Concurrent enrollment allows Benton students to earn college credit (in partnership with Kirkwood Community College) before graduating high school.
Concurrent enrollment is available for students in grades 9-12, is available to students at no charge, and a wide variety of courses are offered including online options.
The following table is a comprehensive list of courses offered at Benton Community or through Benton Community partnerships. For specific course descriptions, please refer to the chart and the correct page. Additional details regarding college level courses or classes offered at a specific partner school can be directed to the High School Counselor.
It is important to remember that any concurrent credit, PSEO or Kirkwood Academy course is a college level course. This means that the content will be more advanced, the pace will be quicker and the level of learning will be greatly dependent on student effort and engagement. The profile below, developed by Kirkwood Community College, is intended for the prospective student and their families to review in order to fully understand expectations for success in a concurrent credit course.
Profile of a High School Student Ready for College Level Courses at Kirkwood Community
College
Academic Skills or Standing
Demonstrates excellent reading and writing skills, or uses reading and writing accommodations effectively
Completes all assignments by due date, including assigned reading
Demonstrates self-motivation as a learner
Applies classroom learning to cases, observations, and service learning
Has a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 in academic courses
Junior or senior status, or approval from the high school district
Personal Traits/Dispositions
Demonstrates respect for others
Demonstrates persistence
Attends class (the entire class) every day unless there is a legitimate reason (illness, death in family, participation in required school activity, etc.)
Exhibits intellectual curiosity and openness to new ideas
Works well as part of a team
Demonstrates honesty and ethical decision-making
Maturity
Demonstrates self-advocacy & communication skills (communicates needs)
Successfully manages academic, work, extracurricular & other commitments
Additional Understandings
If the student has an IEP or 504 Accommodation Plan, student is encouraged to self-disclose this information to the Kirkwood instructor within the first week of classes.
A Message from Kirkwood:
Kirkwood offers opportunities for students to earn college credit while in high school at no cost to families. These courses are the perfect opportunity for students to get hands-on experience while gaining exposure to careers they want to pursue after graduation. All of the classes students take at Kirkwood are for both high school and college credit.
Students can earn college credit in high school through Kirkwood in a variety of ways. Options range from taking a class or two for transfer credit (within the walls of their high school, online or face-to-face at a Kirkwood location) to completing a sequence of courses in a Career Academy. Career Academies are packaged courses, offered at Regional Center locations, which focus on career exploration while also aligning with industry workforce needs. Students work through their high school counseling office or local Kirkwood Student Academic and Support Coordinator to find out what courses would be best for them and learn more about Career Academy offerings available.
For more specific course information for each course, please check out the specific department pages.
English - Fundamentals of Oral Communication (WebLive)
English - Composition I
English - Composition II
English - Forms of Lit: Fiction
English - Elements of Writing
Social Studies - US History Since 1877
Business - Computer Software Principles
Applied Sciences/Engineering - Intro to Engineering
PE - Weights I
PE - Weights II
Psychology - Developmental Psychology (WebLive)
Sociology - Intro to Sociology (WebLive)
Criminal Justice - Intro to Criminal Justice (WebLive)
Patient Care Academy (Professional in Health, Nurse Aide, Medical Terminology, Exploration in Healthcare)
**Note: Kirkwood Community College courses are college-level courses. Students who qualify must be prepared to meet a different and higher expectation. For example, Kirkwood Community College policies apply to these courses, along with Benton Community building policies. The KCC policies for grading, attendance and late work are more demanding than for a typical high school course.
Credit Hours: .5 (1 Semester)
Grade Level: Recommended for grades 11-12
Concurrent College Credit: 3 Kirkwood Credits
Location: Web Live or Alt Concurrent (Asynchronous online)
The goal of this course is to provide students with an overview and general understanding of the field of psychology. This course should serve as a base from which you can extend your knowledge through taking more specialized psychology and courses in related fields. The emphasis is three-fold. The terminology and content of the field will be covered. Topics include nervous system functioning; learning and memory; thinking and perception; motivation and emotion; intelligence and assessment; personality and social psychology; human development; psychological disorders; and treatment. The scientific methodology, which is the foundation of psychology, will be explained and utilized throughout the course. Finally, students will acquire resources for extending their knowledge of the field and avenues for personal growth.
Credit Hours: .5 (1 Semester)
Grade Level: Recommended for grades 11-12
Concurrent College Credit: 3 Kirkwood Credits
Location: Web Live or Alt Concurrent (Asynchronous online)
This course identifies sociological principles and concepts used in the analysis of social systems, and explores the contributions to contemporary sociology from various fields including anthropology, philosophy, history and social psychology.
Credit Hours: .5 (1 Semester)
Grade Level: Recommended for grades 11-12
Concurrent College Credit: 3 Kirkwood Credits
Location: Web Live or Alt Concurrent (Asynchronous online)
Provides an overview of the American criminal justice system and examines the process of justice administration through the agencies of law enforcement, courts and corrections. Credits: 3, Hours: (3/0/0/0), Arts & Sciences Elective Code: A
These courses are "Web Live" courses, which means that they can be taken online in any place that you have internet access. These classes will be offered over Weblive (Zoom) and will run 16 weeks each semester, respectively. Please read below for the new course descriptions and anticipated schedule.
Benton Community Credit Hours: .5 (1 Semester)
Concurrent College Credit: 3 Kirkwood Credits
Senior Year Plus gives Iowa high school students a chance to take real college-level classes while still in high school. Through Senior Year Plus, students have the opportunity to participate in dual-credit classes at a community college called “concurrent enrollment”. If you pass these courses, you can often earn both high school credit and real college credit — so when you graduate high school, you might already have a head-start on college or a career program. These courses are offered at no additional cost to students.
There are several methods by which Benton Community High School Students are able to earn college credit while meeting Benton Community High School graduation standards. These college level classes may be taught on Benton’s campus, at a regional center or the main campus, online, or at a partner college. These courses provide students (grades 9-12) with a wonderful opportunity to learn about different career possibilities, earn valuable college credit to transfer to a school, or take classes that will allow the student to start at a higher level at a partner school.
At Benton Community, our community college partner is Kirkwood Community College. Students have the opportunity to engage in almost any course offered by Kirkwood and should engage in conversations with advisors and school counselors when considering options and fit.
It is incredibly important that students carefully consider their developmental readiness, motivation, alignment with post-secondary plans, and academic independence when deciding if they're ready to participate in concurrent enrollment courses.