Community colleges to offer STEM dual enrollment scholarships
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Community colleges to offer STEM dual enrollment scholarships
Special to the News
In response to the Legislature’s expansion of opportunities that encourage a stronger employment focus for math and science teachers and other STEM-related fields in the state, the Alabama Community College System (ACCS) has expanded dual enrollment scholarships to high school students who are interested in taking college-level STEM courses through their local community college.
“Dual enrollment courses are a tremendous benefit to students as they not only provide a means to college credit but also allow high schoolers the opportunity to take in the college experience,” said ACCS Chancellor Jimmy H. Baker. “Dual enrollment classes at community colleges are particularly beneficial as they’re offered with the same one-on-one attention and smaller class sizes that students can expect at our colleges across the state. We are grateful to the Alabama Legislature for increasing this funding to allow even more Alabama students to participate in this valuable learning opportunity.”
Dual enrollment gives Alabama’s high school students access to college-level classes that apply to credit in both high school and college at the same time. Unlike AP honors classes in high school, a student’s grades for dual enrollment classwork are the only factor in determining whether the student receives full college credit for the class.
The dual enrollment classes are delivered through a variety of methods, including high school students attending the local college in-person, online, or a college instructor traveling to the local high school or career center to teach.
The scholarships, which will be awarded as early as the Fall 2021 semester, cover several classes in science, technology, engineering, and math that can transfer to a four-year university and be used to complete a two-year associate degree by the time a student graduates high school.
Classes in which students may receive scholarships include college-level astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering (EGR), geology, math, physical science, and physics.
The scholarships are in addition to both local scholarships and career technical education funds that are already used to provide more opportunities to Alabama high school students to attend dual enrollment classes.
Students must have a 2.5 GPA in STEM-related academic work to qualify for the scholarship. More information is available at students’ local community colleges.