Well, best laid plans…! I really did intend to make these blog posts at least monthly…but I digress!
Let’s talk about COURSE SELECTION and how to earn COLLEGE CREDIT while you’re in high school!
Believe it or not, it is going to be time to start the course selection process for 2022-2023 very soon! Anderson has some amazing programs that allow students to take college level classes while in high school and earn not only college credit, but high school credit at the same time (i.e. DUAL credit!)
ACC DUAL CREDIT
Austin Community College and AISD have a partnership which allows ACC professors to teach courses here at Anderson during the school day. These courses are integrated seamlessly into the student’s high school schedule and include only Anderson students. As an example, some classes we typically offer include:
US History
US Government
English IV
Economics
Algebra 2
Precalculus
AC/DC Circuits
Computer Programming
History Elective (Texas State & Local Government)
Plus many more courses offered online and at ACC campuses.
Some additional benefits and details of interest:
- Dual credit students are also able to take courses at any ACC campus or online during the summer or school year to ‘catch up’ or ‘get ahead’!
- Some ACC courses are 1 semester courses that give students an entire year of credit. For example, US History is a 1 semester ACC course, but students earn the entire 1 year of high school credit for the class. This opens up students’ schedules for additional courses they normally would not have room for if taking traditional high school courses. Algebra II and Precalculus are similar.
- No tuition! Dual Credit students may take up to 12 ACC courses that are in the ACC Core Curriculum free of charge. Students MAY be charged for textbooks, depending on the course.
- Students earn high school weighted credit for all ACC courses completed.
- Students who have completed 8th grade are eligible – they must also pass the appropriate sections of the state of Texas-approved college readiness assessment test (TSI) or submitted acceptable exemption scores (the College & Career Center can administer the TSI test at no charge)
UT OnRAMPS
OnRamps is district partnership with University of Texas and AISD. Students enroll in a high school level course, which is taught by a high school teacher and supported by UT Faculty. The curriculum is augmented with assignments from the UT Professor as well as the high school teacher. Students earn 2 grades; a high school grade and a college grade. Students have the option to refuse the UT grade if they do not wish to accept it, but note that no college credit would then be earned. UT Onramps classes are limited to the following and are subject to change based on teacher availability:
English IV
US History
Algebra II
Statistics
Chemistry
Physics I & II
Computer Science
There are no college – readiness testing requirements for UT OnRamps courses! All students are eligible as long as they meet any course pre-requisites. These courses also offer high school weighted credit.
What do I do next if I want to do ACC Dual Credit or OnRamps?
To get on the email list for dual credit communications and next steps, please fill out this FORM and I will reach out to you shortly with details! Students can choose ACC dual credit courses on their choice sheets, but will also need complete additional steps for ACC enrollment.
If OnRamps is in your wheelhouse, you will sign up for those courses when you receive instructions for course selection from our Counseling department.
But what about AP and IB, you may ask? Don’t students earn college credit by taking these courses?
Let’s start with AP. AP courses do not give students college credit. The AP test MAY award college depending on the college AND depending on the score earned on the test. Some colleges might require a 3 earned score to award credit, while another might require a 4 or 5 earned score. ANYONE can take an AP test; you do not have to take the AP class to take the AP test – the class is just great preparation for the test.
IB is somewhat similar in that the end of course test offers college credit for IB students – IB should be considered an outstanding college preparatory option as it truly produces students who are ready for the rigor of college level coursework and thinking.
Please mark you calendars and plan to attend our INFORMATION SESSION about DUAL CREDIT on Wednesday, January 26th at 7:00 PM – I have not decided if we will hold this event in person or via Zoom – more information to come on that!
Questions? I might have answers! Contact Cathy Painter at [email protected] or 512-414-7936