Lubbock ISD is offering Estacado High School students the opportunity to earn college credit through Texas Tech University for the first time and gave KLBK and EverythingLubbock.com details on the program.
LISD Associate Superintendent Doyle Vogler said about 50 to 60 ninth grade students are participating this year and by the end of the program will earn an Associate’s degree or half of a Bachelor’s degree.
“What it means is a student can graduate with up to 60 hours of college credit and so it’s basically half of your bachelor’s paid for,” Vogler said.
This program also includes the school book expenses and other tuition fees, so it is all free.
Students can only take general education courses, rather then specialized courses towards a major or minor.
“We wanted to make sure students who participate in early college high school that those credit hours will transfer to any state-supported university and support a degree plan,” Vogler said. “We wanted to make sure it was very much aligned with what they needed.”
Vogler added these credits will transfer to any Texas university, but he hopes they’ll be encouraged to pursue a college education at Texas Tech.
“Our dream is that those students graduate from Estacado and have a direct pipeline to and go ahead and finish up their degree at Texas Tech,” Vogler said.
Vogler also added he’s hoping this program helps change the culture for Lubbock students applying to college.
He added any students that live within LISD can sign up for this program. However, it is only offered at Estacado High School at this time.
Find more information about LISD on their website here.