College at CareerTech

You don't always have to finish high school before starting to college. Thousands of Oklahoma students earn college credit at Oklahoma CareerTech centers during their junior and senior years of high school. Some even snare a college degree ahead of their high school diploma.

And they do it for free through Cooperative Alliances between colleges and tech centers.

About 350 CareerTech programs, covering a wide range of subjects, qualify for the Associate in Applied Science degree. You take classes at your local technology center and get dual college and CareerTech credit. You can earn your high school diploma and an associate degree at the same time.

High school students pay only a fee of $8 per credit hour, which may be waived based on need. Books are supplied at no cost.

To qualify, you need to be a junior or senior with an ACT score of at least 19, an ACT PLAN (pre-ACT) score of 15, or have a 2.5 high school GPA. 

More than 2,100 Oklahoma high school students were enrolled in the four-year-old Cooperative Alliance program for fall 2009.

Adults Doing College at CareerTech

In addition to the high school students, more than 2,600 adults are earning college credit through Cooperative Alliance programs at CareerTech centers.

Adults pay regular tuition for the CareerTech courses, plus the $8 an hour academic services fee, but no college tuition. Many receive financial aid, especially those who started a program while in high school or who have been out of high school for less than a year. 

All 29 Oklahoma CareerTech centers offer college credit through alliances with 14 community colleges and four regional univesities.

For more information, see Earn College Credit at Oklahoma Higher Education, Cooperative Alliance at CareerTech, and talk to your school counselor.