Students at San Marcos Academy have an opportunity to earn college credit while still attending high school through our Dual-Credit College Program. The benefits of taking these courses in a high school setting include the following: 1) Small classes are taught by fully qualified instructors. 2) Individual attention is offered in REAL college classes. 3) Staff has control over the students to require them to come prepared. 4) Students meet five days a week for better retention of material and accountability. 5) Students get more peer support and a supportive environment. 6) The courses prepare students for college work. 7) The program saves money compared to college tuition. 8) Acquiring credits early relieves some of the stress of one’s freshman year in college. For more information, contact our Admissions Office at 512-753-8000 or the Program Director, Mr. Bernie Lawless, at 512-753-8040.

How the Program Works:

The Academy has memorandums of agreement with Austin Community College, San Antonio College and St. Philip’s College to offer dual-credit classes. Our instructors are adjunct faculty members of these colleges. Students who qualify for the class through the Accuplacer or THEA tests are enrolled at the sponsoring college.

Students may take up to two dual-credit classes per semester and may begin taking courses as early as the freshman year; however, most students do not take the courses until they are juniors or seniors.

Specific Benefits of the Program:

Outside of the required textbook, there are no costs to the student other than the regular Academy tuition. The instructors use the college syllabus and, in most cases, the same book as the regular college class taught on the college campus. Texts are still available through the SMA bookstore.

Over 95 percent of our students successfully complete the courses and will receive a college transcript once they have graduated from the Academy. All public college and universities in Texas accept our course credit for transfer.

Courses Offered:

The college dual-credit program started at the Academy in 2004 and has been growing ever since. Our classes include four separate math classes (College Algebra, College Pre-Calculus, College Statistics and College Calculus), English, History, and Psychology for a total of 29 hours.

We are one of a very small number of schools allowed to teach college algebra. In Texas, a student has to pass college algebra to receive a college degree. As few as 15 percent pass this course, with an average passing rate of only 50 percent. Students who take the course at the Academy are much more likely to pass and may not have to take mathematics ever again, depending on their major.

Program Participation:

Since the program’s inception, we have had 294 students in our college classes (some took more than one class) who earned 1025 credit hours. At an average cost of $1220 for a non-resident, out-of-district student, we have saved our parents close to $350,000.

In the fall of 2008, students earned 144 credits, and in spring 2009, over 60 students were working on 280 credit hours. Roughly 40-45 percent of our eligible students are taking a college dual-credit class.

For more detailed information, please contact Bernard Lawless at (512) 753-8040 or  lawlessb@smba.org .