Programs increase TMC enrollment

Students up by 30 percent

 

March 3, 2010--The expansion of Trine Middle College programs to include online courses and courses at local high schools for college credit has generated excitement for area students. As a result, 30 percent more have enrolled in middle college courses than in the previous semester, according to middle college coordinator Kelly Stout.

She attributes that in part to a tandem effort to make Trine credit available to local high school students: Campus Experience, which allows high school students to take Trine courses on the Angola campus and online; and the Concurrent Enrollment Program (CEP), in which students take Trine courses on their high school campuses, taught by their high school instructors who teach as Trine adjunct professors.

Tuition is reduced for Trine Middle College students. In addition to the discounted credit hours, programs are in place for students with high financial need, Stout said.

So far, Hamilton, Fremont and Westview high schools participate in CEP. Hamilton’s John Stevens, Fremont’s John Ludy and Tony Mitchell and Westview’s Margo Varner are CEP adjuncts. All CEP adjuncts meet the requirements of highly qualified teachers, and have completed master’s degrees in their subjects. Trine faculty members Sarah Young, Brandy DePriest and Mike Blaz serve as liaisons for the CEP adjuncts.

“We are in constant conversation with other area schools to work out programs for their students, and we are accepting new teachers to become CEP instructors,” Stout said. “We also serve a large population of home-school students, who often take full-time Campus Experience courses.” Contact Stout at stoutk@trine.edu or 260.665.4307 for more information.