Detroit Free Press: Sen. Gary Peters looks to expand college credit courses
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., is proposing legislation which could further expand options for high school students to gain college credits by allowing higher education grants to be made to colleges and universities to create and maintain dual and concurrent enrollment programs.
Those programs allow students to obtain college credits while still attending high school. Last year, Peters and U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., won passage of a measure that allows K-12 Title 1 funds to be used to support dual and concurrent enrollment programs at eligible schools.
The new proposal, if passed, would allow funding from the Higher Education Act Title VII Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education also to be used to provide teachers in dual/concurrent programs with training and support course design, community outreach and student counseling.
Peters is introducing the legislation in the Senate along with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. In the U.S. House, Reps. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Tom Reed, R-N.Y. will introduce a companion bill. Dual and concurrent enrollment programs are seen as a means of making college more affordable and accessible.
“The escalating cost of higher education should not deter hardworking, motivated students from obtaining a quality higher education,” said Peters. “Students will save time and money as they kick-start their careers through a personalized curriculum.”
Several local educators praised the proposal, saying it can make a significant difference in helping students get a college education.
“Strengthening programs like dual enrollment allows high school students to participate in higher education while acclimating them to the rigors of a college curriculum. (This bill) would provide the additional resources needed to expand programs ... aimed at growing the state's college-educated population," said Mitch Sollenberger, associate provost for undergraduate programs at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
