Chattanooga State Community College recently received a $45,000 grant to create a program that will provide fifty high school juniors, who attend either Bledsoe County High School or Sequatchie County High School, the opportunity to jump-start their college education.  Provided by the Tennessee Board of Regents, the funding endorses Chattanooga State’s proposal to establish the College Awareness and Access for Rural Students (CAARS) Project.  The project will be administered through Chattanooga State’s Early College program.

Chattanooga State’s Early College initiative is a concurrent enrollment program that allows motivated high school students to take college-level courses for both high school and college credit.  According to Dr. Robert Denn, director of Early College at Chattanooga State, the funding targets students in rural counties to ensure they have access to higher education.  “This grant enables Chattanooga State to fully assist fifty high school students during the 2010-2011 academic year by helping them develop a plan for the future that focuses on their educational goals,” notes Dr. Denn.  “The grant will pay for all expenses-application fees; college tuition; transportation; meals; and college entrance testing fees-eliminating any financial barriers relating to student participation in the project.”

Dr. Denn continues by emphasizing that “the CAARS Project is an outstanding opportunity for these high school juniors to learn about their personal and academic strengths as well as explore college majors and career interests. The purpose is to increase students’ awareness of ‘what’s out there’ beyond high school and to assist them in their transitioning to the college environment.”

Bledsoe County and Sequatchie County high schools are partnering with Chattanooga State in the implementation of the CAARS Project.  In cooperation with Dr. Denn, high school counselors at both schools will oversee the application and selection process.  Beginning in the fall 2010, students, who are selected to participate, will enroll in a specially-designed college success course that they will take at their high school.  For the 2011 spring semester, students will enroll in an elective or general education course, which they will take on Chattanooga State’s main campus for 15 weeks.  At the end of the 2010-2011 school year, participating students will have earned 6 college credits that they can transfer to the college of their choice.

CAARS participants, like other Chattanooga State students, will have access to all of the amenities and services that the college provides.  CAARS students can access the extensive library database; math & reading tutoring; scholarship and transfer information; college advising; and career counseling and placement.

Dr. Denn underscores the many benefits of participating in Early College programs such as the CAARS Project.  “Bledsoe County and Sequatchie County students will be starting their college transcript, which will give them a head-start in this competitive academic and career market.  If these students continue taking college courses during their senior year, they can complete their freshman year while in high school and transfer the credits to the college they will attend in the fall.  They enter college as a sophomore, which saves time and best of all, money,” Denn says.

The application/selection/registration process for the CAARS Project begins in April.  Interested students, who will be juniors beginning in the fall 2010, should contact Cyndi Johnson, counselor at Bledsoe County High School, or Jody Boynton, counselor at Sequatchie County High School.  

For more information about the CAARS Project and Early College, contact Dr. Robert Denn, Director of Early College, by telephone at 423.697.2648 or by email at robert.denn@chattanoogastate.edu.

For more information about Chattanooga State Community College and its educational programs, call the Chattanooga State information hotline at 423.697.4404 or toll free at 1.866.547.3733 or visit the college’s Web site at www.chattanoogastate.edu.

Chattanooga State Community College is a comprehensive, regionally accredited community college, operated under the policies and guidelines of the Tennessee Board of Regents College System.  Founded in 1965 and serving a six-county area in Southeast Tennessee, Chattanooga State offers a wide array of programs and services.