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Earning College Credit in High School

Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement courses both offer high school students the opportunity to earn college credit while in high school.  Until recent years, the state of Pennsylvania offered financial assistance to offset the cost of some of these courses.  While the cost is significantly less than the average college credit, it can still be a barrier to high school students and state assistance is no longer available. 

Through Commonwealth Charitable Management, hundreds of students have already earned thousands of college credits with financial assistance made possible by the EITC program.  Some students have started their college careers with enough credits to offset an entire year of college.

Benefits include:

  • Increased likelihood of college enrollment – with credits under the belt, higher education pursuit is more likely
  • Career and vocational courses – great opportunity to explore possible careers prior to graduation
  • Improved acceptance rate – shows student is capable of college level work
  • Cost savings

Benefits to banks:

  • Funded through EITC, banks can help students attain college credit and receive up to 90% of their donation in state tax credit
  • Fund high schools and colleges in your target market

 

Dual Enrollment: Allows high school students to take college courses while in high school and earn college credit at a discounted rate.    In a 2013 report from the National Center for Education Statistics, 82% of U.S. high schools reported offering DE programs, with about 2 million students enrolled across the country. The fees associated with Dual Enrollment can be the largest issue for students. According to Student Loan Hero, the average price of a single college credit in the U.S. is $600.

Advanced Placement:  38 Advanced Placement courses that cover STEM, humanities, languages and arts.  Each class ends in an optional 2-3 hour exam administered by the College Board. The cost of each test in 2017 was $93.  For school districts, it can be costly to launch AP programs – material & equipment, textbooks, professional development.

Fortunately, many of these costs can be supported through the EITC program, allowing businesses to support local education at a fraction of the cost.  Through Commonwealth Charitable Management, businesses can donate to specific programs and school districts.  Both Dual Enrollment and Advance Placement programs qualify for EITC credit.  For just pennies on the dollar, you can make a local student’s college dreams come true.