The program awards a high school diploma and an associate degree in five years
instead of six.
By Monte Ashqar
The early college partnership program between Northeast Lakeview College and Judson School District is on schedule to start in August 2009.
Sean Hoffmann, public information officer for Judson Independent School District, said once the Northeast Lakeview College campus is completed, the district will be building an educational facility for allowing the district to have between 400 to 600 students to work simultaneously on getting a college associate degree and a high school diploma at the same time.
According to a story published in The Ranger Feb. 2, 2007, students enrolled in the program can obtain both an associate degree and a high school diploma in five years.
“We are in the preparation stages right now,” Hoffmann said.
Hoffmann said the district is setting up the framework for the criteria for consideration of the program.
“We are still working on the criteria for acceptance into the program,” he added.
Students who will be enrolled in the program would start in the freshman year, Hoffmann said.
“Five years later, the student would earn a high school diploma and an associate degree from Northeast Lakeview,” Hoffmann said.
“In the beginning, the student would attend high school classes on the site of Judson,” Hoffmann added. “College classes, a student will attend on the college’s campus.”
Hoffman said the college and the district are not sure yet which college classes will be available on the Judson campus.
“This is an academically rigorous program,” Hoffman said. “A student is cramming six years of education into five,” he added.
Hoffmann said students enrolled in the program will finish most of their high school requirements during the first two years of the program.
“When students get toward their fourth year, they will be mostly taking college courses,” Hoffmann added. “ACCD and Judson curriculum professionals are trying to figure these details out.”
Dr. Eric Reno, Northeast Lakeview College president, said in a phone interview Wednesday that students enrolled in the program will be in high school throughout the five years.
Reno added that these students will be enrolled in college courses that satisfy academic requirements for both college and high school.
Reno said that both the college and the school have a joint committee that will meet today to start interviewing candidates for the new early college high school principal.