Kassidy Hartley

Posted on Thursday, July 7th, 2016

How did you learn about the dual credit program? Who did you complete your application with?

I found out about the dual credit program through my teacher and the guidance program. He knew that I was taking college-level English this year so he asked me about it and if I was interested. I found out about it at the beginning of the first semester, and I got the forms at the end of first semester.

Did you attend an orientation session? What did you find most helpful about orientation?

NA

Did you think you were you prepared for the course?

I felt well prepared. I was prepared in the sense that I know how to write a long essay and I know how to format it for high school. I wasn’t sure for college level because everything changes between high school and college. I felt confident enough to go into the program.

Do you think the dual credit was a good fit?

Yes. I’m interested in English. I like writing a lot. With this, it’s focused on it, plus it gets a college credit out of the way.

Did you require any accommodations? Were your needs meet?

I have an IEP (Individual Education Plan) for extra time. Yes. Both teachers were very understanding when I needed extra help. They weren’t pressuring me because they knew I had accommodations toward that.

How was transportation?

NA

How did you find the technology aspect of the course?

I wasn’t really that prepared for that because in class, normally, you have to write everything out and do your rough draft written out. With this, they ask you to type it and do everything on the computer, but it was so much easier. I prefer doing my work on a computer. It’s better for organization.

What were the greatest differences between high school and college?

With college, it is definitely a lot more straightforward and very strict about deadlines and when things have to be done. It’s a good thing, because it gives you peace of mind about when it has to be done. With high school, you can hand things in the last day and teachers have to accept it. In college, if it’s not in, you don’t get the mark for it.

It’s graded kind of differently. With high school, it’s very focused on how you write it. In college, it is how you write it, but with your references, they have to be done a certain way. In high school, they don’t focus as much on that.

Deadlines for assignments/tests: They gave it right at the beginning. It gave us a lot of breathing room to realize when it’s due and how to plan out each step. Whenever she was in our class, she would say that we’re working on our intro paragraph or body paragraph, depending on the class. She gave us a lot of room between start of class and the deadline.

I only have one class this semester because I have co-op in the afternoon. Knowing that I had to be there on Mondays and Wednesdays no matter what, in order to get 5% for the class and work on my essay, gave me motivation to go to class.

If you needed to communicate with your College instructor, what was the best way?

My college instructor was always available if I needed her or emailed her. In class, if I asked her to help with something she would always be available. You can contact or email her any time. She is in on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Challenges?

The presentation I did. With talking in public, I suffer from anxiety. Doing public and oral presentations are a big challenge for me. I think I did really well on it.

Would you recommend that other students take a dual credit? Why or why not?

I would recommend it, definitely. It’s a really good credit just to have. It teaches you so much. With high school, they’re very lenient about when your deadline is, but with college, if you don’t get it in, you get a reduced mark. High school doesn’t prepare you for that. With this course, it gives you insight on what to expect.

What do you hope to do once you’ve graduated from High School?

I’m doing a workplace apprenticeship in Auto body. I am going to be doing the auto trades at college. I’m figuring out where I’m going. As of now, I only know I will want to go back to college to learn more. Coming here, knowing I already have a credit in my pocket, it helps knowing I don’t have to retake it.

Last Say/best advice

Ask the teacher to read over your essay. I got Bridget, my instructor, to read over mine as I was doing each body paragraph so she could help with grammar, spelling, and references. I got feedback along the way throughout the whole thing. She didn’t mind that I was emailing her and asking her to proofread it.

Whenever we were writing the essay it gave me insight on how to list things and format things. In the workplace, if I have to write things down, I know how to properly communicate through text. Orally, it helps whenever I do a presentation. It gives me more confidence.

The program is really straightforward. Using the Blackboard is straightforward.

With dual credit, it’s really better to have a smaller classroom because it gives you more opportunity to have a one-on-one with the teacher. There were only nine of us. That was really helpful. I got to know both the high school teacher and the college instructor.

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