RUSKIN — High school students countywide have been earning college credits through Hillsborough Community College's dual enrollment courses for more than 24 years.
But when classes resume Tuesday, one school's partnership with HCC will be at a whole new level.
HCC SouthShore and Lennard High School have formed the Lennard Collegiate Academy, which will allow students a chance to earn 30 college credit hours and complete their freshman year of college by the time they graduate from high school.
Unlike traditional dual-enrollment students, those in the Lennard program will have a set schedule that will begin the second semester of their sophomore year and will include two lower-level college courses each semester thereafter. Instead of taking college courses in high school classrooms like most dual-enrollment students, they'll attend nearby HCC SouthShore and be taught by college instructors.
"This is another step toward providing opportunities for students at that high school to move directly onto college by simply walking across the street," said Allan Witt, dean of academic affairs at HCC SouthShore, which opened last fall.
Dual enrollment courses are free for students. David Steele, chief information and technology officer for the district, said saving on the first year of college will be especially beneficial to students at Lennard, where about 70 percent of the population receives free or reduced-price lunches.
The current in-state cost of each credit hour at HCC is $78.24. At that price, Lennard students who participate in the program would save $2,347, and that's not including the cost of textbooks, which the district covers.
"I think it's coming at an excellent time," Steele said. "I do think we're at a time where students are going to be looking closer to home to go to college."
The main motivator for the program, Steele said, is Lennard's proximity to HCC SouthShore in Ruskin. Lennard opened in fall 2006 on East Shell Point Road, right across the street from HCC.
Students in the program will leave Lennard early every day and spend their final two periods at HCC.
"The various HCC campuses are in proximity to our current high schools," Steele said, "but nothing like the across-the-street thing you have down there."
Since students at Lennard will be starting dual enrollment in 10th grade, HCC adjusted its admission requirements for the program by adding the PSAT, a standardized test ninth- and 10th-graders take, to the list of admissions tests. It also changed the minimum grade point average from an unweighted 3.0 to a weighted 3.0, which factors in additional points from honors classes.
Craig Horstman, assistant principal for curriculum at Lennard, said at least 15 sophomores have met the requirements to start the program in the upcoming semester, but that number is likely to rise as more PSAT scores roll in.
Kevin Smetana can be reached at ksmetana@sptimes.com or (813) 661-2439.
News
