Helping students improve their essential academic and college success skills is the
primary mission of Ferris State University’s Center for College Readiness. As part
of this effort, the office has announced a new collaboration with Charlotte Public
Schools to open a Woodbridge Promise College Prep Program at Charlotte High School.
This collaboration is designed to provide and strengthen opportunities for students to become more college ready as they look toward their first year of college. In addition to the academic courses that are offered, as a part of this program, the office will offer staff presentations to high school juniors, seniors and parents to support the college application process and to promote a smoother transition to college. Programs offered through the Center for College Readiness assist students in strengthening academic and career development skills to prepare them earlier to have a productive and successful college academic experience.
“The Center for College Readiness at Ferris State University, with its many partners at high schools, intermediate school districts and career tech centers throughout Michigan, has developed a wide array of pre-college programs that permit high school students to experience college-level teaching and learning experiences to prepare them for the post-secondary experience,” said William Potter, associate provost for Retention and Student Success.
The Center for College Readiness is housed under the Transfer Services Center in Ferris’ Retention and Student Success unit.
The three primary programs that operate under the office’s banner are: CARE 102: Career Exploration and Education Planning, Operation Excel and the Woodbridge Promise College Prep Programs.
“These courses are offered at discounted tuition levels to make sponsorship by our secondary partners possible,” Potter said. “Successful students earn college credits and grades at little or no cost to them or their families before they enter the college or community college of their choice thus saving time and expense.”
Students eligible for the Woodbridge Promise College Prep Program can earn credit and establish proficiency in English, mathematics and reading prior to beginning post-secondary work. Students can strengthen their admissions credentials, build the knowledge to improve ACT scores for post-secondary admission and financial aid packages, complete college credits and more.
Students from Charlotte Public Schools who qualify are accepted into the Woodbridge Promise College Prep Program and have the opportunity to earn up to 14 college credits during their senior year of high school.
In addition to the new Woodbridge Promise College Prep Program, Charlotte Public Schools will offer concurrent enrollment courses through Ferris. Concurrent enrollment courses are actual university courses that mirror the same courses taught on any Ferris campus. The classes are taught by high school instructors who have been approved by the Ferris faculty.
The courses are taught during the normal high school day. Students are registered, assessed and graded on a college transcript in the same manner as students in the same classes on campus. Ferris follows the NACEP model for concurrent enrollment.