Kirtland Partners with C.O.O.R. to Provide Free College Courses for High School Students
Local students enrolled in courses offered by Crawford, Oscoda, Ogemaw, and Roscommon (C.O.O.R.) Intermediate School District takes advantage of free college courses due to an agreement with Kirtland Community College.
“Future Kirtland students are jump starting their college career by taking college courses at COOR and are saving a lot of money at the same time,” said Kirtland Community College President Dr. Thomas Quinn.
Because the college accredited courses offered by C.O.O.R. are designed and approved by Kirtland Community College instructors, these courses also meet requirements for state licensing and industry standard certification when students graduate from Kirtland. The courses provided by C.O.O.R., in agreement with Kirtland, are in the areas of automobile mechanics, public safety, welding, medical occupations, and cosmetology.
“I think exposure to a college course allows a student to experiment with what they [students] want to do in a future higher educational career,” said Kirtland’s Director of Automotive Programs, Robert Oaks. “When students leave high school after completing one or more of these courses, they arrive at Kirtland with a strong basic foundation in that field of choice.”
During recent years Kirtland has seen an increase in the dual enrollment and concurrent classes offered to students by the C.O.O.R. Intermediate School district. Starting with the Fall 2022 semester, 205 seats are enrolled in the five C.O.O.R. programs offered. The total of 702 credit hours, which students are enrolled in, has a value of $111,618 in tuition and fees at Kirtland.
“The courses are part of a student’s permanent college transcript,” said Kirtland’s Vice President of Student Services/Registrar, Michelle Vyskocil. “Both dual and concurrent courses are great options for high school students looking to get a jumpstart on their college credits, saving considerable time and money.”
With Kirtland designing the courses and accredited teachers providing the instruction, students completing a course can request an official Kirtland transcript be sent to any state college or university and depending on the grade received and the students major program may receive credit for the work completed. All courses provided by the agreement are part of the certifications and associate degrees offered online and in-person at Kirtland’s campuses in Grayling and Gaylord, Michigan.
“With this arrangement, students wanting to come to Kirtland already have a college transcript,” said Quinn. “Students are already in the Kirtland system. This makes it easier to enroll at Kirtland.”
Kirtland is committed to continuing the agreement with C.O.O.R. Intermediate School District to provide, free, higher education to all students in Crawford Ausable School District, Roscommon Area Public Schools, Houghton Lake Community Schools, Fairview Area Schools, Mio Ausable Schools, and West Branch-Rose City Schools.
