| About Running Start at Whatcom Community College Running Start is a Washington State program whereby a high school junior or senior can take classes at a local state university or (more often) community college or technical college and get both high school credit and college credit for those courses, with the state paying your tuition. Students are still responsible for fees and book costs. You should access your local community college's website for information about the program in your area. In Whatcom County, go here: http://www.whatcom.ctc.edu/ , point (do not click) on "Future Students", slide over to "Getting Started", slide over to "I am currently attending high school", and click. Here are some basic facts: - Currently, your local public high school must 'sign off' on your application to attend Running Start. Check with them for details. This may be changing soon, allowing home-schooled students to deal directly with the Running Start college they wish to attend.
- Since we have both a state university and state community college in Bellingham, WWU has been happy to let WCC handle the Running Start students on track for a 4-year college. It is possible for a well-qualified student to try a university course through WWU's SPAN program. For more information, go here: http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/eesp/span_programs.shtml
- WCC is not very interested in admitting any student for any classes before age 15.
- Running Start pays for 6 quarters of coursework, which must be taken before a student turns 21. They do not need to be consecutive quarters. Running Start does not pay for coursework during the summer.
- Running Start funds end when a student earns a high school diploma, including homeschooled diplomas issued by parents.
To take full advantage of Running Start, get prepared ahead of time. This is particularly true if the student is hoping to accomplish a 2-year degree from Running Start. Not many Running Start students - fewer than 10% - finish a 2-year degree within their Running Start quarters. Many will complete a degree within a few additional quarters, taken at their own expense. - A placement test for English competency is given before a student can take any classes at WCC. The college needs to be certain a student has the communications skills necessary to perform at the college level. A placement test for math is taken prior to a student taking any math and some science classes. Completion of math classes anywhere else has no bearing whatever on math placement. Pre-requisites for courses in other disciplines may include English competency at the 100 level or above. Conclusion: Complete all remedial work (courses numbered under 100) before you begin any degree sequence.
- Remedial work taken at the college will be at your cost. If you are planning an AA or AS, do NOT begin using Running Start quarters until you can be full time. Complete remedial work first.
- Be careful of a student's readiness before beginning a degree program. Running Start is NOT high school. Any student who unsuccessfully attempts a course is STUCK with that grade on a college transcript. We recommend students try a single course at WCC at your expense, taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory because that grade is not calculated into the GPA, before beginning to use your 6 Running Start quarters.
- Attend the informational meetings for students who wish to enroll as Running Start students. Information we have listed here can change, and questions you have can be answered there.
Student privacy laws apply. - No matter what the age of the child, federal laws governing colleges and student privacy PREVENT the college from discussing your child's coursework with you without the written consent of the student. You may not call and talk to your child's instructor - they simply are not allowed to discuss the student. You may not know your child is doing poorly or even failing until you ask your child for his report card, which, by law, they don't have to show you. However, the Running Start office at WCC is very interested in the success of their students, and parents may call and ask for that office's assistance in finding out how well a student is doing.
Take advantage of great high school programs. - Students may attend a local public high school in addition to taking classes at Running Start. For two years, the student can be full time at those two institutions. We don't recommend overloading a student this way, but parents should look closely at programs offered by the local high schools. While scheduling at local high schools is often preventing participation in Running Start, it's a good idea to consider excellent programs that are more age-appropriate for high school.
Beyond Running Start. - Not all colleges in either Washington or out of state will consider Running Start credits taken before high school graduation for transfer, including state universities. Some will only transfer credits for completed two-year Transfer degrees. These are different from AA or AS degrees. Please consult your Community College catalog for information.
- Completing a transfer degree (specified set of courses for transfer to a discipline at a Washington State public university) does NOT guarantee a student admission to any state college or university.
- Completing some or all of an AA or AS degree will not guarantee a student junior status at any other college or university.
- Having completed some work at a local community college may cause a student to become INELIGIBLE for scholarships or financial aid offered to those with freshman status, as they may be considered to be transfer students rather than freshmen.
It sounds like college is free for two years. But is Running Start a good choice for an education? It very much depends on your educational goals. If the college or university your child hopes to attend requires some classroom experience, then evaluations we write here at ZLO should serve. Some colleges require a degree or diploma, and you may need to establish that record at a local high school, or at WCC or WWU. We always recommend that you find the best teachers you can for your child, no matter who it is or where they teach. While there are some excellent choices for instructors at both Whatcom Community College and Western Washington University, you need to know that both of these institutions are very adult settings, with activities, lectures, and dialog about topics that most high schools, public or private, would never put in front of students aged 16 - 18. For a page of thoughts from our experience (instructors, parents, students) with Running Start, please email us.
About Running Start at Bellingham Technical College There are many students for whom an academic career is not appropriate, at least not immediately following high school. Lots of people need more time to mature and would do so with some work experience. Training in a vocational area can provide a person with a living wage much sooner and without the debt that a university education often incurs. Furthermore, a sharp, well-prepared employee who knows how to be at work on time and has a good work ethic is a hot commodity in our current economy. There are many industries that are paying some nice benefits that can include reimbursement for college costs. Please go to BTC's website to see a long list of jobs for which they offer preparation. Here are a few things you should be aware of when using Running Start at BTC: - There is a placement test for English and Math, not the same ones used at WCC.
- Many programs are limited in the number of students they can accept at one time. You may be required until there is space in the program to begin.
- Many programs have specific start dates, may require a summer term, and may not allow a term off before completion.
- Some programs require tools or materials purchases that can be hundreds of dollars. These are not covered by Running Start funds.
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