January 9, 2006

A-B Tech is offering a late-start semester in order to accommodate high school students affected by the calendar change in North Carolina public schools.

“The underlying problem is the calendar change mandated by the state legislature,” said Dr. Sharon Morrissey, vice president of Instructional Services. Public school students now start in late August and do not complete their first semester by winter break, as they have in the past.

“They won’t start their next semester until mid-January. We start January 9 so that creates a problem for dual-enrolled students who have not yet completed their high school semester,” said Morrissey. Dual-enrolled students take courses at their high schools and on the A-B Tech campus.

The public schools schedule change also has an effect on early completers, seniors who finish their graduation requirements in the fall semester. “Traditionally we have recruited these students into A-B Tech for the spring. They can get a semester’s worth of college credit which will transfer to four-year colleges and universities,” she said.

“This year the early completers won’t complete their high school courses until after our semester has already begun. Our solution is a late start semester that begins January 17,” Morrissey said. “The late-start semester gives us the opportunity to meet the needs of early completers and also to provide opportunities for dual-enrolled students.”