Imagine taking a class in high school that applies toward high school graduation and offers college credit.

ACC makes this a reality by offering a concurrent enrollment program for selected high school students.

The program enables participants to take certain college classes on both the high school campus and the college campus. The choice is given to help accommodate all students.

Classes and resources provided on the high school campuses are limited, and the high school is required to pay for the classes taken by the concurrent student on the college campus or at the high school.

ACC Concurrent Enrollment specialists Shari Culver, Jessica Buckmaster and Virginia Rodríguez help the students steer through the details of the program.

Applying is the same for all concurrent students regardless of where they choose to study. Buckmaster said paperwork must be signed by the parents of the eligible students. The students then take an Accuplacer test to determine which classes they will take. After that, the new concurrent students choose whether to take college classes at their high schools or on the college campus.

During the 2013-2014 school year, 205 students were on ACC’s campus in the Concurrent Enrollment program. The students take courses either online or in a classroom at ACC and are treated like other students. They have access to any classes offered at the college and any academic resources available to ACC students, as well as the the fitness center.

At ACC, 3,386 high-school students from seven school districts and 34 schools registered in Concurrent Enrollment during the 2013-2014 school year.

“ACC is No. 1 in the state for their concurrent enrollment program on high school campuses,” Culver said.

“The students do quite well,” Rodriguez said. “For the concurrent students taking college classes at their high school, the success rate is at a high 93 percent,” she said.

For concurrent students on the ACC campus, the environment is a bit different. Students are integrated into the overall population of the student body, so the academic success of concurrent students is hard to track. Professors do not know which students are enrolled as concurrent students unless the student chooses to tell them. Thus, faculty and classmates treat them as they would any other students.

Elena Brookover, a former concurrent student on the ACC campus, is a fan of the program.

“Life at ACC mainly consisted of attending my classes,” Brookover said. “I also spent time before, between, and after class talking or studying with friends who I met at ACC.”
“The classes were extremely informative and I really enjoyed getting dual credits for my high-school and college,” she said. She now is attending West Texas A&M University, seeking a degree in Agriculture Business.

More information is available from Virginia Rodriguez at 303-797-5085 or [email protected] , or by visiting M2405.