Students can attend the University of North Alabama a little closer to home this summer – at least for a couple of classes.

UNA will this summer, for the first time, offer two college-level courses on the campus of Russellville High School. The classes will be open to any 2016 high school graduate and rising juniors and seniors, from any school system – Russellville City Schools and Franklin County Schools, as well as students from surrounding counties.

Classes to be offered are English 111 First-Year Composition and Communications 201 Fundamentals of Speech – the two classes that garnered the most interest from a survey distributed to students by RHS counselor Tiffany Warhurst.

“We’re just serving as a host site,” Warhurst said. “These are good beginner classes for students to see how college will be. It will be a good college experience … but still in a small atmosphere.”

Students can register for one or both classes. Recent high school graduates who take both classes will qualify as part-time students – meaning, Warhurst said, they will be able to apply financial aid toward the coursework. For rising 11^th and 12^th graders, the classes will cost $150 plus fees, topping out at $250-300 each. Cost for graduates will match UNA tuition rates.

“Our goal is to provide the opportunity for upcoming high school graduates to ‘get a jump start’ on college by taking a college course at a convenient location in an environment in which they are very comfortable,” explained UNA’s Dr. Jerri Bullard, who is coordinating the program. “Many of the students at the participating schools may not be able to commute to UNA during the summer due to other responsibilities, like work, so having a class offered on their high school campus provides them with this option … We hope that many of the students will transition to UNA in the fall, but if not, they might consider us for a summer class when they return home while in college.”

Warhurst said students – and parents – should be excited about this opportunity through UNA.

“I think they are trying to accommodate the students more – they realize a lot of their kids are from this area,” Warhurst said. Offering two courses at RHS is designed to be more convenient in terms of reducing the time commitment as well as gas cost for those who might otherwise commute to UNA. “I think they are really wanting to do what’s best for the students.”

Two full-time UNA faculty members will teach the classes. Minimum enrollment for the courses to be offered is ten students, and students can enroll through UNA by applying for admission and registering for the summer semester. Rising junior and seniors will also have to apply for early college approval – coordinator LeeAnna Brown, 256-765-4281 and lbrown9@una.edu, can provide more information.

Deadline to apply will be mid-May.

For additional information, contact Bullard at 256-765-4531 or jhbullard@una.edu.