Forty-two Public School Districts Win Funding to Design and Offer “Seniors to Sophomores” Pilot Programs

Will collaborate with University System of Ohio institutions to offer high school seniors free year of college beginning Fall 2008

COLUMBUS--Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut today announced 42 first round Early Adopter grant recipients for Governor Strickland’s new Seniors to Sophomores early college credit program.

Seniors to Sophomores, unveiled in Governor Strickland’s 2008 State of the State address and detailed in Chancellor Fingerhut’s 10-Year Plan for Higher Education, is a dual enrollment program that enables academically qualified high school seniors to get an early jump on college. Students can earn a year’s worth of both high school and college credit at the same time, for free. High school seniors who elect to take a full load of courses on college campuses during their senior year will be able to enter a University System of Ohio college on a second-year level, or as college sophomores.

Seventy-eight grant applications were received and examined by a joint Ohio Board of Regents /Ohio Department of Education review committee. The first 42 to win grant awards, and which plan to offer the Seniors to Sophomores opportunity to students during the 2008-2009 school year, represent urban, suburban, and rural areas from across the state. A full list of recipients can be viewed at http://universitysystem.ohio.gov/seniorstosophomores/index.php.

"We are excited about the outstanding response we have had to the Seniors to Sophomores Early Adopters Program,” Fingerhut said. “In addition to implementing a program that makes a college education more accessible and affordable for students, the ideas we’re seeing in the proposals show that school districts, colleges, and universities are partnering to find ways to better prepare students – in high school, middle school, and even elementary school – for college and the challenges of competing in a global economy.”

A maximum $100,000 grant is available for each partnership. Funds for the grant will be released to the recipients in July 2008 to plan and begin implementing the Seniors to Sophomores program for the fall 2008 pilot year. Funds may be used to plan for encouraging high school students to participate in all college-level programs, including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Tech Prep, Early College High School and PSEO, as long as Seniors to Sophomores is one of the opportunities made available to the high school seniors. The approved plans must have provided a replicable model that will be sustainable beyond the grant period.

To date, 78 applications have been reviewed by committee members representing the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Department of Education, with additional grant awards currently being considered. Due to the excellent response, all applications received after 5 p.m. on March 24 are on a waiting list for potential future consideration.

For more information about Seniors to Sophomores, visit http://universitysystem.ohio.gov/seniorstosophomores/index.php

Seniors to Sophomores Early Adopter Grant Recipients - April 24, 2008