Early college options MCC offers multiple opportunities for high school students to earn college credits. » » CollegeNOW!: Nebraska resident high school students receive half-off tuition for any MCC class, on campus or online, through the quarter after graduation. » » Dual enrollment: Students take classes at their high school and receive both high school and college credit. » » Career Academies: High school juniors and seniors explore various career fields with a cohort of their peers, usually at an MCC location. To learn more, visit mccneb.edu/secondary.
school during the 2010–2011 academic year — a 67 percent increase since 2003. At MCC, high school students filled 6,611 seats in 2012 — a 44 percent jump from 2010. Some of the top reasons for the increase: time and money, according to Connie Eichhorn, MCC director of secondary partnerships. Faced with rising tuition costs at public and private four-year universities, many students see early college at MCC as a way to cut costs and speed toward degrees — and jobs — as quickly as possible. MCC offers half-price tuition for Nebraska resident high school students, and credits are transferrable to many four-year institutions. Students also reap the benefits of exposure to college-level work. Students who take college classes in high school are more likely to stay in college once they get there, earn higher grades and eventually graduate, according to a study by the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Eichhorn notes that early college can expose students to career areas or topics not available at the high school level. Career Academies, such as those offered at Millard Horizon High School, are one way students can experience careers in an active learning environment and even earn the entry-level credentials to work in those fields. MCC offers academies in distribution and logistics management, culinary arts and health sciences at Millard Horizon. The exposure to a career path is invaluable, said Stacey Ocander, dean of health and public services. “What better way to discover what you want to do?” Other Career Academies are offered at various MCC locations. Won credits his decision to pursue medicine to the supportive environment he found at MCC. “It’s a fantastic way to springboard yourself to a college atmosphere,” he said. “The time I’ve been able to spend there has been invaluable in developing me as a person and in the education sphere.”
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