Throughout Wake County, many students are interested in enrolling in the Wake Tech Career and College Promise (CCP) Dual Enrollment Program. Many quit the process because registration seems daunting, and they don’t know where to start.
Many students find that the registration process can be quite long; however, Athens Drive High School and Wake Tech work to provide interested students with the support they need to succeed.
(Photos by Ethan Adams)
“There’s a lot of information posted on our Student Services page of the Athens website. Typically, I direct students [interested in the program] to go there first,” said Jasmine Pearson, Student Dean and CCP Coordinator of Athens Drive.
If you remain interested in the program after visiting Student Services, the next step is to make connections between Wake Tech and your high school.
“If they’re looking for information, there’s a link to the CCP website directly where you can watch a video about 20 minutes long to give students information about what CCP is and how it works,” said Pearson. “There’s also step-by-step directions on how to sign up.”
After learning about the program, the next step is to discover what you want to achieve from college—to find yourself and your interests. Once you have figured this out, the time will have come to start registration and get the proper documentation.
“Essentially, I tell students, you will need a current transcript. And you’re also going to want to explore the pathways to determine which pathway will be best for you. Once you have that information, sitting down to the application is pretty straightforward,” said Pearson.
Many students enrolling past this point find that they need very little help with the rest of the processes; however, extra assistance is available to help walk students through the processes.
(Photos by Ethan Adams)
“I’m here to help students if they have questions along the way, I’m happy to help them,” said Pearson.
Before you sign up for CCP, you must remember that CCP does not just affect your high school GPA but also your college GPA. You need to ensure that the classes you select will not be too difficult for you to complete reasonably with your current high school workload.
“My advice would be not to look at CCP as just a way to boost your GPA. Sometimes students say, ‘Oh, I didn’t do so great, like my freshman and sophomore year, so I need to get my GPA up. I will take four CCP classes this summer, right?’” said Pearson.
CCP does indeed have benefits for your GPA, but you must also remember that GPA is not everything in the world of education. Other things will always be considered alongside your GPA, whether that be for scholarships, college admissions, or honors societies. Make sure your work is well balanced, not just heavy on rigorous classes.
“Even though you could potentially get some GPA help by taking rigorous courses, that’s incredibly overwhelming, and not what we want to do with CCP, like that’s not what we want to use it for,” said Pearson.
If you have considered the pros and cons of Wake Tech CCP and remain interested in the program, the next step is to apply to Wake Tech. The website is user-friendly and quick, but you should make sure all important documents are easily accessible once you start, and that you complete it sooner, rather than later, as classes fill up.
“CCP is a great option if you’re interested in getting some credits out of the way so that you don’t have to take them at a university and getting some additional credits on your high school transcript. And doing it, I mean tuition-free, right? So it’s a great opportunity, but don’t use it as a GPA booster,” said Pearson.
