STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - High school seniors throughout the region wanting to take college courses at their school site for free may be in luck.
Oklahoma State University is in its second year of offering concurrent courses at Stillwater High School and is looking to expand its services to neighboring districts as the program continues to grow.
“The goal for this whole enterprise is increasing access for every student that has the desire and ability to take a college class,” Brett Rowh, coordinator of Concurrent Student Academic Services at OSU, told the Stillwater News Press . “We are a land-grant institution, and we need to honor that and we need to be serving the entire area as much as possible.”
OSU doctoral students currently teach three courses at Stillwater High - psychology, history and creative writing - with speech communications planning to be added in January.
Participating students currently have tuition waived but pay for books, any necessary supplies and $240 in fees for a three-credit course.
Due to a funding increase this year from the state legislature for concurrent courses, OSU Arts and Sciences Outreach - which overseas off-campus learning - has decided to waive fees beginning in January, making the courses taught at Stillwater High School free.
Beyond that, OSU’s Division of Institutional Diversity office has offered to pay for books or needed materials for lower income and minority students.
To be eligible to take a course, seniors must have scored 24 or better on the ACT or rank in the top third of their class with at least a 3.0 GPA.
Stillwater High has 133 eligible seniors based on GPA and being in the top third, according to Assistant Principal George Horton. It wasn’t immediately known how many others may qualify based on their ACT score.
“For our kids, it is a huge thing for them to be able to have this opportunity,” Horton said. “It is a good way to get your feet wet and get your feet underneath you and start your college career.”
With fewer barriers, both Horton and Rowh are hopeful lower income and minority seniors will participate.
OSU works with Stillwater High to make the course times fit with the school’s existing block schedule and Rowh said that can be done at other sites as well.
Smaller districts able to find 15 qualified seniors - even by combining students from nearby schools - who want to take a college course could have a class taught at their site as early as January.
Part of OSU’s off-campus concurrent program evolution will be partnering with schools and offering ACT prep for freshman and sophomores to prepare them for their senior year.
They need to know that “Here’s an opportunity you’re going to have as a senior no matter what your parents financial situation is,” Rowh said. “College isn’t one experience now. There are multiple avenues to taking college classes now and we need to adapt to that. We need to have different avenues for people to get college coursework because that’s the way it is once you’re a full-time student. There are people getting master’s degrees never stepping foot on the institution that is granting it to them. So to think that concurrent has to be the exact same way forever and ever, doesn’t match with how we are providing education to full-time students.”
Stillwater High has 24 students taking psychology, 14 in history and four seniors enrolled in creative writing.
Each of the creative writing students had positive things to say.
“I think it is a freaking amazing idea to take a college course at a high school,” said Shelby Ree, 17, a Pawnee High student and the only non-Stillwater High student currently participating in the program.
Ree, who hopes to study piano at OSU, wants to take the psychology class in January.
“I love this class because it breaks the barriers of what normal high school follows,” Jillian Braggs, 18, said. “Oftentimes in high school, we follow a specific curriculum without the ability to be creative. This kind of class helps you figure out what kind of person you are beyond the curriculum.”
Benjamin Houser, 17, likes the convenience of the class being offered on campus, as opposed to the majority of concurrent classes, which take place at the OSU campus.
Sophie Johnson, 18, wants to attend OSU for her undergraduate degree and plans to become a chiropractor. Johnson learned of the creative writing class a member of the SHS poetry club.
“I’ve definitely become a better writer and I’ve learned new writing techniques,” Johnson said. “I like the class size because you can make more genuine comments on peoples’ presentations.”
She hopes to take the history class in January.
Jacqueline Alnes, a PhD student studying creative writing in OSU’s English department, teaches the creative writing class and has worked with English teachers and administrators to attract students to the program.
“I’ve taught creative writing elsewhere, but teaching at SHS has been a unique and truly rewarding experience,” Alnes said. “There is a lot of enthusiasm from OSU and Stillwater High School and I’m very grateful to the professors, administrators and coordinators at both schools who made this happen. I’m hopeful the program will grow.”
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Information from: Stillwater News Press, http://www.stwnewspress.com
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