schools since 1980 and the program has evolved over the years. In fall 2007, the college started waiving 50 percent of tuition and fees for dual enrolled students, and today, CSM’s dually enrolled students are able to take their courses on campus, online, at their high school or virtually using video teleconferencing technology.

Ms. Mutchler, 17, who graduated from Huntingtown High School in May, said she was looking at classes for her senior year and was reluctant to sign up for more Advanced Placement courses because there was no guarantee that her efforts would result in college credit. By participating in dual enrollment program and one AP course that transferred, Ms. Mutchler has earned 30 college credits and will essentially be at sophomore status when she begins full time at CSM this fall. Her goal is to take advantage of CSM’s transfer articulation agreement with University of Maryland, College Park to study pharmacy and then apply to the UMD School of Pharmacy.

Mr. Yousaf, 19, was a dual enrolled student taking math classes while a senior at Thomas Stone High School through ACCESS CSM. Through ACCESS, Yousaf was able to take part in college courses using video teleconferencing technology so he could stay at Thomas Stone while participating in a classroom of CSM students taught by a CSM professor at the La Plata campus. After high school, Mr. Yousaf continued at CSM and is pursuing an associate degree in general studies. He will transfer to UMD to study computer science and pre-med.

Ms. Harris, 21, was a dual enrolled student while attending Leonardtown High School and graduated from CSM on May 19. At CSM she was an athlete and on the CSM collegiate robotics team, which earned three consecutive invitations to the VEX-U World Championships. She will transfer to University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in the fall to study computer science.

In the 2010-11 school year, more than 1.4 million high school students took courses offered by a college or university for credit through dual enrollment.

Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) applauded the announcement.

“I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Education has invited the College of Southern Maryland to participate in this important pilot program,” the congressman said. “As the cost of college education continues to skyrocket, I am committed to making higher education more accessible and affordable for students. The dual-enrollment program at CSM has been very successful, and I believe their model can be used to increase dual enrollment at other institutions. Today’s announcement will make CSM’s program even more successful by allowing low-income high school students to use Pell Grants for dual enrollment. These Pell Grants will be a critical source of financial aid that will help students from Fifth District high schools access a quality education.”

For information on CSM dual enrollment program, visit here.

To view photos from the roundtable discussion, visit here.

For more about the College of Southern Maryland, visit their Leader member page.

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