Program offers high school students college credit hours

Thirty three high school juniors are now college students as well.

Members of Georgia College’s Early College program are getting a head start on their college careers by taking classes at Georgia College while simultaneously earning their high school diplomas.

GCEC is an alternative option for middle and high school students who reside in Baldwin and Putnam counties. Starting in seventh grade, students who attend Baldwin or Putnam county schools, who are chosen by their respective schools, are given the opportunity to attend this unique school on Georgia College’s campus. GCEC gives the students a chance to earn up to 60 college credit hours while they complete their high school education.

The Early College’s Legacy Class of 2006 began taking college courses in the Fall of 2010 and have been earning credit as well as taking on a high school course load. Principal Camille Murner is pleased with the results she is seeing from her students.

“This is our first time (seeing students take high school and college classes) and they are earning between three and seven hours in a semester and they will be back as (high school) seniors next year,” Murner said.

Murner has seen this program as a great learning experience for the students enrolled in GCEC.

“It has been a learning experience. They’ve grown up a lot and they’ve learned a lot. They have had a lot of social adjustments as far as being accepted by some of the college students but some college students have been phenomenal,” Murner said. “They’ve helped our students be allowed to enter their study groups and that kind of stuff. So, that gives our students an opportunity to work with students who are older and who understand the college experience more and also have conversations outside of their own social groups.”

Since this is the first class of GCEC students, Murner has observed changes she would like augment in the future to improve the program.

“I think change is important no matter what you are doing,” Murner said. “I think you have to be ever evolving in order to continue to grow. We are going to allow every student next year to begin with only one (college) course. And that way we are able to watch them easier and make that transition smoother.”

The HOPE Scholarship stands to see changes to the amount of awards given to students in the near future, but Murner seems confident that GCEC students will continue their education into college.

After the students graduate in Spring 2012, Murner predicts that they will continue their education at Georgia College since it is in or near their hometown.

“I think these students have enough moxie that they are not afraid to go out there and borrow the money in order to make their life better,” Murner said.

GCEC junior Raven Mosley is one of the students taking high school and college classes. Mosley is earning six credit hours this semester and is enrolled in Sociological Perspectives and English 1102 at Georgia College.

“I want to transfer to UGA and major in psychology and go to Princeton to become a criminal lawyer,” Mosley said.

In addition to earning college credits, students at GCEC now have access to new laptops that have been in use since January. Thanks to a donation by David and CC Sinclair, who are new to the area, twenty new Dell laptops are being used by students at the Early College to complete online classes, homework assignments and for various other educational activities.

Posted by Bobbi Otis on Mar 10 2011. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.