Students can Stay in High School and Start on College for Free | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    WASHINGTON, NC     Instead of waiting to take college classes after graduating high school, students can start now. Career and College Promise is a statewide program that allows high school students to start knocking out college courses for free before graduating. Beaufort County Community College will host a Career and College Information Night on February 27 at 6:00 p.m. in Building 8 so that parents and students can find out more about this innovative program.

    Career and College Promise offers an opportunity for high school juniors and seniors to enroll in college classes but stay on their campus. For students who participate in athletics, this is an ideal solution. CCP students can finish their education at their current high school and keep swimming, wrestling or playing soccer. They can even do so without setting foot on BCCC's campus.

    While BCCC hosts the Beaufort County Early College High School, CCP offers similar opportunities to students at seven area high schools and home school students. BCECHS students start attending classes in Building 10 of BCCC during the 9th grade. As they progress, they start taking college classes across campus with other BCCC students. After five years, BCECHS students graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate's degree.

    Students have multiple options for taking classes through CCP. They can take them online, giving them the flexibility to complete coursework during evenings or weekends. They can take them through the information superhighway class format, where they watch broadcast classes live. They can also take traditional classes at the campus.

    A change in the points awarded to classes means that college classes will carry the same points as advanced placement. Students taking classes through CCP will start a college transcript, taking their credits and their grades with them to any North Carolina public university.

    Some students have taken full advantage of the program, earning a two-year associate's degree and a high school diploma at the same time. Northside students Myranda Jones, Alexis Keech, Danielle Woolard and Lindsey Greene did just that. The group motivated each other to push through with the high class load.

    "I will begin East Carolina University as a junior," said Alexis Keech, who will graduate from Northside High School this spring with an associate's degree. "My tuition-free college classes will save thousands of dollars, giving me a big head start on my education."

    The cost of three credit-hour class at ECU is $468. For students attending BCCC, the same class would cost $228. CCP students can take these college classes for free, and even textbooks are covered under the program.


BCCC mathematics instructor Jennifer Lewis walks Career and College Promise student Justin Clark through a math equation. Clark is also a student at Washington High School.

    The program is also useful for students who have to pay out-of-state tuition due to residency restrictions when they enroll in college classes. Since CCP offers college classes for free, it is a way to help students save on tuition once they leave high school.

    "Even if students take just one or two classes, this will reduce their course load at college, meaning they can focus more on individual classes, take advantage of extracurricular opportunities and finish on time with a solid grade point average," said Michele Mayo, director of admissions. There were 427 students enrolled in CCP during the fall 2016 semester.

    CCP offers pathways that students can choose so they can start focusing on a specific field of study. Some of the pathways include business administration, electrical engineering technology, office administration and criminal justice technology. Students can work toward a certificate or toward an associate's degree.

    Students are supported throughout the program by their high school counselors and by liaisons at the college. Liaisons will guide students through eligibility requirements and administer a placement test to demonstrate college readiness.

    CCP liaisons will be on hand to help answer individual questions after a presentation about the advantages and requirements of the program. Spanish interpretation will be available. Parents will have a chance to hear from students who have participated in the program.

    Washington High School, Terra Ceia Christian School, Pungo Christian Academy, Washington Montessori and homeschool students should contact Steve Jones at 252-940-6497 or steve.jones@beaufortccc.edu. Northside High School, Ocracoke School and Washington County Schools students should contact Stacy Jones at 252-940-6359 or stacy.jones@beaufortccc.edu. Southside High School and Unity Christian Academy students should contact Dana Sauls at 252-940-6391 or dana.sauls@beaufortccc.edu.