2008 Woodie Awards
Dual credit offers early start to college
Kristin McKenzie
Issue date: 11/12/07 Section: News
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Brookhaven College offers a dual-credit program which gives high school students an opportunity to take college courses and receive credit at both the high school and college levels. With free tuition, students pay only for their books and materials for the courses.
Tim Smithart, senior academic adviser at Brookhaven, said: "If you take a night class, some of those students are definitely going to be high school students, you just won't know it. The teachers don't know exactly who they are either, to keep from forming a prejudice or favorite."
Christen Noble, a junior in the International Business Academy at Newman Smith High School, takes dual-credit classes at Brookhaven.
"I do feel rushed," she said. "But I feel like being rushed is a good thing."
She said most people close to her, such as parents and teachers, are really pushing going to college and being ready for the real world.
"I think because they care about me, they are rushing me to be responsible," Noble said.
Smithart said most community colleges offer dual credit now because it is highly recommended from the state that colleges work in junction with the independent school districts.
He said it is up to the school district whether to charge tuition. Brookhaven receives reimbursements from the state for every student who is enrolled.
Smithart said to become a dual-credit student at Brookhaven, the student has to meet certain criteria. First, one must be a full-time junior or senior in high school, in good academic standing and be at least 16.
Then students are required to pass the Accuplacer, which is a test given for college placement and can only receive dual credit for certain eligible courses. The student has added pressure because if they fail a course at Brookhaven, they also fail it at their high school.
The students are required to sign an agreement that professors practice academic freedom, meaning they can say anything they want in the classroom. Smithart encourages students from Carrollton/Farmers Branch and Dallas independent school districts and private schools to come to Brookhaven to take on college-level challenges and experience new learning environments.
Smithart said about 95 percent of dual-credit students pass the course and about 60 percent make A's. The amount of students who withdraw from dual credit is about 20 percent.
Smithart said one of the reasons students drop classes could be they have the freedom of college and think they don't have to show up. There are consequences for those actions, and failing has even kept some from graduating high school on time.
Noble said: "I think that I get the best of both worlds. I really like high school because I have friends there and it's a lot more laid back. If you don't do something when it needs to be done, it's not a big deal.
"But I really like being at Brookhaven because you are given independence and it prepares you for what to expect when you have a full college work load."
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