Students Double Up On Schooling to Earn College Credit

Junior+Vanessa+Hernandez+ready+to+start+the+new-school+year+and+enroll+in+the+OnRamps+program+that+is+set+to+start+Aug.+27.

Estefania Muniz II Teal Tribune

Junior Vanessa Hernandez ready to start the new-school year and enroll in the OnRamps program that is set to start Aug. 27.

Nala Wheeler, Reporter

With the introduction of Pebble Hills High School’s fourth year in commissions, new opportunities are appearing rapidly for the school. During the previous second semester, a new program has been proposed for the school, one that is partnered with the University of Texas at Austin to award college credit to high school students.

The program, OnRamps, is a risk-free alternative to the standard Dual Credit and Advanced Placement classes, affecting over 70 districts and 170 campuses in Texas.

In the OnRamps program, students are enrolled into the University of Texas at Austin, as well as into Pebble Hills. The scholars involved are taught by one instructor, here on the campus, but have some of their major assignments – such as the midterm and final – graded by a college professor. This means that, essentially, they are given two grades and develop two different transcripts while they are in the program, one for high school and the other for college.

According to teachers, this program has a very large difference from other classes that award credit. In Advanced Placement class, you take an exam at the end of the year that determines if you pass or fail to obtain the credit; in Dual Credit classes, student must take the Texas Success Initiative program and pass the final test with a specific score to be able to even participate in them. With OnRamps, though, you just join a class within the program and receive a grade for the work you do by both of your teachers. If the grade for your college transcript is unsatisfactory for you, you can choose to erase it and have no record of transcript or grade occurring.

“I plan on attending U.T. (University of Texas at Austin) so getting the credit would be really helpful,” said junior Vanessa Hernandez about joining OnRamp’s Physics I class. “It would look good on the transcript.”

Of course, students aren’t the only people anticipating the start of the program on Aug 27. With the student count currently unknown, teacher Matthew Akers, Erica Luna, Monique Garza, and Rodolfo Gonzalez, recruiting people to join the program.

“My hope is to have as many students as possible experience college content before even going to college,” Luna said. “It will be a challenging course but the benefits that any student can earn college credit is worth it.”