Latest news with #MarkEscamilla
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Del Mar College waives dual credit tuition for private school, home-schooled students
Del Mar College is expanding its dual credit tuition waiver program to include private school and home-schooled students in fall 2025. This means that students at schools like Annapolis Christian Academy, St. John Paul II High School, Arlington Heights Christian Academy, Grace Temple Academy and Incarnate Word Academy, as well as home-schooled students, won't have to pay for tuition or fees when taking a dual credit course at Del Mar College. The Del Mar College board of regents unanimously approved the waiver for private school and home-schooled students on Tuesday. This academic year, the college has 94 dual credit enrollment students from private schools or home school. This includes some online classes, as well as some students who come to campus to attend class in person with other college students. Currently, private school students pay just more than $33 per credit hour. The college collected about $40,000 in dual enrollment revenue from home-schooled and private school students last fiscal year. The college previously eliminated dual credit tuition costs for students from partnering public schools, shifting to a state funding model. Del Mar College President Mark Escamilla said that the tuition waiver program for dual credit creates an opportunity for enrollment growth. "The gains are going to be first and foremost for those students, financially, long term," Escamilla said. Del Mar College regent David Loeb said that he heard from interested home schooling parents and private schools after the college waived tuition for public school dual credit students. This spring, 3,268 high school students were enrolled in a dual credit course. Dual credit head counts at Del Mar College have been rising since 2022. Last spring, the dual credit headcount was 2,965. The college also plans to waive tuition for qualifying full-time students who complete an associate degree within three years beginning with freshmen who start in fall 2025. Corpus Christi ISD, Del Mar College partner to enhance dual credit Is your child about to take the STAAR test? Here's how to help them prepare A head start in life: How students can work toward degrees in Corpus Christi high schools This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: DMC waives dual credit costs for private school, home school students
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Corpus Christi ISD, Del Mar College partner to enhance dual credit
Corpus Christi ISD recently received grant funding to support dual credit and early college programs and to support the district's partnership with Del Mar College. The funding will be used to expand access to early college coursework with the goal of ultimately increasing the numbers of Corpus Christi Independent School District graduates who enroll in college after finishing high school. The focus will be on encouraging students to complete 15 college credits while in high school. Corpus Christi ISD Superintendent Roland Hernandez and Del Mar College President Mark Escamilla met Wednesday morning at King High School to formalize the agreement. "Critical funding such as this helps us with our mission to prepare students to be life-long learners to continue their education and enter the world of work and become productive citizens," Hernandez said. The grant award will allow Corpus Christi ISD to offer a new college and career exploration course through the OneGoal program for high school juniors at Carroll, King and Miller high schools next year. In 2026-27, the schools will offer a subsequent course for seniors, which will assist students with the college application process. CCISD Director of Advanced Academics Bryan Davis said the OneGoal program will also support students in their first year of post-secondary education. The three high schools were chosen to host the program based on college and career-readiness accountability data, Davis said. King High School Principal Prudence Farrell said that about 75 students have already expressed an interest in the course for next year. The grant will also help the district improve technology to track college, career and military readiness among students and outcomes after graduation. According to CCISD's most recent annual performance report for 2023-24, 47% of CCISD 2023 graduates were college-ready. This includes: 88.3% of Collegiate High School graduates 80.3% of Branch Academy graduates 70.2% of Veterans Memorial High School graduates 51.5% of Ray High School graduates 45.7% of King High School graduates 38.4% of Carroll and Moody high school graduates 36.6% of Miller High School graduates At Coles High School, an alternative school program, that figure was just below 7%. The Texas Education Agency measures college readiness through several metrics, including student outcomes on college-readiness assessments and completion of dual credit, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credits. The state's indicator of college readiness tied to dual credit is based on whether a student completed nine hours of dual credit. With the grant funding and Del Mar College partnership, CCISD is increasing their dual credit goal to 15 credit hours. Del Mar College has also set sights on increasing dual credit attainment across the region, offering dual credit at no cost for tuition to partnering school districts. "That efficiency that's going to be gained by the fifteen hours or so that we're aiming for will absolutely make all the difference," Escamilla said. More: A head start in life: How students can work toward degrees in Corpus Christi high schools Taxes are due April 15. Here's where to find free tax assistance in Corpus Christi Who made a difference in Corpus Christi ISD? See 2025 award winners New schools, demolitions: What to know about Corpus Christi ISD construction projects This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi ISD increases dual credit goals with grant support
