SJRCC PRESS RELEASE December 2007 Dual enrollment provides jump start for Ponte Vedra students For Nease High School senior Claire Crosby, following in her brother's scholastic footsteps not only illustrates the growing trend among Ponte Vedra teens to begin college early, but promises the best of both academic worlds - earning credit toward a high school diploma and a college degree. Claire, a dual enrollment student at St. Johns River Community College, will graduate from high school this spring with more than just college credits on her transcript; she will also have a jump start on her college degree, regardless of her major or the college she chooses to attend. Like her brother, Scott, who dually enrolled as a junior and transferred to Auburn University with 32 college credits, Claire is already one step ahead of most college freshmen. The credits Scott earned at SJRCC allowed him to progress into the core classes within his major - building science and construction management - at a faster pace. "It was worth not having as difficult a load my first two semesters at Auburn," Scott said. "It was great not having to cram all of my core classes together." Scott said he would recommend dual enrollment to anyone qualified to enter the program " ... especially if you want to go through college faster and be able to focus on your major. Plus, there's no one test at the end of the class to determine if you get the credit," he said. Although her college destination has not been determined, Claire said the experience of a new learning environment is helping to prepare her for when she does leave for college. "It's different, but different in a good way," Claire said. "Because of dual enrollment, I can leave high school a few hours early. It's a good transition. My class is once a week and I get to work with a professor and adjust to having a course load one day a week instead of everyday." According to Melissa Williams, director of dual enrollment at SJRCC, high school students are becoming more focused on getting as many college credits as they can and then moving on. Approximately 275 St. Johns County students took advantage of the opportunity to dual enroll at SJRCC during the fall 2007 semester alone. "Students are realizing how competitive it is to get into college and how expensive it is," Williams said. "Dual enrollment allows students who know they are college bound to challenge themselves. And the courses are free." Dual enrollment provides accelerated high school seniors and eligible juniors the opportunity to simultaneously earn college credit while earning credit toward a high school diploma. Public and private high school students, as well as home-schooled students, are served by this program created by Florida Statute 1007.271 and governed by state law. Classes are offered at SJRCC's Ponte Vedra Center and St. Augustine Campus. Additionally, some classes are available online and at local high schools. SJRCC will offer information sessions open to the public on January 15 at the Ponte Vedra Center at 6:00 p.m. and on January 23 at the St. Augustine Campus at 6:00 p.m. The Ponte Vedra Center is located at 5150 Palm Valley Road in the Ponte Vedra Office Park complex near the junction of St. Johns County Road 210 and A1A. The St. Augustine Campus is located off of State Road 16. For more information, call SJRCC at (904) 280-1322 ext. 4136 or visit our Web site at: www.sjrcc.edu. Return to SJRCC home page.