Western Illinois University Dual Enrollment New Initiatives Set for 2021
MACOMB/Moline, IL – Since Fall 2015, Western Illinois University has provided opportunities for area high school students to get a head start on their college career without having to leave their local high school.
Western’s Dual Enrollment program offers high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to enroll in college-level courses, including a variety of classes that count toward WIU general education requirements. Courses are available on campus, online and some classes meet on site at partner high schools. Students who take part in WIU’s program, beginning in Spring 2021, will have new opportunities that make the
WIU Accountancy Professor Amy Ford assists a West Central student with accountancy homework.
program even more accessible, according to WIU Admissions Counselor and Dual Enrollment Coordinator Katy Gorsuch.
Dual Enrollment virtual information sessions will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays, Nov. 11, Nov. 18 and Dec. 9. Students can register at wiu.edu/highschool.
This spring, a new grant opportunity will cover the remaining one-third of tuition costs for one class for up to 100 students from McDonough, Hancock, Warren, Knox, Brown, Adams, Schuyler, Henderson, Fulton, Cass, Mercer, Henry, Rock Island and Whiteside counties. Students from these counties can take one WIU class at no cost during the Spring 2021 (excluding the cost of course textbooks and materials). In addition, area high school seniors who take dual enrollment through WIU in Spring 2021 will receive an automatic $1,000 scholarship and $600 book award if they attend WIU as a full-time freshman in Fall 2021.
As a result of the WIU-Cambridge connection, CHS graduate Hannah Akers joined the Leatherneck family on the Macomb campus in Fall 2018, majoring in early childhood education. Akers, who is now a junior, is also a part of Western’s Centennial Honors College.
“I chose to take college courses in high school because I wanted a head start on my college career. These courses challenged me and helped me get some of my gen ed courses done before beginning at WIU. I also chose to participate in dual enrollment because it was more affordable. By taking these courses at a discount price, I saved a lot of money and time,” Akers said. “I loved how Western sent a professor to my school and how we were able to gain all the benefits that a WIU student would get. The skills I learned during the courses are skills I use in my courses at WIU today. WIU is such an amazing school. The people are beyond welcoming.”
Students interested in WIU dual enrollment opportunities should contact Gorsuch at kl-gorusch@wiu.edu. High school administrators interested in setting up on-site dual enrollment opportunities at their school either as a structured or online class section can contact Kristi Mindrup, administrator of the WIU-Quad Cities campus and assistant vice president of WIU-QC Academic Affairs, at ks-mindrup@wiu.edu.
