Alliance High has expanded its course offerings to allow students to be a high school and a college student at the same time. Alliance High School Director of Student Services, Travis Hawk, said, “ By taking advantage of  the dual credit opportunities, students can obtain college credit while at the same time taking classes that meet high school requirements.”

Shannon Garwood has recently named the new Coordinator of External Learning: in this position she will work to help coordinate the dual credit classes offered at AHS. Garwood says she is excited about the program because it offers students the opportunity to earn college credit for about half of the cost of normal college credit hours. Senior Sydnie Hiemstra said she took dual credit classes because of the money she will save for next year. Sydnie will graduate from high school this coming May and will graduate with 18 college credits already completed. Therefore, she will start college with her freshman year essentially completed. It is hoped that entering college with credits already completed will ease the stress of being a new college student and make it more plausible for students to complete a degree in four years.

Another benefit of this program is that it gives high school students the “feel” of college without being full-time students. Because they can still live at home while taking their first college classes, the initiation process may go more smoothly. The program also creates a broader variety of classes and choices for high school students in a time when budgets and teaching positions and, therefore, class offerings are being cut.

In addition, having college credit before actually becoming a full-time student can also open up the opportunity for college students to pursue a double major and still graduate from college in four years because they will have so many of their general education classes already out of the way.

Right now at AHS there are two programs that provide opportunities for juniors and seniors to earn college credit: dual credit classes and the Early Entry program. Dual credit classes are offered during the regular day and allow a high school junior or senior to earn high school and college credits concurrently. The courses can be taken online, via distance learning, or in a regular classroom.

AHS currently has many students enrolled in dual credit college English, algebra, botany, weights, chemistry, crop science, and feeds and feeding classes, but there are at least 20 more class choices available to students. Junior Sofi Fox is currently taking a dual credit chemistry class. She said, “I took the class because it’s much cheaper than taking chemistry in college, and I think it’s probably easier than an actual college chemistry class. I also think it looks good on my resume.”

Early Entry classes are on-line college courses for high school juniors and seniors who are planning to attend a Nebraska university or state college. The courses are offered by those institutions and upon successfully completing the course and earing a high school diploma, college credit is granted from the university or state college who offered the class. The Early Entry program is designed for students who have or who will have ample high school credits and have already made the decision to attend a Nebraska university or Nebraska state college.

In effect, the program allows them to get a jump start on their college education.

There are a few requirements students have to meet in order to take these Early Entry courses. They have to be a junior or a senior, they have to hold an overall ‘B’ grade point average or better, and some courses also require students to have an ACT composite score of at least 20 or higher.

Students also must have the support of their high school counselor and principal, which is not a problem at AHS because the Administration is whole-heartedly behind the effort to increase dual credit course offerings.

At this time, Alliance High School offers courses Early Entry courses in conjunction with Western Nebraska Community College and Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture. The Early Entry Program offers courses from the Universities of Nebraska at Lincoln and Kearny, and Chadron State, Wayne State, and Peru State Colleges.

Shannon Garwood is continuing to visit with other colleges where AHS students have interests to see if she can further expand the current course offerings.

With all these great opportunities at AHS the Administration wants to make sure parents and students are fully aware of all of them. Therefore, there will be an open house for AHS students and their parents, Wednesday, February 27, at 5:30 p.m. There will be a free meal in the Alliance High School Commons Area. Then, from 6 to 7 p.m. there will be an informational presentation about college courses and college representatives will be present to give information and answer questions.

To reach Shannon Garwood with any questions parents and students may e-mail her at [email protected].