Victoria College President, Dr. Jennifer Kent
Victoria College is preparing to offer dual-credit courses at no cost to economically disadvantaged high school students through the state-funded Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) Program.
Qualified students will have an opportunity to earn college credit while in high school at no cost beginning in Fall 2024.
The FAST Program, established by Texas House Bill 8 during the 88th legislative session, provides funding to participating community colleges to offer dual-credit courses at no cost to eligible students. Students qualify for the program if they enroll in an eligible dual-credit course at a participating public school district or charter school and qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
“Victoria College is excited to roll out the FAST Program to school districts in the Crossroads region this fall,” said VC President Dr. Jennifer Kent. “This is a gamechanger for high school students who may not have been able to afford college-level coursework before. Now, they can earn college credit without incurring any costs, including tuition, fees and textbooks.”
As a part of the FAST Program, VC is transitioning from using traditional textbooks in dual-credit courses to incorporating open educational resources (OER) – free, openly licensed course materials created or adapted by faculty – eliminating the financial burden of textbooks for students.
“We have students who enroll in classes but cannot afford to purchase their textbooks,” said Kent. “By using open educational resources, we will help students get to the finish line faster. These free resources will benefit all dual-credit students, even those who do not qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, as well as traditional students enrolled in the same courses at Victoria College. We also plan to expand free instructional materials into other courses over time.”
Students who do not qualify for the FAST Program will still have the opportunity to apply for dual-credit scholarships.
For more information about VC's dual-credit offering, call (361) 582-2400 or email EnrollmentServices@VictoriaCollege.edu.