How much college credit do I receive for my High School courses?

For most articulated classes, a high school student usually receives three (3) college hours for a year-long high school Tech Prep course.

Can I get college credit for my BCIS I class?

It depends! Did you:

• Take the BCIS I class as a Tech Prep class that had an agreement in place with a community/technical college?
• Pass BCIS I with a grade of 80 or above?
• Discuss college credit for this class with your teacher/counselor?

* The best way to find out about getting college credit is to check with your high school counselor AND the counselor/advisor at the community/technical college you plan to attend.

Why should I take a college class while I'm in high school? I'm supposed to have fun.

TIME
A college class that awards three (3) hourse usually means you sit in class three hours a week. A college semester runs about 18 weeks. So, if you don't take an articulated class in high school, count on sitting in class for 54 HOURS. Add 3 hours of study time for that class and you're up to 108 hours.

MONEY
If a college class counts for 3 credit hours and each credit hour costs $60, a college student just walking onto campus without any articulated classes would pay $180 (3 x $60) for that one course.

Plus a textbook at about $80.
Plus a parking sticker at about $45.
Plus lab fees (to use computer labs, equipment) of about $50.
Total = $355.00

It pays to take a long look at Tech Prep/articulated classes while in high school.

If ATC Isn't Tech Prep, Then What is It?

Tech-Prep is a program to prepare students for an associate degree in highly skilled, technical careers.

Advanced Technical Credit (ATC) and Tech-Prep, while having many complimentary goals, differ in that ATC is a class, and Tech-Prep is a sequential program of study. Since ATC is an advanced technical class, it is often a part of a student's Tech-Prep program.

Tech Prep combines secondary and postsecondary education, which:

• Leads to an associate degree with advanced technical skills or two-year- certificate,
  
  
• Provides technical preparation in at least one field of engineering technology, applied science, mechanical, industrial or practical trade or agriculture, health or business,
  
  
• Builds student competencies in mathematics, science and communications, including applied academics, through a sequential course of study,
  
  
• Uses input from secondary schools, postsecondary education, business and industry for course development, and
  
  
• Leads to highly skilled, technical career placement.

Terms for ATC and Tech Prep:

Articulation
-the smooth transition from one educational level to the next without delays or redundancy in course work. (Articulation between high schools and community/technical colleges has been practiced for many years.)

Local Articulation
-course-to-course agreements between one school district and one community/technical college.

Statewide/Advanced Technical Credit Articulations
-course-to-course agreements for your high school students to a variety of participating community/technical colleges (statewide).

ATC
-a class with statewide articulation; state-designed, advanced-college placement course. One of several methods to earn college credit while in high school a possible component of a Tech Prep program.

Tech Prep
-a sequential program of study designed as a 6-year plan outlining a student's academic and articulated technical courses from the freshman year in high school through completion of an associate degree or certification. (ATC courses may be part of a student's Tech-Prep program.)

Articulation Notes:

Articulation means a smooth, flexible movement. In the world of Tech-Prep, articulation allows moving from high school to the community/technical college without repeating classes in a career path.

Two types of articulation agreements make this transition smoother: Advanced Technical Credit and Local.

Advanced Technical Credit and Local articulations are college-level classes that do not cost the student or high school any fees. Classes are taught on the high school campus by qualified high school teachers. College tuition, textbooks and fees are not charged to high school students or their district.

Upon enrollment at the community/technical college, students should tell the advisor or counselor about their articulated high school classes. College credit hours can then be posted on the new student's transcript by the participating college/technical college.

Advanced Technical Credit - ATC: ATC classes are accepted at almost all community/technical colleges in Texas. Saving time and money are big benefits for students and parents.

To teach an ATC class, teachers:

• Are required to have advanced education/college hours or work experience in the course they are teaching,
  
  
• Attend a mandatory training session every three years,
  
  
• Align the high school curriculum with the college course, since ATC classes are taught at the college level, and
  
  
• Keep pace with the technology in the course.

Local Articulations are one-on-one agreements between one community/technical college and one high school. These local agreements state that particular courses, agreed upon by both the community/technical college and the high school, will be taught at an advanced level.

Example: Book bindery is not offered as an Advanced Technical Credit (ATC) course; however, a local agreement is in place between ABC High School and XYZ Community College for book bindery/printing. The prominent industry in the ABC area is book design and publishing. The locally articulated class between ABC High School and XYZ Community College allows students to begin their book bindery/printing career while in high school and leads to a college/technical degree.

Advanced Technical Credit (ATC) class credits can be claimed at over 40 community/technical colleges in Texas. ATC classes are designated by the State and have specific coding so that high school transcripts display the ATC coding. Articulated classes add up to savings in Time and Money and provide a head start to a community/technical college education.