EAST GREENWICH – The New England Institute of Technology has launched a pilot early college dual-enrollment program, collaborating with one technical school and the state’s largest school district, designed for students who want to earn college credits and credit toward high school graduation simultaneously.
The program, titled “Early College Program @ New England Tech,” currently enrolls 12 total students from William M. Davies Jr. Career and Technical High School in Lincoln and the Providence Public School District. This new program, which started this fall, allows high school seniors who wish to study at New England Tech full-time to choose their technical major and start hands-on learning to prepare them for both college and entering the future workforce.
Amy Grzybowski, New England Tech’s vice president of community relations, told Providence Business News on Friday Davies and PPSD were selected to be part of the pilot program based on the career and technical education connections with the two entities – PPSD oversees the Providence Career and Technical Academy. The programs offered at New England Tech aligned with what was being offered to students at both Davies and the PCTA, Grzybowski said.
“If they were doing a health care pathway, they’re doing a health care program here [at New England Tech],” Grzybowski said. “If it was automotive, they’re doing automotive here. It’s continuing on to the great work they were doing in their high school career and technical programs.”
Grzybowski also said this program will help students enter the workforce faster. “We know that there are workforce shortages across the board,” she said. “This is another way … to help get students prepared for the workforce afterward.”
Grzybowski said the program has a minimum of 12 credit hours required to study in the course and students are directly enrolled into whichever program they selected for the fall, winter and spring terms. Some programs New England Tech offers through this program include nursing, health sciences, criminal justice, automotive and marine technology, computer science, graphic design, and video game development and design. Students also attend the programs at New England Tech four days per week depending on the program, she said.
Students enrolled in the program are immediately propelled into hands-on training “from day one,” Grzybowski said, as well as have the opportunity to learn onsite at various industries and entities. Plus, if a student wishes to further pursue a degree at New England Tech, that student, she said, would only have three more terms to complete their higher educational pursuits instead of just solely high school and then four years of college.
Grzybowski also said students are limited to selecting just one program for study. However, they do have the option to select another program if they wish to change to a different major. She also said Davies and PPSD are paying $7,500 per student to enroll in the program with New England Tech absorbing the remaining enrollment cost, Grzybowski said.
She also said the program moving forward is looking to expand to more students beyond just from Davies and PPSD and increase the program’s enrollment. Current high school juniors can apply for the program through New England Tech’s website.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
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