Southwest Mississippi Community College trustees on Tuesday changed the college’s dual enrollment and regular admission policies.
Dual enrollment allows a high school junior or senior to enroll in college courses in order to get a jump-start on their post-high school careers.
“Dual enrollment has become more and more popular. We’ve always had a good relationship with our schools for the past several years. We hope it continues,” college President Dr. Steve Bishop said. “It’s a really good opportunity for qualified juniors and seniors to take classes from SMCC.”
Dr. Matt Calhoun. vice president for admissions and registrar, said that under the new dual enrollment policy, students must have a 3.0 grade-point average in order to be accepted.
New requirements allow students who have below a 3.0 to be admitted if the student has a composite score of an 18 on the ACT.
“Some students are very good at testing and some students are very good in the classroom,” Calhoun said.
Another new requirement is removing the stipulation of a student having 14 high school core credits.
Calhoun said high schools in the district only have six periods and it would have been hard for students to obtain those credits.
Now the college will admit juniors based on the high schools’ determination of what qualifies a student to be a junior.
“It’s consistent with other colleges as well,” Bishop said d of the policy changes. “Our numbers are increasing and it’s a service to the community. A student can take college classes along with their high school classes. It puts them ahead of the game.”
Bishop said it helps students become familiar with Southwest before enrolling as freshmen.
Also, Southwest changed its regular admissions to include admission for students who may not have a high school diploma.
And for students who have not scored high on their ACT tests, the college gives students a placement test — Accuplacer — to place them in general college courses.
“It’s a generic blanketed statement for some of the areas. Some areas of a program do not need a high school diploma,” said Jeremy Smith, vice president for career and technical education.
“I like to call it an ability-to-benefit program,” Bishop said. “We can get them enrolled in the program of their choice and while they are in the program they can also get their GED.”
Bishop said this program makes students who choose to take this route more employable.
“It helps our local area; they’re employed and they become taxpayers. Then, they can come back to SMCC and further their education if they choose to,” he said.
Smith also gave a report to the board for the MI-BEST program.
MI-BEST, the Mississippi Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training program, was designed to bridge the gap between those with a high school diploma and those without a high school diploma as they continue their education.
“It’s a state-approved program, and there’s a lot of state funding for it,” Bishop said.
He said the students who enroll in the program are non-traditional students. Smith said one student wrote a letter to the administration telling them how much she enjoyed the program.
“It gives those an opportunity who didn’t have many opportunities,” Bishop said. “They may have the skills but not the credentials. There are thousands of adults who don’t have a high school equivalency.”
MI-BEST is funded by a three-year grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and is coordinated through the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges.
Smith said it provides the student the ability to make a family-sustaining wage. The coordinator for the program is Janice McKellar. Amy Beard works as a student navigator for the program.
“There may be barriers that prohibit a student from continuing with the program,” Smith said, adding that Beard helps navigate a student through those barriers.
“We have a student’s truck in diesel mechanics now. Her truck needs to be fixed so that she can get back and forth to school,” Smith said, giving an example of one such barrier.
He said the program has held three meet-and-greets.
“The first one we had 13 students show interest, the second we have 23 and yesterday we had 36, so the word is getting out about the program,” he said.
Smith said the program has nine students enrolled currently.
“Not everyone interested gets in. This isn’t handed to you,” he said. “You have to work for it and show that you really want it.”
“If I fail and I do not succeed, then it’s nobody’s fault but my own,” trustee Robert Vick Jr. said.
