As they move into the next phase of their education, Belgreen High School seniors can begin college with credit for up to six core classes thanks to a dual enrollment program through Northwest-Shoals Community College.
The Dual Enrollment for Dual Credit Program was already in place at Belgreen for Childhood Development, through which students can earn a Child Development Associate credential and the minimum requirements to be an auxiliary teacher in the state-funded Pre-Kindergarten program. That dual credit program began in 2019.
Last fall, Belgreen and NW-SCC partnered to offer dual enrollment courses in important Science, Technology, Engineering and Match, or STEM, subjects. These courses were available to rising seniors.
Belgreen seniors were given the opportunity to enroll in English 101, 102, Math 112, 113 and Biology 1 and 2 dual enrollment courses that can earn them both high school and college credit. The courses count toward their high school graduation credits and remain a part of their regular college transcript, whether they attend NW-SCC or another college that accepts the transfer of the credits.
This can be significant in helping a student build a foundation for academic success in college, with a maximum of 18 hours of up to 4.0 credits.
In order to participate in dual enrollment, students must meet the requirements of post-secondary education, have at least a 2.5 unweighted grade point average and obtain written approval from their principal or school counselor.
They must earn at least a 'C' or better in all attempted college courses for them to transfer, according to NW-SCC Dual Enrollment guidelines.
Seniors can enroll in two classes per semester free of charge. If they take a third dual enrollment course, they are charged for that three-hour credit through NW-SCC.
After an email was sent to Belgreen faculty to see who would be interested in teaching a dual enrollment course, English teacher Teresa Whitten answered the call, as did math teacher Austin Oldag and science teacher Jennifer Cooper.
A 21-year teaching veteran, Whitten liked the idea of teaching a class of motivated students looking to build their college transcript.
“I like a challenge and have thought sometime I'd really like to teach at the college level because the kids want to do the work to succeed,” Whitten said. “It's refreshing knowing every student in that class is going to turn in their work and try and put forth the best effort because they want to do well. That's the biggest difference between college and high school—you have those kids who want to do the work, and you don't have to persuade them to put in the work. These dual enrollment classes have been the highlight of my year for sure,” she added.
Franklin County Superintendent of Education Greg Hamilton said his system is committed to the dual enrollment program because of how it can prepare students for the college level of their educational path.
“It allows them to get a jump start on their college career and also shows them they can be successful with a college curriculum,” Hamilton said. “Anything we can do to ease the transition of our students from high school to college is worth doing,” he added.
Whitten stresses the development of writing skills in her dual enrollment English class. This year's senior class went through two academic years impacted by COVID-19. Part of that fallout was, in many cases, writing skills that didn't develop like they ordinarily would in a classroom setting.
“When we first started in the fall, some of their writing was not where it should be, so English 101 focused on learning how to write argumentative essays and informative writing,” Whitten said. “Their improvement has been great and I'm very pleased with how much they accomplished to get to where they can sit down and write a college-level paper.
“Students need to learn formal writing as opposed to texting and being conversational with friends. When I gave them back their first essays, the papers looked like a bloodbath. Their mouths dropped and I just told them to revise it and learn from their mistakes. As the term progressed, their writing got so much better. It's been a really good awakening for them. In college, you don't just write in English. You have papers and essays assigned in different subjects and this year really woke them up as to what to expect in college,” she added.
11 Belgreen seniors enrolled in Whitten's two dual enrollment English classes this year. Sign up for the 2023-24 dual enrollment courses will take place near the end of the spring semester, Whitten said. Northwest-Shoals officials will come and talk to students about the program and about transfer scholarships from NW-SCC to other colleges.
Regardless of a student's degree path, basic courses including English, math and biology are often required, so those students with dual enrollment credits enter college ahead of other students.
For more information on NW-SCC's dual enrollment program, log onto www.nwscc.edu, click on Programs, then select “Dual Enrollment for Dual Credit.”
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