Flexible Concurrent Courses Benefit High School Students

High school juniors and seniors can earn up to 27 credit hours tuition free through Redlands Community College’s concurrent enrollment program. Both eight-week and 16-week courses are offered online or via Zoom, as well as on high school campuses or on the El Reno campus.

“A high school graduate who earns the maximum number of concurrent course credit will only need at least another 33 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.”

An additional cost savings is the course materials needed.

“Since many of our general education classes use Open Educational Resources, most of the classes high school juniors and seniors typically take, such as English Comp I and II, history and government, do not have the added expense of textbooks” Hobson said, “So with free tuition and free textbooks, students are only responsible for course fees, giving them a big jumpstart on their college degree at a very low cost.”

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. Many of these high school students 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.”

With the option of taking classes online or via Zoom, students have the flexibility to enroll in a format that fits their schedule. 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.