High School Students Can Get "Running Start" on College Education
Katharine Eneguess, President of White Mountains Community CollegeWe've begun our fall semester here at White Mountains Community College, and it's great to see the returning students and the new students fill the classrooms and hallways with fresh enthusiasm for learning. The other day someone remarked to us that no matter how old you are, in September there's a feeling that you should be putting away your summer memories and renewing your commitment to learn something new. We send our best wishes out to all of you who, whether in a classroom or in your private lives, are following through on that urge to stretch your minds.
High school students return to the public school hallways this week as well, and some of them are ready to be challenged further than their regular high school curriculum. Most high schools offer advanced placement classes which, if students do well on Advance Placement tests, can be applied to their college careers. There's another avenue for students to complete first year college work in some courses while still in high school, and that's through the Community College System of New Hampshire's Project Running Start.
First introduced in 1999 by the Community College System, Project Running Start classes are college courses taught by high school teachers and are a part of students' regular school day. High school faculty members who teach the classes are partnered with faculty members in the community college system. There is a cost to the courses, but it is only $100, a real bargain for courses that earn college credit and a savings of around 85 percent compared to the system's regular tuition.
High school faculty members who offer these classes work with college administration and faculty to put together content and competencies for the classes, and collaborate on ensuring that the students have good resource materials and textbooks. Students register through the community college. As with signing up for any course offered in high school, students interested in taking a Project Running Start course should talk to their high school advisor or guidance councilor to see what is available at their high school and how to sign up.
Running Start courses offered at North County high schools have included Algebra/Trigonometry I,II, Psychology, American Government, Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Human Growth & Development, to name a few. There's an extensive list on the CCSNH website at www.ccsnh.edu/prs/rscolleges.html of the colleges that have accepted Project Running Start course credits. These colleges range from St. Anselm College to Colby Sawyer College, and of course the colleges and universities within the University System of New Hampshire. This list of out-of-state colleges that have accepted transfer credits from Project Running Start is even more extensive and includes such higher institutions as Boston University and Clarkson University.
At White Mountains Community College, we are proud to be a part of this collaborative effort with the region's local high schools. It is an excellent opportunity to introduce high school students to college academics, and to give them a "running start" on their college careers!
For more information on Project Running Start, check it out on the web at www.ccsnh.edu/prs/
Back to News List9/5/2008
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