Record number of high school students to graduate in May with associate degrees from Sinclair

A record number of 47 high school students who participated in the College Credit Plus program offered through Sinclair College will graduate in May with an associate degree.

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The program has more than 7,800 students from nearly 130 area high schools. The program is Ohio’s dual-enrollment initiative that is available to students in grades seven through 12, providing them the opportunity to earn college credits or even a college credential at no cost, prior to graduating from high school.

The goal of the College Credit Plus program is to help students get a head start in their college education while preparing them to be workforce-ready, while also allowing high school students the option to choose from a wide-range of courses and programs in both a career and technical field of study that prepares students for in-demand jobs, as well as general education courses that can be transferred to a four-year university.

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This program and partnership with the state and K-12 districts, is helping students in the Dayton region and Ohio reach the 65% college credential attainment goal, according to Sinclair President Steve Johnson.

“What these students have accomplished is remarkable, and I want to congratulate each and every one of them. Sinclair has partnerships with nearly 130 high schools across Southwestern Ohio and these partnerships are critical in preparing students for in-demand jobs,” he said. “Even through the crisis that we are in, Sinclair will continue offering CCP programs through online and distance platforms.”

Deontae Brown, a graduate from Wayne High School, said that he found some success while in the program at Sinclair.

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“The program allowed me to take a wide variety of classes that allowed me to discover what interests me the most,” Brown said. “Through CCP, I was able to get all of my general education courses out of the way and I have now just two more years to complete a bachelor’s degree. I have already saved an incredible amount of money towards my college education.”

He added that even after his classes were moved to online only due to the COVID-19 crisis, “I was able to easily adjust since many of my CCP classes were already offered online at Sinclair.”

Scarlett Cadman, from Springboro High School, said the program helped her get ahead.

“I have saved two years of time and money that I would have otherwise had to spend at a four-year institution,” Cadman explained. “I also took a few courses that helped me figure out subject areas that I enjoyed. This helped me narrow down my interests to determine what I want to do with my career.”

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The 47 May CCP Sinclair graduates come from 20 high schools across the region. These students will complete degrees in 12 different areas of study: Liberal Arts Associate of Arts, Liberal Arts Associate of Science, Psychology, History, Biology, Electro-Mechanical Engineering, Software Development, General Business Management, Creative Writing, Engineering Transfer, Mathematics, and Foreign Languages.

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