Contact: Melissa Reifert
May 4, 2007

Dual Enrollment Student to Graduate with High School Diploma and Associate Degree

High school senior Ashley Johnson has been a busy girl. She will graduate from both J.J. Kelly High School with an advanced diploma and Mountain Empire Community College with an associate degree. Johnson was able to accomplish this feat through Virginia’s Dual Enrollment Program, which allows high-achieving students to meet the requirements for high school graduation while simultaneously earning college credit.

Johnson has accrued over 64 credits at MECC through both day and night classes, as well as online courses, all while attending J.J. Kelly. Biology, English, History, and a Governor’s School’s Entrepreneurship class were just some of the courses she completed at the college. While keeping such a demanding academic schedule, Johnson says she received support from her family, including her sister, a junior at J.J. Kelly who also participates in the Dual Enrollment Program.

“My mom encouraged it (Dual Enrollment),” she states. “It is a better way for me to get into a good school, and will help in the long run with costs.”

Dual enrollment participants save money since they pay no more than 20% of the cost of MECC tuition and fees if they are public school students in Lee, Scott, Wise, Dickenson Counties or the City of Norton. These students are able to earn college credit at a much lower price while they are still in high school. Dual Enrollment classes can also reduce the amount of time it takes to complete a college degree or certificate.

Johnson’s particular story is even more remarkable due to the fact that in addition to her high school and college course load, she also held a part-time job at Sykes Enterprises in Wise. She even found time to participate in local pageants, as well as the National Honor Society and the American Cancer Society’s annual Relay for Life.

Johnson, who is considering a double-major in Chemistry and Education at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise (UVa-Wise) this fall, says she would encourage other eligible high school students to take advantage of Dual Enrollment. She admits that the large number of credits she attained through the program at MECC required a little more discipline than if she had opted to take high school classes only.

“I had more homework, but the people have been enjoyable. There is more diversity than in high school. I’d definitely encourage it. I have a brother and a sister, who are both in high school and also plan to go to college. It helps your parents with costs.”

While dealing with ever-increasing college costs is on every parent’s mind these days, “Opportunities to reduce the cost of tuition have never been better,” according to Richard Phillips, Vice-President of Academic and Student Services at MECC.

Johnson took advantage of Dual Enrollment classes and the no-cost tuition available with MECC’s summer Governor’s School while still in high school. For other students, including recent high school graduates who completed a rigorous curriculum, there is the AIMS Higher Program, which provides two years of free tuition at MECC.

Two new low-cost opportunities will begin with the fall semester at the college. UVa-Wise and MECC recently signed an agreement that enables students who enter MECC as AIMS Higher scholarship recipients to later transfer to UVa-Wise, where they will pursue a four-year degree while receiving the same tuition benefits they received when they completed an Associate of Arts and Sciences Degree at MECC.

In addition, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Transfer Grant, which will provide a $1000 scholarship to eligible community college graduates transferring to Virginia’s four-year colleges and universities, and an additional $1000 for engineering, math, nursing, science, and teaching majors.

For more information about Dual Enrollment, the AIMS Higher Program, or the Transfer Grant, contact Phillips at (276) 523-7467 or rphillips@me.vccs.edu.

High school senior Ashley Johnson will graduate from both J.J. Kelly High School and Mountain Empire Community College this May. She took advantage of MECC’s Dual Enrollment Program with the hope of making herself more marketable to top colleges and universities, and saving money in the long run on the high cost of college tuition.

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