Psychology 201 will join the list of college courses available to Kent City high school seniors, which means students can graduate with a semester’s worth of Grand Rapids Community College courses.
Principal Bill Crane said the introductory course is being added to the GRCC Regional Center program which offers college calculus, English 101 and English 102 courses taught at the school by GRCC instructors. The dual-enrollment partnership is in its third year, with some graduating seniors this year entering college with 11 credits completed. The courses are open to the public and more classes are expected to be added in the future.
This year, 29 students took calculus and 25 took the English classes.
Senior Justin Phillips, who graduates in June, completed English 101, 102 and calculus and will start at Hope College fall to begin working toward a major in exercise science. He said it’s nice to have the head start, and not have to take an English course this year.
He said having the courses on site at school instead of having to travel downtown or to another location was a great opportunity.
“It helps us save gas and all that. It made it convenient for everyone so we could take the classes,” he said.
The district picks up the cost of the courses, which are replacing Advanced Placement courses previously offered. Crane said the courses provide a more direct route to credits than AP courses, which require passing a test to earn credits even if students do well in the course.
“The opinion of the school is this gives our students the best opportunity to gain college credit when they are still in high school,” he said. He said they hope to add more courses in the future.
Other GRCC Regional Centers are in Byron Center, Lowell, Grandville, Rockford and at the Kent Career Tech Center.
