With rising university and college tuition rates, students and their parents are looking for ways to get the most of a post-secondary education.
According to the college board website, Trends in College Pricing, 2008: "Students who take longer to graduate from a public college or university typically pay up to $19,000 for each additional year. Students attending private institutions might expect to incur $26,197 for each additional year As schools send the next generation of students off to college, they need to ask themselves, is the end goal of college admission enough? What can be done to provide your students with the tools they need to succeed in college?"
To assist students heading off to university or college, John Paul II Collegiate offers students the chance to develop strong learning/study skills and the chance to obtain two university credits before they get to university, through its Advanced Placement Program.
John Paul II offers two AP credit courses for Grade 12 students. Calculus 30, taught by Doug Sieben, and ELA B 30, taught by Roxanne Brandle, have been offered at JPII since 2009. According to Sieben, the AP courses provide students with an opportunity to think and work at the university level.
Carlo Hansen, principal of JPII, says he is proud of the AP results that students have achieved. Since offering the course, 58 students at JPII have written the college board exam for Advanced Placement Calculus; 32 students achieved the college board standard of "qualified" or better, 21 students have gained university credit for math (Math 110.3) by scoring a four or five out of five, and nine students have achieved the perfect score of five, which is called "extremely well qualified."
In the AP language course, since 2010, six students out of 29, scored four or five on the college board exam. The experience of an AP course not only helps students to enhance their study skills, but also gives them the opportunity to reduce their first year university course load and tuition fee.
As students begin their high school education, if they have plans to move on to post-secondary study, skills and credits that will help them in their transition year can be achieved if they choose to register in an AP program. Students and parents should contact JPII if they feel AP is a direction they wish to follow. Proactive preparation to help first year students at college or university can only increase the chance of a successful first year, a result which will make both students, and their parents, happy.
