MECC Launches Dual Enrollment Website

The popular offering of dual enrollment courses at Mountain Empire Community College continues to attract area high school students.  For the fall 2005 semester, 586 students were able to earn college credit while still in high school through the dual enrollment program at MECC.  These students were also able to garner these credits at a greatly reduced cost.  In an agreement between MECC and the public school systems, high school dual enrollment students pay no more than 20% of the tuition and fee costs for courses within the program.

"Dual enrollment is a win-win opportunity for high school students," says MECC President Terrance Suarez.  "It provides the students a low-cost avenue to advanced study that satisfies high school graduation requirements while earning college credits.  The college credit that the students earn encourages many to choose to continue their education after high school by enrolling in college, an option they might not have even otherwise considered."

The newly-designed dual enrollment section of the MECC website features information for students, as well as their parents and school personnel.  It also lists all of the courses available for high school students who are eligible for dual enrollment. 

Dual enrollment includes transfer courses within the division of Arts and Sciences for students who plan to one day earn a bachelor's degree at a four-year college or university, as well as career-technical courses for students with the goal of obtaining a one-year certificate or two-year degree in a career-technical field before finding a job.

"Many high-achieving students are ready to begin work on college courses while still in high school," states Carolyn Reynolds, MECC interim Vice-President of Academic and Student Services.  We want the website to promote MECC's dual enrollment program and its benefits to students.  We chose to present information in the format of FAQ's (frequently asked questions).  Counselors and principals made suggestions on content, which we combined with information on processes for enrollment." 

Visit the new dual enrollment section of MECC's website at www.mecc.edu/de for more information about the program.