VGCC Career & College Promise program offers free classes for high school students


High school students throughout the region can now register for spring semester classes at Vance-Granville Community College offered through the “Career and College Promise” (CCP) program. CCP allows eligible students to pursue a college degree, diploma or certificate while still in high school, without having to pay college tuition. The spring semester begins Jan. 9, 2017.

A variety of different CCP pathways lead to students acquiring entry-level job skills and/or credits that transfer to four-year universities. There are two College Transfer pathways, one leading to the Associate in Arts and the other to the Associate in Science. Each program of study has a prescribed set of general education courses that transfer seamlessly to any public or participating private college or university in the state. A student who completes the entire pathway will be more than halfway through the entire Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree, which they can complete at VGCC after graduating from high school.

Meanwhile, VGCC’s Career & Technical Education (CTE) Pathways allow students to potentially earn certificates in Basic Heating & Air, Business Management, Cosmetology, Criminal Justice and Special Populations, Culinary Arts/Basic Baking, Early Childhood General Education, Electronics Engineering Technology, Infant/Toddler Care, Medical Transcription Specialist, Office Administration/Administrative Assistant, Paralegal Technology, Robotics & Machine Design and several different options in Information Technology. The newest certificate is Simulation and Game Development Design Fundamentals, which deals with designing video games and other three-dimensional computer programs.

Other CTE pathways can lead to students earning diplomas in Electrical Systems Technology, Information Technology, Paralegal Technology or Welding Technology.

CCP is generally limited to eligible juniors and seniors in high school, but Bioprocess Technology, Electronics Engineering Technology, Robotics & Machine Design and Welding Technology pathways are open to freshmen and sophomores as well. During the 2015-16 school year, some 164 students were enrolled in a College Transfer Pathway, while 51 were enrolled in a CTE Pathway.

“I chose to do the CCP College Transfer Pathway to help give me college experience while still in high school,” said Capron Kester, a homeschooled resident of southern Granville County. “I think it will help me transition from high school to college much easier, and it will give me extra college credits to get my associate’s and then my bachelor’s degree. I am hoping to finish my associate’s in science next year at VGCC, and then transfer to a four-year college to get a bachelor’s in accounting or something related to math.” Kester is set to graduate from high school in 2017.

“The CCP program was a great way to start my college experience,” Kester added. “The teachers and classes I had made it fun and exciting, but at the same time, it was challenging and helped me grow both academically and personally.”

For more information, students and parents should contact their high school guidance counselors or the Early College liaison in their county. In Vance County, contact Evangeline Mitchell at (252) 738-3289. In Granville County, contact Reba Bullock at (252) 738-3525. In Warren County, contact Faye Goode at (252) 738-3594.

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