Partnerships forged between Gateway Technical College and area school districts helped to save high school students $1.44 million in college tuition costs for the 2016-17 academic year through dual enrollment.

A total of 3,435 students earned college credit while in high school through dual credit, an effort which allows students in participating high schools to earn high school and Gateway credit at the same time free of charge.

“We are excited to see so many students taking advantage of Gateway’s dual credit offerings,” said Stacy Riley, Gateway vice president of Student Services and Enrollment Management. “The collaboration between Gateway and our high school partners is truly amazing and has proven extremely beneficial to so many high school students.

“The money students save toward their college education, and the time saved to complete their degree or credential, positively impacts each student and their family.”

Gateway is on track to offer dual credit opportunities to nearly 5,000 high school students during the 2017-18 academic year.

 The Wisconsin Technical College System this month released figures on the connection between high-schoolers taking career and technical education classes and their success in school.

The WTCS indicated that:

• High school students involved in career and technical education are more engaged, graduate at higher rates and typically go on to postsecondary education.
• Taking one career and technical education class for every two academic classes minimizes the risk of students dropping out of high school.

A total of 91 percent of high school graduates who earned 2 to 3 career and technical education credits enrolled in college.