Up close look at life as a high school senior and college freshman at the same time

WINOOSKI ― Consider a person whose entire existence was lived in a cave and the shadows cast upon the wall provided the only glimpse of their world. How would their narrow understanding influence their reality?

Aunika Higbee was asked to ponder this question during a Community College of Vermont's (CCV) Dimensions of Self and Society class based on Plato's The Allegory of the Cave.

During the midday course in early November at CCV's Winooski campus, Higbee had already begun to cast off a narrow viewpoint to imagine an expansive college education for herself.

The 17-year-old is both a Colchester High School senior and a full-time first-year college student. She is enrolled in the Early College program through CCV this school year with the option to take part in the McClure Free Degree Promise next school year. Continuing on this path, she could earn an associate's degree for free by age 19. If she goes on to a four-year school, as is her plan, she could essentially pay half price for a bachelor's degree and begin her professional career a year early.

It's an attractive option for the college bound for a variety of reasons: affordability, smaller school debt, a bridge between high school and college with additional support, expansion of rural school academic offerings, flexible schedule.

This is the second school year Early College and the McClure Free Degree Promise have offered the packaged deal of a free associate's degree to any Vermont high school student. Since then, participation in CCV's Early College has increased 70% and participating students have come from 90% of Vermont's high schools and technical centers.

The numbers speak to the clear need for the program, said Katie Mobley, CCV's dean of enrollment.

"It's telling high school students the state believes in them, we believe in them and we're going to give them an option to get started on higher education for free," she said. "When you remove the barrier of cost, all students get to imagine their future."

A glimpse into the life of a high school college student

At the end of her junior year in high school Higbee found out she was less than one credit shy of her graduation requirements. In a last-minute decision she chose to forego a typical senior year to become a full-time college student academically while retaining her high school social connections.

The pre-college type environment aids her transition to higher education while providing extra support and time to make some of the big decisions such as what does she want to do and where does she want to go. Another factor in her decision − she hates the idea of of her parents paying for her education and she sees taking on that responsibility as a point of pride.

Higbee was nervous about how early college would go and whether she could handle the schedule and workload, but nine weeks into her 15-week semester, she said things are better than she imagined.

Higbee is taking five college courses which meet weekly. Mondays and Thursdays are packed days at the Winooski campus from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. where she has two two-hour-and-45-minute classes with a half hour break between. She also has an online math class for which she has a week to complete the module.

When not working on assignments for classes, she maintains three jobs on her free days: an early morning 8-hour shift at Burlington Bagel Company, cleaning rooms at her boyfriend's family's Grand Isle lodge once a week and teaching ballet and tap to 9 four-year-olds. She also reserves time for horse back riding − her decompression activity.

Her days may seem hectic, but her flexible college schedule makes it all possible.

Higbee also maintains her connection to Colchester High School. She has attended a pep rally, signed the senior rock, could go to football games and will walk across the stage at graduation with the students she's gone through school with since first grade.

On a Wednesday afternoon in early November, she was running her second soprano part for Carol of the Bells with her choirmates in Chorale, a women's choir, as they prepared for a winter performance.

Higbee said she carries a heavy workload − her planner has been key − but her school work includes more essays and less busy work, which is all detailed in the syllabus. She said the expected weekly assignments have reduced the stress she felt in high school to keep up with assignments for multiple classes for which she only had one or two days to complete.

The CCV classes run twice as long as her high school courses and Higbee sometimes finds herself fading out, particularly in the morning. But, she enjoys connecting with non-traditional college students with a variety of backgrounds who are intent on applying themselves and making the most of their education. Working with others and the time management and money management skills she's learning are sure to be an asset if she one day runs a small business, which is her current aspiration. She believes taking control of her education now is setting herself up for success.

"It's hard to say I did all my lasts junior year," she said. But, "knowing I'm working toward my future − that keeps me going."

College may have otherwise been out of reach

In mid-April of this year, Faith Holbrook had just turned 19 and ordered her cap and gown for the first graduation ceremony in which she would participate. She missed her Essex High School commencement a year earlier because she was in England celebrating the end of her first year of college.

Since her freshman year in high school she had worked toward the goal of a college degree, which she would receive in June.

"I'm a lot more proud of this graduation. I feel like I've worked a lot harder," she said.

College was always on the horizon for Holbrook. The Westford-area student was adopted and raised by her grandparents from the age of seven, who had already raised four children in addition to she and her brother. She knew she was always going to have to work hard for her education or receive considerable financial aid or scholarships.

As her Early College year was coming to an end Holbrook received an email about the new McClure Free Degree Promise.

"We were all very excited. It was a really great moment because I realized I'd be able to get my associate's degree," she said. "Without it, college would have been very difficult or maybe even out of reach for me to go to."

Holbrook took classes exclusively online − partly to protect her grandparents as COVID still loomed and because it was an half hour drive to the nearest CCV campus. She discovered she thrived online without the class distractions that her ADHD made her prone to.

She said she was really worried at first because she couldn't just raise her hand to ask a question. But she found the CCV professors very responsive, prompt and helpful. She had to learn to manage her time and her schoolwork which was given to her at the beginning of each week. She learned to give herself deadlines throughout the week so not all of the assignments were left for Fridays.

Holbrook was working part time at a UPS Store but was about to switch jobs to Starbucks. She planned to take advantage of Starbucks's college achievement plan which provides free tuition for a bachelor's degree through Arizona State University online. Her ultimate goal is to run a social media marketing business targeting small businesses. Getting a business off the ground would be easier without the burden of college loans.

"It's really nice not drowning in student loan debt," she said.

Only one other person in her family − her cousin − has a college degree. He's in his thirties and still has a lot of student debt, she said.

Holbrook said she feels the education she's received at CCV − taking business courses focused on accounting, management, human resources and marketing − has given her the tools she needs to pursue her dreams and she feels very grateful for the opportunity.

In June, she expected to have lots of family members, friends and her boyfriend there to help her celebrate her accomplishment of receiving her associate's degree − many more people than the high school graduation ticket limit would have allowed.

"Now to have it finally coming to an end, I'm very proud of myself. Very excited for it," she said.

Lowering the financial barrier gives every student a choice

Vermont excels at graduating high school students, but many aren't going on to college, post-secondary or trade schools, or earning job certificates. Mobley, of CCV, said Vermont has an expensive post-secondary model and there are three jobs available for every one Vermonter. To meet some of the state's challenges, college needs to be more affordable and high school graduates need a reason to stay.

The Early College program at CCV has been addressing those issues since around 2011, allowing high school seniors to complete their diploma and first year of college at the same time. It's essentially an enhanced dual enrollment model that has been implemented elsewhere. What makes Vermont's approach unique is the McClure Foundation stepping in as a private charity to support a public statewide program and doubling the impact. By adding a second year, the program allows students to attain a degree for free. And, there is no limit to eligibility, unlike other states' programs.

The McClure Free Degree Promise is being offered to associate's degree graduates from the classes of 2023 through 2026. In its second school year, about 235 students are enrolled in Early College − a significant increase in interest − and the number of first generation college students has nearly doubled from 61 to 115. Participation has also increased for low-income students and students of color, according to a news release from the two entities.

There are eleven associate's degree programs to choose from and 95% of Vermonters are within 25 miles of one of 12 CCV locations. Most courses are also offered online. Many students qualify for a $500 to $1,000 stipend that could be used for books, gas, a laptop or reduce the need to work as much.

Mobley said the last five years CCV has worked very hard to ensure individual classes and the associate's degree program are transferable to four-year schools including the University of Vermont, Champlain College and Vermont State University. She said recent years have seen some changes in transferable credits. Some colleges no longer accept Advanced Placement courses as credit and instead use scores for placing students into classes suited to their level. On the other hand, colleges seem to be more accepting of transfer credits from community colleges, seeing the benefit of bringing in students who are academically prepared and know what they want to do. Mobley said CCV had the most academically successful transfer students at UVM.

Mobley has been impressed by the sheer number of students participating in the two programs and the diversity of the students − it's not just the high-flying middle class students who are interested, she said.

Helping young people create a future for themselves has the potential for ripple effects, she said. They may decide to stay in Vermont, become part of the solution to Vermont's workforce demographic and economic challenges and the more intangible feeling of the state believing in them.

One area CCV is continuing to develop is providing social opportunities for students to connect to one another who may feel a lack of belonging to either their high school or college. And, the school is making sure Early College students have plenty of access to faculty and counselors.

"From an access standpoint, this program opens that front door and says all Vermont high school students should be able to have that conversation if they want to go to college. Not just the ones who can afford it," she said.

Contact reporter April Barton at abarton@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1854. Follow her on Twitter @aprildbarton.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: What access to college means for McClure Free Degree Promise students