by Jim Masters
LANSING, Ill. (August 31, 2021) – Many TF South students take advantage of courses that offer both high school and college credit, but sometimes they fail to properly register for the dual credit.
The Thornton Fractional School District 215 Board of Education recently adopted a new policy to ensure students don’t miss out on college credit. As such, the completion of the dual credit registration process will now be included in the course grading system for all dual credit courses. The district’s new Career Development Department will implement this policy.
Now, failure to register for dual credit through an accredited dual credit partnership will result in a student failing to attain credit for the District 215 course, although parents may submit a form opting out their student from dual credit.
School administrators intend the new policy to increase the number of students attaining college credit while in high school, while helping reduce of the cost of post-secondary education.
TF South Principal Jacob Gourley said District 215 implemented the new policy because too many students were not completing the necessary registration with South Suburban College, which offers the dual credit courses in cooperation with the district.
“We have a lot of kids enrolling in dual credit courses. It’s a popular thing,” he said. “Seniors can actually be dismissed early from school so that they can physically attend a class at South Suburban.”
