Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Before going into detail about her role at Waubonsee Community College, Dora Phillips, had to recognize the clubs esteemed member, Dan Hoefler for his work at the college. Dan volunteers for eight weeks each summer and could have taken the easy route and gone to Sugar Grove. Instead, he decided to teach at the Aurora campus and help struggling students instead. Dora knew Dan because she is the director of the High School Partnership Program at Waubonsee Community College. The classes fall into two main categories, those for students who got behind and others for students that are trying to get ahead. 

So why would someone take classes at Waubonsee while in high school when they could just go to AP classes or take them at the college as a regular student once they graduate? One main reason is that some schools have trouble filling AP classes and don’t offer a wide range of options, because Waubonsee has a larger pool to choose from, students get more diversity in AP programs. In addition, AP classes only count for college credit if a student scores a 4 or higher on a final test. Waubonsee allows students to take an AP Dual Credit course, which gives the students college credit for passing the course.

The other reason for taking the course during high school is the cost. Because the student’s school district picks up the tab for the course, a family only has to pay $5 per credit hour versus the normal rate of $105 that Waubonsee usually charges, or the $500 a credit hour that Aurora University and other colleges charge.

With the benefits of a college degree continuing to grow as costs of obtaining one skyrocket, the programs offered by Waubonsee Community College give families additional ways to help their children better themselves, and we thank them.