Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Dual Enrollment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
New state "passport" law could make a portion of dual-enrollment credits free, presenters say
Summary
Presenters at a Goochland-area information session said a recently enacted state law will create a "passport" program that makes some dual-enrollment credits free for eligible students, but emphasized Reynolds Community College and program staff are still finalizing which credits and what family costs will be next year.
Presenters at a Goochland County school information session told families that a recently enacted state "passport" law will make at least some dual-enrollment college credits free to eligible students beginning next year, but cautioned that important cost details remain unsettled.
Jimenez Thermo, the presenter who reviewed program finances, said the school system covers books, issues laptops and handles course registration for Advanced College Academy (ACA) students. Thermo said average tuition and fees vary widely — he cited figures for private and public colleges and said that if a student earned the ACA associate degree on Reynolds' campus it would cost about $5,280 in the current on-campus scenario. For families taking ACA course work in the high school, Thermo estimated students are paying roughly $1,800 a year for junior and senior year course costs under the current model.
Thermo described a new state requirement he called the "passport" program: "the law says we have to offer the passport program to all eligible students free of cost next year, for dual enrollment," he said. Presenters referred at different points to 15-credit and 30–32-credit coverage figures; they emphasized the program architecture is still being worked out. "We met with Reynolds last week. They don't know how much," Thermo said, adding that officials expect some credits to be free but that officials could not yet give a final out-of-pocket total for families.
Joy Ealy, a Reynolds career coach, told families the ACA remains a strong pathway for students to earn transferable credits: "It will should cost ideally no more than 3,600, which is what our families are doing this year," she said, while acknowledging she wished for more concrete details. Ealy also reiterated that while many ACA courses are highly transferable within the state, transferability for particular majors or external universities can vary.
Presenters directed families to program web pages and staff contacts for follow-up and flagged internal application deadlines; they said more detailed cost and credit-mapping information would be posted as Reynolds and local program staff receive guidance from the college and from state implementations of the new law.
What happens next: presenters said Reynolds and program administrators are awaiting final guidance and cost calculations; families were advised to monitor the program website and contact staff listed in the handout for updates.
