West Milford board OKs expansion of dual-enrollment credits with Passaic County Community College

WEST MILFORD, N.J. — The West Milford Board of Education voted June 17 to approve education agenda items that include new articulation agreements with Passaic County Community College to expand dual-enrollment opportunities in the district’s career pathways.

District administrators said the agreements will let high school students in the computer-science pathway receive college credits from Passaic County Community College for three core classes, totaling about 12 credits for completing the pathway. Superintendent Dr. Kitchen and administrator Mr. Novak described the agreements as part of broader “Highlander Pathways” that aim to pair industry credentials with college credit.

“This is part of our computer science pathway,” Novak said during committee discussion, “students who complete that pathway will not only get…the industry recognized credential…they're also gonna walk away with 12 credits that are in association with Passaic County Community College.” Novak also said the district is pursuing dual-enrollment approvals for additional pathway courses and is working toward having most pathway core classes carry college credit by the end of the summer.

Administrators said the credits are typically transferable within New Jersey public institutions and that families who want to use credits at out-of-state schools should contact prospective colleges with the course syllabus for a transfer determination. Novak gave an estimated student cost of about $68 per credit for the dual-enrollment sections, describing that as “about a third” of the normal per-credit tuition a student would otherwise pay at the community college.

Board member Sotovich moved the education block of items (12.2–12.18); the motion carried on a roll call vote. Board member Dwyer recorded a “no” vote on item 12.9 (a separate instructional-resource item) but voted “yes” on the other education items.

The district said the dual-enrollment work is intended to support college affordability and career readiness and noted existing ties with Passaic County institutions such as programs that could let students graduate with an associate degree. Administrators said they will report enrollment and senior-survey data in future committee meetings to indicate how many students use the credits and where those students matriculate.

The board approved the articulated agreements as part of the adopted education agenda; no additional public hearing or external approvals were recorded at the meeting.