Howard County Public School System and Howard Community College announced that eligible students who participate in JumpStart dual enrollment courses, including those who are currently enrolled, will no longer be charged the cost of tuition.
Based on recent guidance from the Maryland State Department of Education regarding the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Legislation, HCPSS will now pay tuition and consolidated fees for all JumpStart students. This change takes effect immediately for all students enrolled for the 2022-2023 school year, including students who participate in the Free and Reduced-Price Meals program. Students are still responsible for paying for course fees, First Day material fees and textbooks.
A key initiative in the strategic plans of HCPSS and HCC, the JumpStart partnership provides a pathway for students to be college and career-ready. Enrollment increased to 1,106 high school students currently taking courses on HCC’s campus and more than 1,000 students projected to participate in dual enrollment courses at their high schools this year.
HCC will begin issuing refunds for tuition and consolidated fees to the students who are enrolled in HCC credit courses on the HCC campus for the fall 2022 semester, if they have already paid tuition and consolidated fees. HCC will bill HCPSS for these costs. The refunds will be processed on or before Nov. 30.
In addition, students enrolled in eligible JumpStart courses in their high schools will need to decide whether they want to earn HCC credit during spring 2023. If they choose to earn HCC credit, they will no longer have to pay tuition and consolidated fees.
HCPSS is reviewing cost estimates for this new expenditure and expects to request a supplemental appropriation through the Howard County Government to support this new legal requirement, which was not funded in the HCPSS Fiscal Year 2023 Operating Budget. In addition, HCPSS and HCC will update their existing Memorandum of Understanding to reflect this change.
Details about JumpStart dual enrollment programs are available online at www.hcpss.org/jumpstart.