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TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — About 30 percent of students at the College of Southern Idaho are still in high school, the college's president says.
President Jeff Fox told the Idaho Board of Education on Thursday that more than 4,000 high school students from 32 Idaho counties are expected to take dual-credit classes this school year.
"That's a significant change in our student population and diversity," Fox said, The Times-News reports (http://bit.ly/1UcIjYO).
The Idaho Department of Education in 2014 launched the Fast Forward program that pays for juniors and seniors to take college-level classes.
Fox said the college quickly realized it was a way to help excellent high school students get a head start on a college education, a trend he sees continuing.
"We expect that number is just going to increase," he said.
He said the school doesn't recruit high schools to participate in the dual-credit program, but they call the college and the college provides services. The college works with qualified high school instructors to teach the classes.
According to the Idaho Department of Education, students can be reimbursed for up to three dual credits for juniors or the financial equivalent of $195 for exams. Senior can be reimbursed for up to six dual credits or the financial equivalent of $390.
Fox said that overall, enrollment of full-time students at the college has been declining, with a 5.5 percent drop noted in October compared to October 2014.
He told the education board that women are 63 percent of the student population at the College of Southern Idaho, noting that's the highest he could recall.
The board sets policies for universities, colleges and K-12 schools. It met at the College of Southern Idaho's campus in Twin Falls on Wednesday and Thursday, its first visit to the campus since June 2013.
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Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com
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