Chris Gray, Ph.D.
Founding President, Erie County Community College of Pennsylvania
You might have seen the news by now. Erie County Community College was just awarded a $1 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education to expand dual credit opportunities for area high school students. This grant is part of Governor Shapiro's push to increase postsecondary credit attainment for high schoolers across the state, and here at EC3, we are proud to play a role in that effort.
Before I get into the details of the grant, let me take a moment to explain why this matters so much. Why is giving high school students the chance to earn college credit so critical to their future? The answer is simple: it changes the entire trajectory of their lives. That's a bold claim, for sure, but hear me out.
The research is clear. Students who earn college credits while in high school are more likely to go on to complete a college degree. Not only do they finish college more often than those who do not pursue this path, but they also finish faster and tend to launch into stronger careers. The evidence for this is overwhelming.
One of the best sources for this information is the Community College Research Center (CCRC), which has studied this trend across the country. Their research shows that dual credit increases the college-going rate by 6 percent. That might sound small at first, but think about what that really means. Just by offering students access to a single college-level class while they are still in high school, we see more of these same students step forward and enroll in college. And we need every single one of them. These are the students who will fill the vital jobs that keep our communities running.
But the implications only get stronger when you look at the data more closely. Community colleges have always played a unique role in serving students who have traditionally been underrepresented in higher education, including low-income students, students of color, and first-generation college-goers. Dual credit is one of the most powerful tools that we have at our disposal to change outcomes for those students.
When low-income students take college courses in high school, their likelihood of completing a college degree jumps by 40 percent. That is a staggering difference! For African-American students, completion rises by 61 percent. For Hispanic students, it increases by more than 30 percent. These numbers tell a clear story: Access matters. It matters a lot!
But let me step away from the data for a moment because this is where the heart of the issue really lives for me. In my experience, the biggest hurdle for so many students is not whether they are capable of doing college-level work. It is whether they believe they are capable of it. When you take students who have never seen themselves as "college material" and give them the opportunity to take a real college class, you change their perspective on everything they've believed about themselves. When they pass that class, it is like flipping a switch. Suddenly, they know they are smart enough. They know they can figure it out. You are not just teaching them a subject; you are teaching them confidence. You are teaching them persistence; you are teaching them resilience. And for many of the students that community colleges serve, confidence is the missing piece that reshapes their future.
It is this belief that guided EC3's application for this grant. Thanks to the Department of Education's support, we are about to put those beliefs into action in some exciting ways.
Here are the initial ideas we are hoping to accomplish with the grant:
- Expand the Dual Degree Program at Erie High and Collegiate Academy
We will grow our existing partnership with the Erie School District, which allows juniors and seniors to split their days between their high school and our campuses. These students graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate degree, fully transferable to a four-year institution. This program has already changed lives, and now we can make it available to even more students.
- Grow the Regional Choice Initiative (RCI)
RCI, operated by IU5, brings students from across Erie County to Erie County Technical School, where they can take college courses provided by local colleges and universities. These classes are so popular that there is often a waitlist. This grant will help EC3 step in and offer free dual credit classes to more students while opening new sections to eliminate the waitlist. Some of these students may never enroll at EC3 as full-time students, and that is perfectly fine. Our mission is to give everyone access – whether they want to earn a degree, take a few credits during break, or explore college for the first time.
- Expand Welding Training through ECTS and the Skill Center
The need for skilled welders in Erie County is only growing. ECTS cannot meet the demand with their current space, and many students sit on waitlists waiting for a chance to enroll. This grant will allow EC3 to partner with ECTS, align our welding curriculum, and open our welding lab at the Skill Center to make room for those students. Students will earn both high school credentials and college credit, which will set them up for success whether they enter the workforce immediately or pursue further education.
- Strengthen Dual Credit at Corry High School
Right now, EC3 offers medical terminology courses at Corry High School through their tech program. Corry serves students from three different counties, which creates some logistical hurdles, but we are committed to expanding what is possible there. All Erie County students deserve a chance to access college-level education, no matter where they live.
This is what the future looks like for EC3: Not just more classes, but more opportunities. More confidence. More students who start to see themselves not just as graduates, but as future leaders in our community as well.
And I cannot wait to see what comes next.
Our community: your college.
