High School-Community College Program

A dual enrollment initiative of the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut Community-Technical Colleges, supported by the 2006 General Assembly and funded in this year’s state budget, will expand High School Partnership Programs at Connecticut’s 12 community colleges for junior and senior high school students interested in improving their skills in math, science, and technology as preparation for continued college-level study and careers that demand rigorous preparation in math and science.

Offering students the ability to strengthen their skills in math and science and encouraging them to develop career skills and explore the educational requirements in the fields of engineering, technology, and allied health is critical if the State of Connecticut is to have the skilled workforce needed to compete in the global knowledge-based economy of the 21st Century.

Providing the opportunity for high school students from Connecticut’s comprehensive and technical high schools to enroll in college-level math and science courses at Connecticut’s community colleges will broaden their educational experience and career opportunities and respond to the demands of Connecticut’s high-skill growth industries for an educated workforce with solid grounding in math and science.

The High School Partnership program, established at the community colleges in 1987, builds the relationship of the colleges with local school districts and high schools throughout each college’s region by allowing students from the high schools with a B average or better to enroll in community college courses during their junior and senior years without any charge to the student or the high school beyond the cost of transportation and books for the courses.

The partnership is developed and participation coordinated through an agreement between each college’s president and the participating high school’s principal or superintendent with the college absorbing the cost of tuition and fees.

Focusing the program on math, science, and technology courses in the community college curriculum and providing special funding within each college’s budget to cover the cost of these expanded enrollments will provide an incentive for the colleges, expand the opportunities for students and the local high schools, and enhance academic success for students.

The students will be better prepared for college level-work, for transfer opportunities, and for continued study at advanced levels of higher education in math, science, engineering, and technology.

For information about each college’s high school partnership and dual enrollment opportunities, contact the admissions office at the regional community college. A list of contacts is available at commnet.edu.