A Bridge to Higher Education

The dual credit program at CLC brings higher education within reach by enabling high school students to enroll in college-level courses and earn college credits—free.

Jessica Vazquez was the first in her family to go to college—thanks to CLC’s dual credit program, a life-changing resource that is closing the opportunity gap for more than 1,000 high-school students each year.

To Vazquez—born in Waukegan to immigrant parents employed as maintenance workers—college seemed like a distant dream. It wasn’t a path anyone in her family had taken before, and the barriers sometimes seemed insurmountable.

That all began to change in 2014 when the Waukegan High School senior was selected to participate in her school’s Shine Program, which builds a stronger college culture among students from lowincome families and helps every high school senior graduate with a solid post-secondary plan.

“The Shine program required me to take at least one dual credit course, which introduced me to College of Lake County,” recalls Vazquez.

As the 17-year-old grew more familiar with campus life, college began to feel “less intimidating.” By the end of her senior year, she had earned 10 college credits and saved $1,200 in college tuition.

Vazquez went on to earn an associate degree at CLC and a bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management from the University of Illinois Chicago. Today, she works as a health information management data integrity specialist at Advocate-Aurora Health Care. She loves her job—and says CLC’s dual credit program helped transform her dream of a college education and a fulfilling career into a reality.

This alumna’s success story is just one example of the far-reaching impact of dual credit coursework. According to the College in High School Alliance, students who enroll in high-quality dual credit courses are more likely to graduate from high school, immediately enroll in college and persist to completion than their peers.

That’s good news for dual credit students, for employers—and for society as a whole. It’s also the reason CLC has made a number of strategic moves in recent years to expand the reach of its dual credit program.

Director of P-20 Educational Partnerships Sarah Stashkiw explains, “In 2015, CLC launched an alliance with several Lake County high schools. Through this alliance, we meet regularly with district superintendents and staff to strengthen our partnerships with local high schools, increase post-secondary enrollment and help students make a seamless transition from high school to college.”

Stashkiw has also set a department goal to expand the college’s dual credit team and build strategic dual credit pathways aligned with the General Education Core Curriculum and Career and Technical Education credentials.

Students who enroll in high-quality dual credit courses are more likely to graduate from high school, immediately enroll in college and persist to completion than their peers. — College in High School Alliance

“I see our dual credit program as a way to advance equity by reducing the amount of time and money needed for a degree,” she said. “The financial savings is a huge selling point for high school students and their parents. Although many community colleges in Illinois reduce their tuition fees for dual credit courses, I’m very proud CLC waives dual credit tuition and fees entirely to bring a college education within reach for every young person.”

“This investment in the potential of Lake County high school students is transformative,” says Stashkiw. “It’s so exciting when I hear a dual credit student say, ‘I wasn’t planning to go to college because I didn’t think I was college material. But now that I’ve taken a dual credit course, I’m going to enroll in college and I feel confident I can succeed.’”