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Welcome to the College Academy @
BC’s Official Website.
Here, you can find out about what
is happening at the College Academy (CA), how and when to
apply and pertinent information about the CA.
The School Board of Broward County
and Broward College entered a joint venture and
created The College Academy at Broward College
(CA) in 2001. The CA is a full-time dual-enrollment high
school for advanced students who prefer an alternative to
the traditional high school. It is located on the central
campus of Broward Community (BC). CA students have
the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and A.A.
degree concurrently.
Our mission statement is: The
College Academy @
Broward College, in collaboration with students,
parents, and Broward College, endeavors to
provide an educational bridge from high school to college
for accelerated students who wish to begin the pursuit
of their post-secondary goals through dual enrollment. The
College Academy strives to enable students to achieve their
academic and personal potentials and to become confident,
self-directed, lifelong learners.
Although we provide a college
curriculum and atmosphere, we also provide a high school
support structure. Our students are high school students
but in every sense they are college students too. We do not
just orient the students by saying, “you’re in college now,
handle it.” We indeed provide an educational bridge by
offering tutoring, counseling and other appropriate
services.
During their two years in the CA,
students are to:
• Complete their high school
requirements
• Complete their Bright Future
Scholarship requirements
• Complete their general
education requirements for an AA degree
• Earn the professional
prerequisites required for their upper division major.
Because CA students are BC
students they have access to the college facilities,
including a state-of-the-art libraries and computer and
science laboratories.
College Academy students take both
high school and college courses. Tuition and books are
provided at no cost.. Consequently, the freshman and
sophomore years of college are free of charge for
those students who successfully complete the program. In
fact, in our first two graduating classes of 111 students
and 164 graduates, 96% of the first graduating class
(2003) and 95% of the second class (2004) earned a
high school diploma and an AA degree concurrently. 98%
of the graduates continued their academic studies at
colleges and universities in Florida and throughout the
nation. Strong cooperation exists between BC and CA
personnel, which enables our unique success.
At a time when college leaders
are suggesting that too often the senior year of high school
is a waste, BC and School Board of Broward County (SBBC)
leadership started a program that eliminates the wasted
year. Reform is desperately needed in secondary education
and collegiate high schools are one small solution.
Recognize that some students are miserable on traditional
high school campuses and even though many have excellent
academic potential, they feel so uncomfortable that some
dropout. On college campuses one is allowed to be a
non-conformist.
Another state and national concern
that collegiate high schools help relieve is the
overcrowding at state supported four-year universities.
Collegiate high school students such as CA students transfer
to four-year institutions as juniors.
CA admission requirements are:
upcoming junior, a 3.0 unweighted grade point average,
recommendations, personal essay, and meet score requirements
on CPT, SAT or ACT.
Most of our 360 students say that
they could never go back to the traditional school after
experiencing the independence afforded them, the numerous
course offerings available, the professionalism of their
instructors and so on. However, many high school students
are not ready for the added responsibility. We have
discovered that our program requires that students have the
maturity required for college campus life, the discipline to
use their time wisely, and the academic ability to handle
the rigor of college work.
Nell L.
Sapp,
Principal,
College Academy at BC
Email
nellsapp@browardschools.com
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