Virginia State University (VSU) has entered into an agreement with Charles City County and the city of Franklin public schools to offer college courses to juniors and seniors at Charles City High School and Franklin High School. These localities represent the eighth and ninth city or county system with which VSU has signed a concurrent enrollment agreement.
Under the terms of the program, qualified high school students may enroll in university courses through VSU. The courses will be taught at high schools, but course curricula, syllabi and tests will be identical to those used at VSU. Grades earned will be considered dual credit for high school and VSU. Should the high school students matriculate to VSU, their transcripts will reflect both the college credits and earned grade point average.
Concurrent enrollment students, and their teachers, are encouraged to utilize VSU resources and facilities. Students will be issued VSU identification cards so they can access the University’s library and laboratories. Some classes and tutorial sessions will be held on campus and VSU faculty will assist high school faculty in teaching the courses.
There is currently no tuition charge to the students taking concurrent enrollment courses. Textbooks are usually purchased by the high school system hosting the classes. Through the program, students typically enter college with close to a semester’s worth of credits, resulting in savings of several thousand dollars.
In addition to Charles City and Franklin, VSU has concurrent enrollment agreements with Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Prince George, Surry and Sussex counties and the cities of Petersburg and Richmond. The university is pursuing similar initiatives with school systems in Hampton Roads.
“These partnerships epitomize ‘win-win’ collaborations between secondary schools and higher education,” said VSU President Keith T. Miller. “They allow high school students to get a leg up on their college education, both academically and economically. Meanwhile, VSU is able to share its human resources and technology with our public schools. Regardless of whether the high school student ultimately enrolls at VSU, he or she is more prepared for success at the college level.”
