Prairie Rose Public School trustees hold a public meeting Tuesday afternoon.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Prairie Rose Public Schools will offer several asynchronous courses for the upcoming winter 2025 semester, allowing high school students to get a jump start on their post-secondary education.
This is the third year of dual-credit offerings for PRPS, says Sherry Craven, who presented to board trustees Tuesday on the value of allowing students to get a first taste of higher education during their high school careers.
“It’s not just online courses that they’re taking through these, it’s actually full programming that we build these courses in, which I think is a little bit different than what some of the other schools do, where they’re just kind of one-off courses,” said Craven.
Students who participate through one of the partnerships with various institutions, including Medicine Hat College, SAIT, Olds College and others, typically receive 5 30-level high school credits, as well as post-secondary credits, making it essentially a college course taken in high school.
“Courses can range from academic subjects to career-focused training, such as trades, health care, technology or business,” said Craven. “Some of our most popular courses that we have are like Intro to Business, Intro to Medical Terminology, Intro to Psychology, things that would be like your entry-level courses when you get to college.
“And so giving them a way to kind of taste the subject, a little bit to see if maybe this is something that they might pursue as a post-secondary student.”
The courses aren’t just gateways for college or university either, Craven says, as some allow for students to pursue careers more quickly once out of high school, but for those seeking a more difficult post-secondary program, it can make their applications more appealing to institutions.
Students interested in pursuing these options are encouraged to speak with their academic adviser.
