Reply to Is dual-enrollment a scam?

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Reply to "Is dual-enrollment a scam?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NP here. I don't know why I am continually surprised at the narrow thinking of so many DCUM posters. Montgomery County is one of the most diverse counties in the nation. Just because something doesn't appeal to your family doesn't mean it isn't appropriate for other families. There are many lower income families, immigrant families, families who aren't about to send their girls off to 4 year colleges, families whose teenagers contribute to running the household, families with children with mental health issues, etc. who find Montgomery College to be an excellent opportunity to excellent careers. Not every kid is interested in a typical American high school experience and not every college bound student wants a typical American 4-yr college program. Fortunately, students have many pathways to find success in Montgomery County, and some of those pathways go through MC.

The relationship between MCPS and MC has been around for a while, and it changes and adapts as state laws/initiatives and business needs change. Prior to 2015, students could drop out of high school at age 16. Some did this so that they could work and support families. Students could get their GEDs and then enroll at MC to begin working towards an associate's degree while also working. For 2016-2017 compulsory HS attendance went until age 17, and then beginning in 2018 it changed to age 18. This corresponds with the decrease in enrollment at MC beginning after 2015. Since then, MCPS and MC have been experimenting with different programs beyond simple dual enrollment for some classes. Early College, Middle College, and Jump Start all allow high school students to simultaneously earn an associates degree along with their high school diploma. https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/high-school-students/dual-enrollment/degree-and-pathway-programs/index.html

And there seems to be complete blindness to the Universities of Shady Grove. USG’s mission is “To support and expand pathways to affordable, high-quality public higher education that meet the distinctive needs of the region and are designed to support workforce and economic development in the state; ..." They offer a series of degrees in the health services, education, biotechnology, computer science, and cybersecurity fields all of which are careers in high demand to feed our existing county businesses. There is even a program to support students through HS to a BS degree https://www.acesmontgomery.org/ . So, a motivated student can do Early College at MC and also work to save tuition money. Then at 18 they enroll at USG, can still work and live at home, and take only 2 more years to get their BS. They graduate at age 20 debt free and start their career locally at $50k-$80k. That is a great deal for economic mobility.

So no, dual-enrollment isn't a scam. It is an economic engine not targeted at the DCUM crowd.[/quote]

+1. This. The majority of MC courses are transferable to UMD and other Maryland higher edu institutions. I was a transfer student myself and I was able to save a ton of money taking two years of community college classes. [/quote]

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