Dual Enrollment funding coverage expanded at ESCC
Starting Fall 2022, tuition costs for general academic dual enrollment (DE) classes at Enterprise State Community College will now be covered thanks to changes in funding for the program.
“We’re excited to be able to use our funding to cover more general academic classes for interested dual enrollment students,” Dual Enrollment Director Ann Kelley-Spence said. “Dual Enrollment is a great way for our high school students to save money and get a head start on their college education or career training. We are proud to have a large dual enrollment population here at ESCC, and we hope to see even more students taking dual enrollment classes with us in the future.”
Kelley-Spence said there would still be a strong focus on career technical programs at the College, even with the expanded tuition coverage.
“Here at ESCC, we have well-known career technical programs that help students learn essential job skills,” she said. “We’ve even had dual enrollment students complete their associate degree with us before they graduated high school. In the end, we’re creating fully developed graduates through our dual enrollment program who are ready to work in high-wage, high-demand careers.”
One student who took advantage of ESCC’s career technical dual enrollment programs is Sagittarius Williams, a 2022 ESCC and Charles Henderson High School graduate. In two years, Williams completed her associate degree in Medical Assistant Technology before she completed high school. Her current career goals are to work as a medical assistant while she continues her education to become a nurse and, later, an anesthesiologist.
“I wanted to further my education at no cost to my parents, so I decided to enroll,” she said, stating that watching a family member dealing with an illness inspired her to look at the College’s MAT program. “My program allowed me to check all the boxes that I needed to make my decision of becoming a Medical Assistant Technician/medical professional.”
She encouraged high school students to research dual enrollment, calling dual enrollment “a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of.”
“The Dual Enrollment Program is very rewarding, and the staff members are very supportive,” Williams said. “I am glad that I chose the MAT Program. The MAT Program will help more job opportunities be made available to me, especially once I am certified. The training that I received was very professional. I appreciate and respect all my instructors and staff; I learned so much material over the last two years, which was a win-win.
“The dual enrollment program gave me a jumpstart on my career. It will open doors for me.”
Matthew Muna, another 2022 ESCC graduate and a Dothan High School graduate, also completed his associate degree in airframe technology before his high school graduation. He is planning to pursue a career in aviation maintenance at M1 Support Services.
“As I was entering high school, I was encouraged to learn a trade during my high school years,” he said. “I chose aviation because there is a high demand for employment in that industry.
“I had a wonderful experience as a dual enrollment student. All my teachers and counselors were supportive and helpful. I am blessed that workforce development grants covered all my aviation, English, math, and science dual enrollment courses.”
As part of the expanded coverage starting this fall, students will be able to have the tuition cost of any general education classes at ESCC covered, including classes like psychology, English or history. Previously, dual enrollment students at ESCC were required to be in a career technical program to have the cost of academic classes covered, and those academic classes were limited to core courses, such as English, math or science.
Kelley-Spence noted that funding for general education classes taken outside of career tech programs would only cover the cost of tuition and fees. Books would only be covered if they are taken as part of a career technical program.
ESCC’s Dual Enrollment Program is open to eligible students in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade. There are GPA requirements to take part in the program. To learn more or to apply to join the program, visit escc.edu/dual-enrollment.