March 9, 2018

St. Joseph’s Collegiate in Brooks, Alberta is excited to partner with Medicine Hat College (MHC) to offer Grade 11-12 students the opportunity to work towards earning college credits while in high school.

For the 2018-19 school year, Health Care Aide and Criminal Justice courses will be offered to Grade 11 and 12 students at St. Joseph’s Collegiate, a Grade 9-12 school and part of Christ The Redeemer (CTR) Catholic Schools. These courses also earn the students credits towards their high school diploma.

“Dual credit programming provides high school students an excellent opportunity to not just earn post-secondary credits, but also explore possible career options. It’s a great way to encourage post-secondary participation, and help students determine their path forward after graduation,” said Dr. Sandy Vanderburgh, interim vice-president academic at Medicine Hat College.

Representatives from MHC campus in Brooks and St. Joseph’s Collegiate met in mid-January to discuss possibilities for such a partnership.

“The dual credit partnership between St. Joseph’s Collegiate and Medicine Hat College is an exciting new venture for the community of St. Joe’s and Christ The Redeemer Catholic Schools. We look forward to continuing to foster this relationship and create successful possibilities for students,” said Cheryl Kuemper, Director of Curriculum and Instruction at CTR Catholic.

Currently, the Brooks college campus provides opportunities for CTF and CTS programming for junior and senior high school students, but students were not able to get credit at both the high school and post-secondary levels. Thanks to this new partnership and recent government grant approval, dual credit programming will now afford students a greater opportunity to get a head start on their college programming.

“The ability to partner with high school districts to provide such opportunities is great for students, families, rural and remote communities and the entire region. This is a very timely and responsive program development,” said Cindy M.P. Slenders, Director, Brooks Campus and Regional Stewardship at Medicine Hat College. “What is encouraging is that the recognition and expansion of such opportunities is filling a need and niche in the communities within our region.”

Alberta Education made monies available for school districts to work with partnering post-secondary institutions and industry partners to develop and implement dual credit programming in 2016. Courses at St. Joseph’s Collegiate will be offered in September 2018. It is anticipated that high school students can take up to four courses in the 2018-2019 academic year.

“The Medicine Hat College has been wonderful to work with. We are so lucky to have such great organizations in this community with the common goal of student learning and future success. We feel blessed that the Alberta government has invested in education in a manner that truly promotes post-secondary learning,” said Jenell Petkus, a teacher at St. Joseph’s Collegiate who helped implement the programming. “It is a great opportunity for high school students to get a head start on their college education. It also allows teens to try out something new to see if it is a path they want to continue on with.”