Anne Arundel public high-schoolers who are at least 16 years old now can enroll in the popular Jump Start program, which had been limited to high school seniors.
“We had interest from both parents and students,” said Debbie McDaniel-Shaughney, spokeswoman for Anne Arundel Community College.
“What we’re trying to do is give more students a head start on their college career and especially during these difficult economic times.”
The Jump Start program, which is sponsored by the college and the Anne Arundel County Public School System, allows high-schoolers to take college classes at 50 percent off the tuition rate while still attending high school.
The current tuition at AACC is $86 per credit hour for county residents, officials said.
The Jump Start program also will allow these students to take evening, weekend and summer classes. Previously, they could only take daytime classes in the fall and spring.
“This is huge, too, because many of our students are also taking a full load in high school,” said McDaniel-Shaughney.
The students can take introductory courses to explore fields of interest or general education courses. They can earn credit toward a degree or certificate and also for transfer to four-year colleges and universities, college officials said.
Jump Start has seen a huge spike in enrollment from 88 students when the program began in fall 2002 to 485 in fall 2008.
Anne Arundel’s change in enrollment age makes it comparable to that of other community colleges, such as Baltimore City Community College and Harford Community College.
The Community College of Baltimore County requires students to have completed seventh grade to be considered for college courses for credit.
At Howard Community College, students can enter the college’s Early Entrance Program as early as in the eighth grade.
Students in eighth through 10th grades, though, need to demonstrate they’re gifted, talented or have exceptional abilities in the courses they want to take, said Nancy Gainer, spokeswoman for HCC.
Staff Writer Mike Silvestri contributed to this report.
