High school students can get college jumpstart through concurrent enrollment
Concurrent enrollment offers college credit in high school, which can be very beneficial for students
Mr. Jim Kuhn, current professor of the ASL 121 concurrent enrollment class offered at Mead, stands at the front of an Energy Academy classroom during class.
December 14, 2021
MHS and many other high schools offer concurrent enrollment class options that allows students to dual enroll in a community college and high school class with their peers.
Academic counselor Ms. Brady-McMullen said, “Each class is worth a 0.5 [credit] on your high school transcript.”
Concurrent enrollment classes give students the same amount of credits as a normal semester long class, “but depending on the course, at the college level you can earn 3-5 credits,” given that’s a standard credit amount for any college class, continued Ms. Brady-McMullen.
“Every school in the district offers concurrent enrollment,” Ms. Brady-McMullen added, but Mead High has its own standard program for these opportunities.
Ms. Howe said that they send out a list of concurrent enrollment classes near registration time every year.
“[We also] update our course handbook… that can be found on the website,” she said.
As a high school student, you can get a jumpstart in your college career pathway and get college credits while helping with the heavy cost of tuition. To sign up for college enrollment classes in high school, you have to look for the CTE letters on your sign up roster. You will also have to talk to your counselor to register for that level of class so they can work with you to fit it into your schedule.
Registration starts on Jan. 24 and ends on March 4 for concurrent enrollment classes. After registering for classes, there’s no other extra steps in the process. Once a student is signed up in the college selection process, there’s no tuition if a students earns a C or higher as a final grade. There is a processing fee for certain classes, however, that is typically under $30.
Front Range Community College (FRCC) and Aims Community College are the two colleges MHS partners with for dual enrollment classes. A high school transcript adds on the college’s credits, given these classes are already completed before a students graduates and starts their freshman year of college.
Signing up for concurrent enrollment is very beneficial to both your high school and college transcripts.
Ms. Brady-McMullen and Mr. Elliot also talk further in detail about concurrent enrollment on the Mead High School counseling department podcast, “How Are You Doing Today?”. There, they give more information about how these classes work and how they help students now and in the future after they graduate.
