High school juniors and seniors can earn up to 27 credit hours tuition free through Redlands Community College’s concurrent enrollment program.
“A high school graduate who earns the maximum number of concurrent course credit will only need another 37 credit hours to earn an associate degree,” said Tricia Hobson, executive director of Student Services at Redlands. “We have several students who are then able to earn a bachelor’s degree in two to three years, which is a significant cost savings.”
Catherine Huber, a 2019 El Reno High School graduate, will be receiving an associate degree in pre-professional sciences at Redlands Community College in May. And because of the college’s transfer agreements with several Oklahoma four-year institutions, Huber will have a seamless transition to earning a bachelor’s degree at a university.
“One of the most beneficial opportunities of taking concurrent classes is that I was able to start my college career as a sophomore instead of a freshman, due to the number of hours I had already completed,” Huber said.
She took advantage of Redlands’ various class formats by enrolling in both online and classroom courses. “I got a taste of what college classes would be like,” she said.
The experience set her up for success at the next level. As a high school student, she was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges.
One of Phi Theta Kappa’s current international vice presidents is Redlands student Tyler McKenzie. McKenzie, who also took college courses while he was a student at Mustang High School, believes his experience at Redlands has given him the resources he needs to be successful.
“I believe students succeed best in environments that are full of opportunity and unique learning experiences. Students desire variation in the classroom, and they lose motivation when routine consumes their daily lives,” McKenzie said. “Redlands Community College is a perfect example of this variation. Students are able to have the option for additional research within the honors program, or they can participate in service-learning activities.”
Redlands Community College President Jack Bryant enjoys seeing these students, whose first experience with higher education was with Redlands, use that foundation to pursue careers and additional undergraduate and graduate degrees. With the college’s partnerships with NASA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture as well as instruction from highly trained professors, students gain invaluable experience at a very early point in their educational career. They are able to participate in hands-on research, develop service learning projects and earn credit through the Honors program.
“Concurrent enrollment is one of the greatest decisions our state has made to help families and students pursue a college education at a fraction of the cost,” Bryant said. “We strive to keep our courses affordable, and offering college classes tuition-free to high school juniors and seniors greatly eases the financial burden on families.”
Redlands has students from 69 high schools who are taking classes through the college’s concurrent enrollment program. Classes are offered online, onsite, at the main campus or via a broadcast network to high schools. Advisors work directly with counselors to enroll students in the courses taught by master- and Ph.D.-level instructors.
Concurrent classes are open to any eligible high school junior or senior. For more information about concurrent enrollment, please contact the Admissions and Advising Office at 405-422-1417 or Admissions@Redlandscc.edu.