Monday, February 19, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A high school and university are teaming up to give students a head start in college — without paying college tuition for courses — in the first program of its kind in Ohio to include a charter school.
Ohio Dominican University is working with the Graham School in Columbus to create a five-year program that will give students college credit along with a high school diploma. Some can possibly earn an associate’s degree, and the university hopes many will enroll to continue for a four-year degree.
About 100 ninth-graders will start in the fall at the program, to be called the Charles School, on the university’s Columbus campus. The school anticipates enrolling up to 400 students as incoming freshmen over the next five years.
Ohio already has six Early College programs, among about 130 nationwide, in Columbus, Canton, Dayton, Lorain, Toledo and Youngstown, according to the KnowlegeWorks Foundation in Cincinnati, which sponsors most of the programs. Education experts say the programs make college more accessible, affordable and attractive to high school students, especially those from low-income families.