Toms River Schools, OCC Offer Dual Enrollment For Students

TOMS RIVER, NJ — As the cost of college degrees continues to rise, parents and students are looking for ways to control those costs and avoid taking on tens of thousands of dollars of debt.

In Toms River, an expanded partnership between the Toms River Regional School District and Ocean County College allows high school students to do just that through a dual enrollment program.

Dual enrollment allows students to earn college credits, certificates, and even associate degrees through academic pathways that are aligned with course offerings at Ocean County College. It is set to rollout in September 2021.

"The benefits of this arrangement reach far and wide, and it’s difficult for me to overstate the positive impact this will have for our students and families," said Superintendent David Healy. "This will increase our course offerings, boost the profile of our Career Academies, increase academic achievement and produce more college-ready graduates, and ultimately provide significant cost savings for our families."

The program allows students to take OCC-level courses at a lower cost and earn college credits, and there will be opportunities for financial assistance based on need, with the goal of putting the opportunities for college credits within reach of all students, said Henry Jackson, the executive director of academic success at Ocean County College.

"The program is for all students, not just your high-achieving ones," Jackson told the Toms River school board during its committee meetings Nov. 11. "The goal here is to allow your students the option to take these courses and earn college credits."

"This is a matter of equity," Assistant Superintendent Cara DiMeo said. "Not only will dual enrollment help our Career Academy and general education students; it meets the needs of our at-risk learners who might not have otherwise pursued a college pathway."

The Toms River school board approved a resolution earlier in the fall to become a satellite location for Ocean County College, which paves the way for the dual enrollment program. The arrangement is in the process of being recognized through OCC’s Middle States Accreditation application process.

The program does not cost the Toms River Regional School District any money. Students taking the classes pay tuition — there are no OCC fees charged for classes the students take at Toms River's high schools — and the teachers of the classes are paid by OCC through the district, as OCC cannot pay them directly.

Teachers who have master's degrees are eligible to become adjunct professors at Ocean County that College in addition to their high school positions, Jackson said. The classes will be offered regardless of how many students are enrolled, he said.

Students can earn certificates (30 credits) and associate's degrees (60 credits) in pathways such as business, science, manufacturing, graphic arts, and information technology.

Students who earn 12 to 24 college credits are at an advantage when applying to colleges, because the credits give them the ability to apply for sophomore programs. That can potentially save parents a year of tuition and gives students a competitive edge. High school graduates with credits become more appealing to colleges because they are seeking to fill a sophomore class that typically dwindles after freshmen drop out or transfer, Jackson said.

Toms River school board president Anna Polozzo said her daughter, a 2020 Toms River South graduate, also graduated from Ocean County College in June with an associate's degree in math.

"What’s uniquely special about this dual enrollment program is that OCC works so well with our high school kids to ensure that their college credits are relevant and applicable," she said. "Having recently gone through this process, I’ve seen the disappointment of students who learn, for example, that their AP credits don’t count. That’s not the case here." She said her daughter's New Jersey college accepted nearly all of her OCC credits.

"Every parent in the district should be jumping for joy at this news," she said.

The program is the result of work that started with Healy and was spearheaded by former Assistant Superintendent Marc Natanagara and then-Director of Curriculum Norma DiNoia. DiMeo, Estee Mailot, the district's director of 6-12 curriculum, and Tiffany Lucey, supervisor of educational technology, saw it to the approval process.

"This is truly momentous for the district, a product of years of hard work by many people from different organizations working together in the interest of students," DiMeo said. "We couldn’t be prouder."

In addition to the OCC program, the district received Phase 1 approval for its Perkins application that, once fully approved, will release more than $90,000 for career and technical education programs that offer dual enrollment, including strands in manufacturing, finance, and digital arts. OCC’s own Perkins funding can be redirected toward these efforts as well, and tuition for these courses will be partially rerouted to the district by OCC to help sustain the program, Jackson said.

The district said its Career Academies and high-level grants such as the one it received from the U.S. Navy that have supported or required college pathways laid the foundation for enhanced dual enrollment.

The district is working to design and develop the coursework and sort out the remaining details and logistics, and officials said more information will be provided in the coming months ahead of the start of the 2020-2021 school year.

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