Pathway 1 - Program Description:

Hopewell City Public Schools (HCPS) has partnered with Richard Bland College (RBC) to offer students the opportunity to earn an associate degree at the same time as completing their requirements for a high school diploma. Students pursuing specialty high school programs (such as culinary arts, music, JROTC, etc.) may have conflicts in scheduling and should discuss their academic priorities with their counselor.

Students interested in pursuing an associate degree begin taking a few courses in their sophomore year. During the junior and senior years, their course load increases substantially. The majority of the dual enrollment courses earn 3 college credits. There are a few courses that earn either 1 credit or 4 credits. Most courses run for 9 weeks (1 quarter) and are taught in pairs at the high school. For example in the junior year, students take ENGL 101 during the first quarter, and ENGL102 during the second quarter, earning a total of 6 college credits for the semester, as well as earning high school credit for English 11. Some concurrent classes may be offered on the Richard Bland College campus. Visit the college courses page to see the complete list of courses offered through Richard Bland College.

Students are expected to maintain good grades and achieve a minimum GPA of 3.1 to be eligible to apply. Students who fail to maintain good grades, will be required to meet with their counselor and create a plan for improvement. Only courses where students receive a C or better will be considered for transfer by post-secondary institutions. Most four-year colleges accept the courses offered through the Early College Scholars program for transfer, however, the transferability depends upon the college and the major that students chose. Some of the RBC courses are part of the "passport" agreement between 2- and 4-year colleges in Virginia and are guaranteed for transfer. Go to the resource page for more information on transferring to college upon graduation.

The associate degree program is extremely rigorous, and students may find it challenging to balance extracurricular activities, sports, work, or home commitments. To ensure academic success, some students may need to limit outside activities and devote more time to their academic pursuit.

All interested students are required to go through an application process which includes submitting program documents and completing an application for admission to Richard Bland College.

If you need assistance with completing the RBC online application contact your counselor. The deadline for completing all application documents is April 30th. Return documents to the counseling office.