OSNAS Offers College Credit through Grand Canyon University
OSNAS is excited to announce that it will be offering college credit through Grand Canyon University. For the first time in school history, OSNAS will be partnering with a university to provide its students with the opportunity to earn high school and college credit simultaneously.
For several years now, OSNAS has enabled students to earn college credit through the Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Under this model, students take an advanced class with the hope that they score high enough on the AP exam to receive college credit. The limitation of the AP class model is that the opportunity for earning college credit is completely dependent on how well the student performs on a single test.
With Dual Enrollment through GCU, the student earns college credit by taking a college level class and scoring a “C” or better based on grades throughout an entire class.
OSNAS reached out to GCU in the Spring of 2020 and after some lengthy conversations and research, the partnership was formed. Grand Canyon is a reputable and fully accredited Christian University based out of Phoenix, Arizona.
Here are the details of how the program will be run at OSNAS for the 2020-21 academic year.
Dual Enrollment classes will be offered this year for English Composition (11th grade), U.S. History (11th grade), and American Government (12th grade). Future years will potentially include College Math and other opportunities. AP courses will still be offered this year for Calculus and English Literature.
Students who have an “A” average in their first three quarters will be eligible to take Dual Enrollment courses during the 4th quarter.
- This year, the class will be fully funded by OSNAS as long as the student obtains a score of “C” or better.
- The class will span a 7-week period in which the student receives online instruction from a GCU professor.
- During that time, instead of going to the standard class for that subject, the student will study on their own in a supervised room for 5 periods a week.
- The student will receive additional support from their high school teacher who will provide guidance on assignment instructions.
- The second semester grade of the student who participates in this program will be weighted (e.g. a college B is worth an A in high school).
We anticipate that the student will gain the following benefits from this partnership with Grand Canyon…
- College level instruction
- Savings on college tuition (the average cost for a college course is about $2,000)
- A quicker route to college graduation (credits transfer to most universities)
- Proficiency in online education (an important skill these days)
- Self-discipline
- Educational support from the teachers at OSNAS
- Daily access to GCU’s Dual Enrollment counselors for additional assistance with registration and enrollment questions.
We look forward to this partnership with GCU. Most importantly, we look forward to offering our dedicated students a head-start into their futures. By succeeding in these classes, the student will save both time and money. It pays to go to OSNAS!
Click here to learn more: GCU Website
