Moore County high school students looking for an early connection to college now have a program in place to speed their way.

The Moore County Schools Career and College Promise program replaces all previous early college initiatives for high school students.

Gov. Bev Perdue launched Career and College Promise in 2011, announcing that the program guaranteed eligible high school age students “a clear, focused and affordable path” to a successful future.

“Career and College Promise will prepare eligible high school students for life after high school. That means college credit for some, job training for others,” Perdue said when the program began. “Regardless of whether a student plans to go to college or get a job, Career and College Promise provides focused preparation (and is) tuition free to the student.”

The program will offer students a “broader” way to complete college requirements, said Moore County Schools Associate Superintendent Kathy Kennedy.

“Depending on how many courses the student takes, he or she could potentially move from being a high school senior to a college junior,” Kennedy said. “Compared to previous programs, Career and College Promise provides a much broader opportunity for students to get college credit due to the multiple modalities that are available. A student can take courses at their high school, at Sandhills Community College, or online.”

There are three options of study available to high school students, including the career and technical education pathway, the college transfer pathway and the cooperative innovative high school track.

“Students who select the college transfer option will work toward earning 44 hours of college credit that will fully transfer to a four-year institution,” Kennedy said.

Eligibility requirements include being a rising high school junior or senior in the fall 2012 semester, having a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 weighted scale or, for the career pathway, obtaining the permission of the principal.

All North Carolina public colleges and universities are participating in the program, with many independent schools offering credit as well. Some 105 Moore County students are enrolled at Sandhills Community College in conjunction with the program.

One of those students is Union Pines High School senior Garrett Harris.

“Career and College Promise is an awesome program,” Harris said. “I am taking an engineering class at Sandhills, and it is a very hands-on, fun experience with a great professor. I completely recommend the program to anyone.”

Kennedy said that now is a good time for students to apply for the fall semester.

“Students and their parents should talk to their school counselor about the program,” she said. “The counselors have plenty of information about Career and College Promise, and can assist the families in understanding what options are available for their children.”

In a previous interview, North Carolina Superinten-dent of Public Instruction June Atkinson praised the initiative.

“North Carolina students want options for the future,” she said. “Career and College Promise offers them a clear, accelerated path that puts college and career credentials well within their reach.”

Tom Ross, president of the 17-campus University of North Carolina system, agreed.

“We know that education is the key to transforming our local, state and national economies,” he said. “In fact, by 2018 an estimated 59 percent of North Carolina’s jobs will require some level of education beyond high school. Career and College Promise offers eligible high school students a head start in preparing for college, and can help ensure that they have a number of seamless pathways to enroll in one of our UNC campuses.”

For more information visit www.ncmcs.org and search “Career and College Promise.”

Contact John Lentz at jlentz@thepilot.com.