Tides program launching this fall on TCL’s Beaufort, New River Campuses
From staff reports
Beaufort County School District (BCSD) and Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL) recently announced the BCSD Tides, a new dual enrollment partnership that will allow qualified BCSD rising 9th-grade students to enroll in a full-time dual enrollment cohort at TCL’s New River Campus or Beaufort Mather Campus.
Launching this fall, each cohort will consist of at least 20 students. Like traditional dual enrollment courses, students will earn both high school and college credit for completing TCL classes taught by TCL instructors. Dual enrollment classes are free to district students. Uniquely, BCSD Tides students will complete the program as a cohort beginning in 9th grade and can graduate high school with two associate degrees and a technical certificate from TCL.
“The BCSD Tides program reflects a deepened partnership between BCSD and TCL in providing district students with more innovative and unique opportunities to excel while in high school as well as advance their academic and professional futures,” BCSD Superintendent Frank Rodriguez said.
“The new partnership is a great way to leverage college resources to benefit more students. TCL’s college classes along with our state-of-the-art technology, business and health sciences programs are perfectly aligned with Beaufort County School District’s commitment to provide its graduates with post-secondary opportunities and our own commitment to meet the region’s workforce needs,” TCL President Richard Gough said.
Students will choose one of two associate degree pathways as a major for their 9th- and 10th-grade years and then will declare an associate degree minor with a technical program emphasis for their junior and senior years.
“What’s most exciting to me is that by the time these students finish their 10th-grade year, they will have already completed an entire associate degree – or two years of college,” TCL Vice President for Academic Affairs Laura Dukes said. “Then, they have a chance to earn another associate degree with an emphasis in a specific technical area, fully preparing them for whatever college or career path they choose after high school.”
“BCSD Tides’ extended dual enrollment model is the cumulative result of both learning institutions’ commitment to elevating student learning experiences through technology and teaching,” BCSD Chief Instructional Services Officer Mary Stratos said.
The program’s rigorous face-to-face instruction meets South Carolina requirements for a high school diploma, Stratos said.
BSCD Tides majors and minors are:
Majors
- Associate of Arts: University Transfer Pathway
- Associate of Science: University Transfer Pathway
Minors
- Associate of Applied Science/Computer Technology – Programming
- Associate of Applied Science/Computer Technology – Networking
- Associate of Applied Science/Cybersecurity
- Associate of Applied Science/Business Administration
- Associate of Science/Allied Health Science
- Associate of Science/Allied Health Science – Medical Assisting
- Associate of Science/Allied Health Science – Entrepreneurship/Small Business Certificate
Qualifying students attending Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, and May River high schools will be eligible for the cohort housed on TCL’s New River Campus and will have the opportunity to participate in extra-curricular activities and athletics at their home high school.
Qualifying students attending Whale Branch Early College High School (WBECHS) will be eligible for the cohort affiliated with TCL’s Beaufort Mather Campus. Qualifying students attending Beaufort and Battery Creek High Schools will be eligible for this cohort if they “choice” into WBECHS, where they will have the opportunity to participate in WBECHS extra-curricular activities and athletics.
Student eligibility is based on the following:
- Enrolled in BCSD;
- Must be a legal U.S. citizen or legal resident;
- Must have a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 unweighted scale); and
- Additional criteria as determined by TCL Admissions and BCSD
For more information on how to apply, interested parents/guardians and students are encouraged to attend one of two sessions, depending on their home address of record:
South of the Broad
- New River Campus 6-7 p.m., Thursday, March 21, Room 126
- Attend in person or via Zoom at https://bit.ly/3Vqx7jQ. (RSVP is required.)
North of the Broad
- Beaufort Mather Campus 6-7 p.m., Thursday, March 28, Building 12 Auditorium
- Attend in person or via Zoom at https://bit.ly/3PntHdZ. (RSVP is required.)
Or visit https://www.tcl.edu/bcsd-tides-program.
For more information, please contact Latoshia E. Middleton, BCSD Director of School Counseling, at 843-379-6918 or latoshia.middleton@beaufort.k12.sc.us; or Taylor Welborn, TCL Director of Recruitment & Admissions at 843-525-8336 or dualenrollment@tcl.edu.
