Kaskaskia College gives students opportunities to get a head start on higher education

    Dual credit, KC Now programs offer significant savings
KC Dual Credit and Career Pathways coordinator Kelsey Tate    High school students around the region are searching for ways to save money and make quick progress on their education, setting themselves up for a successful career.
    While students make plans for their future this spring, they can look into dual credit and KC Now at Kaskaskia College. Dual credit and the KC Now program lead to huge financial savings and allow students to start their higher education before leaving high school.
    KC Dual Credit and Career Pathways coordinator Kelsey Tate said dual credit is a way for students to take college classes from their high school teachers within their high school building. All 17 schools in Kaskaskia College’s district offer some form of dual credit. General education classes like math, science and English are the most common.
    “It’s unique because the high school teachers are qualified to teach college-level courses, and the students can carry that credit with them to Kaskaskia College, all from within the walls of their own high school,” Tate said. “I love seeing students take advantage of dual credit and jump-starting their education. It helps get their core classes out of the way and speeds up their time spent in college. The tuition for dual credit courses is waived, meaning students won’t have out-of-pocket expenses. This saves them a substantial amount of money in the long run.”
    Examples of the wide variety of dual credit classes include accounting, child care, CNA, foreign languages, automotive classes, and many more. Students mapping out their future can visit the Career Pathways website at  https://www.kaskaskia.edu/academics/college-for-high-school-students/.
    For students who don’t plan on getting a four-year degree, dual credit can still be extremely beneficial. KC offers plenty of Career and Technical Education classes through the dual credit system, including welding, drafting and construction, and many other vocational trades.
    A slightly different version of dual credit is called KC Now. KC Now is a dual enrollment program where high school students take classes on Kaskaskia College’s campus in Centralia, with some courses offered at other KC locations, too. Although these students are still in high school, in the KC Now program, they’re effectively college students, meaning they are in normal college classes on campus with college students and college professors, with nothing differentiating the students while in class. Currently, 12 high schools in KC’s district have students participating in KC Now. The KC Now program offers significantly reduced tuition, still providing students with crucial savings on their education.
    “For the first time this year, our high school students who have completed their CNA in the fall can apply for the nursing program, and those who qualify after entrance exams can apply to start our nursing program in March of their senior year of high school,” Tate said. “The nursing program is very competitive, so this is really exciting news. It gives them a great entry point into nursing, and it’s part of the KC Now program.”
    The vast majority of dual credit students are juniors and seniors, but Tate said it is important to start planning for the future ahead of time, even as soon as eighth grade. Find out more about dual enrollment programs at Kaskaskia College at https://www.kaskaskia.edu/academics/college-for-high-school-students/.