York College Announces Affordable Online Associate Degree for Early College High School

The degree program, offered as part of the college’s new YC Academy, includes 60 hours of college credit and is designed specifically to meet the needs of high school and homeschool organizations. The first cohort of high school juniors will begin this Fall, with a second cohort, including high school sophomores, beginning in Spring 2021.

The total cost of the degree program is $4,000, with schools or parents billed each term for the credit hours their students take. There are no additional fees or material costs beyond course tuition. YC Academy will also offer individual courses for college credit, at an all-inclusive price of $200 for each three-credit-hour course.


According to York College Provost Dr. Shane Mountjoy, YC Academy is part of the college’s mission to serve families and students across the country. “We believe in service through education,” Mountjoy said. “We view YC Academy as a way to provide a truly affordable and convenient pathway for students to begin their college journey. Our hope is that it will allow more people to begin and complete their first degree, giving them improved options for both professional and personal growth.”


To launch and maintain YC Academy, York College is partnering with TEL Education, a non-profit organization focused on facilitating equitable access to college learning. TEL Executive Director, Dr. Rob Reynolds, believes that York College is creating a new standard by launching a national online program at such an affordable price. “YC Academy lowers the traditional barriers to college study for high school and homeschool students across the nation,” Reynolds said. “The program makes it easy to register, offers a truly affordable solution, and integrates flexibly with existing high school work. This could very well be the tipping point for pushing two-year degrees down to the high school level.”
YC Academy’s online courses include all course materials, instruction, learning technology, and support. The program will also provide Peer Coaches, who are qualified college students available for mentoring and encouragement.


ABOUT TEL
TEL is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing equitable access to highly engineered post-secondary learning to anyone, anywhere, at any time. We achieve this mission by partnering with regionally accredited colleges and universities to deliver affordable, college-credit courses using TEL’s rigorous curriculum and proprietary learning system. TEL also maintains a free reference library of its openly licensed course materials. All TEL efforts are guided by our commitment to “transforming and educating for life.” For more information, please visit http://www.tel-education.org.