The ESC of Franklin County is helping to find a potential cure for “senioritis.”

Helping to take the place of an increasingly irrelevant senior year, high school students in a dozen districts around central Ohio have the option of taking more challenging college courses through an partnership between the ESC, Tolles Technical and Career Center, Eastland-Fairfield Career Center, K-12 schools and nine higher education institutions.

The more than 30 courses offered in 2007-2008 include advanced math, science and foreign language plus technology-focused courses such as Web site design. Several more are planned for next year, said Bob Bowers, ESCFC director of higher education partnerships.

Also increasing for next year, the number of students, districts, colleges and universities participating.

“It’s a way for students to learn that they can successfully complete college-level work,” Bowers said.

The program allows students to explore potential areas of study without devoting time to it during their freshman year of college and at much less cost. Although it varies by course and which higher ed partner it is offered through, credits are available as low as $30 per hour.

“There is now certainly a wealth of opportunity for students to get all or most of their first year of college behind them in a more affordable manner,” Bowers said.

For the 2007-2008 school year, the program will help more than 500 students gain more than 3,800 credit hours. District partners are spread out among Franklin, Delaware, Licking, Fairfield and Hocking counties with several efforts being directed through Eastland-Fairfield and Tolles career and technical schools.

The ESC’s primary dual credit model places qualified high school teachers—certified as adjunct professors—in their same high school classrooms to deliver college courses as directed by the IHE.

“It’s the right thing to do for students, to give them an opportunity to access more rigorous coursework while still in high school,” Bowers said. “It creates a degree of uniformity for smaller districts who can’t afford Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate programs.”

Dual credit is a hot topic across the state. Governor Ted Stickland announced in his State of the State address this year the goal of increasing dual enrollment participation through his Seniors to Sophomores initiative.

The governor's dual enrollment goals have lead to available grants, which the ESC and partners are applying for to test further models and refine the program to overcome barriers and reach even more students.

"What's truly exciting is that we’re in a position to lead. Districts are looking to us for leadership," Bowers said.

"We're on the cutting edge, and this is something that only is going to grow."