JMU has partnered with Harrisonburg City Public Schools to allow high school seniors and students who have finished their junior year to take college-level courses for credit, taught in a classroom with a certified instructor. The Outreach and Engagement Program lets high school students take the classes while still earning their high school diploma. It is a dual enrollment class and can be taken either at the high school or on the JMU campus.
Junior Xuyi Guo uses the program to take Calculus III, a four credit class taught by JMU’s Professor of Mathematics, Dr. James Sochacky. Guo takes the classes on the JMU campus.
“This semester, I take it third block on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,” Guo said.
He found out about the program through his Calculus BC class. Calculus II is divided into two courses, Calculus AB and Calculus BC. Both are AP classes. Calculus BC includes everything taught in Calculus AB plus some additional, and more difficult, topics.
“After I finished Calculus BC, Mr. Lintner, who is the math director, set it up for me,” Guo said.
Students can take the courses through the Outreach program. It offers over 200 different credit classes as of the 2008-2009 school year, such as College Physics II and Instructional Technology. The classes are especially designed for non-degree seeking students, students who do not want to earn an undergraduate or graduate degree at JMU. While the registration fee for the program only costs about 15 dollars, the actual courses cost as much as a real college course. A three to four credit class can cost up to $1,400, and a one to three credit class is around $780.
“For non-JMU students, if you are qualified, you can apply to take it,” Guo said.
This semester, Guo decided to take Calculus III, a four credit class, and next semester he wants to take Discrete Mathematics. He is planning to apply to the program and take some more math classes next year as well.
“[Discrete Mathematics] involves a lot of topics you don’t really talk about much, like number theory,” Guo said.
Guo still isn’t completely certain about what he wants to do in college, but he knows that he does not want to give up on learning math. He wants to take more challenging courses using the program, and ultimately keep moving forward in his math education.
“If I finished my math as a sophomore, and didn’t take any in my junior and senior years, I’d be really rusty by college,” Guo said. “[By taking the classes] I’ll earn more credits and save time in the long run.”
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