Area colleges received a financial boost to support dual enrollment programs, where high school students take college-level courses and simultaneously earn both high school and college credits.
Butler County Community College and the Community College of Allegheny County received about $347,800 each, and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania received $349,500, through the state’s Dual Credit Innovation Grant program.
CCAC will use the grant to implement an initiative designed to expand tuition-free, pathway-aligned dual enrollment programs in health care, cybersecurity and networking, and advanced manufacturing fields, said spokeswoman Dena Rose Buzila.
Funds will be designated for tuition, instructional materials, student support services and faculty professional development, she said.
Allegheny County residents attending CCAC pay $130 per credit.
With its funding, Butler County Community College will offer students in all Lawrence County public high schools the opportunity to pursue 12 credits free at its Lawrence campus in Shenango Township beginning this fall, said spokesman William Foley. Courses would include college writing, speech and general psychology.
Additionally, students in Butler County public high schools can pursue 14 credits free, ranging from college writing to financial literacy, at the main campus in Butler Township.
Foley said Butler County public high school students will also get the opportunity to pursue free credits in courses that lead to health care careers — anatomy and physiology I this fall, and anatomy and physiology II in the spring.
This year, Butler County high school students paid $225 for a three-credit, dual-enrollment class. Students in high schools outside of Butler County paid $250.
It was not immediately clear what IUP planned to do with its funding.
Spokeswoman Michelle Fryling said 153 students from 27 high schools are at IUP through the dual enrollment program this semester, the highest number in university history.
Fryling said that, over the years, IUP has reduced dual enrollment costs for students.
The rate for in-state dual enrollment students at IUP is $312 for a three-credit course.
