Fresno City College, through the Office of Early College, enables high school students to take college courses in person at the college or online, free of tuition. High school students can earn college credit while still completing high school.
Through this program, high school enrichment provides students with the opportunity to get a head start on their college education, to save time and money, and to experience the rigors of college coursework with support from community college.
Mission Statement of the Office of Early College
Creating intentional, supported pathways for high school students, bridging K-12 to higher education and gainful employment
Vision Statement of the Office of Early College
Providing equitable higher educational opportunities for all high school students
High School Enrichment is a high impact tool to increase the college-going culture for more students. For many students, participation in high school enrichment eases the transition from high school to college by giving students a sense of what college academics are like in a supported environment. High school enrichment is a cost-efficient way for students to accumulate college credits because courses are taken at no cost to the student during high school.
High school enrichment is an opportunity to take challenging courses and accelerate educational opportunities. Students who successfully complete courses through high school enrichment receive many benefits. However, there are some possible disadvantages that all students must consider before enrolling in a college class:
- HSE courses become part of students’ permanent college transcripts; if students fail, these grades could affect eligibility for financial aid and admission to other postsecondary institutions.
- If students need additional support to complete regular general education high school classes, adding the additional rigor of the college class may not be the best choice for them at that time.
High school enrichment allows students to start considering their future and consider beginning a pathway towards reaching their higher education goals while still enrolled in high school.
Common pathways include transfer pathways that include general education courses and Career Technical Education pathways that offer a wide variety of vocational degree and certificate options. The Office of Early College - High School Enrichment has put together some resources to help high school students choose the most appropriate classes to complete while in high school.
- Ram Pathways - Potential pathways at FCC which can help students explore areas they may want to major/work in after high school.
- Majors (degrees and certificates) - if students plan to attend FCC after high school or want to try to complete a degree or certificate while in high school, these sheets can guide them. With HSE enrollment alone a student would likely not be able to complete an entire degree. They should consult with the HSE counselor for guidance on choosing major classes without completing a degree if they plan to apply as a freshman to a four-year university since some majors require completing entire course sequences.
- General Education - (associates without transfer GE; CSU GE; UC-CSU GE) - if students begin taking HSE classes their freshman year of high school they could potentially complete lower division GE by the time they graduate high school and earn a college certificate for this completion. We encourage students to work with the HSE counselor to carefully plan the courses to take if this is a goal.
- Associates without transfer GE - This GE pattern should be used only if a student knows they do not want to apply to a four-year university, but want to complete an associates degree with a California Community College after high school.
- CSU GE - This GE pattern should be used if a student knows their goal after high school is to attend a California State University (whether as a freshman or a transfer student). Students should use the most recent catalog pattern or the one for their catalog year, but this link can be used as a starting guide. Please have your students consult with an HSE counselor for further guidance on the most appropriate catalog to use when completing GE requirements.
- IGETC-CSU GE - This GE pattern should be used if a student knows their goal after high school is to attend a University of California school (whether as a freshman or a transfer student). Students should use the most recent catalog pattern or the one for their catalog year, but this link can be used as a starting guide. This GE pattern is also most appropriate if the student knows they want to get a degree but do not know if they want want to attend a CCC, CSU, or UC in the future since it keeps all of the options open to the student. Please have your students consult with an HSE counselor for further guidance on the most appropriate catalog to use when completing GE requirements.
If a student is uncertain about their future college major or even college system they wish to attend, the IGETC-CSU GE pattern is often the safest option for completing GE requirements while in high school.
The following is a limited list of suggested IGETC GE classes students could consider for selection that fulfill GE requirements for a degree (* indicates the course has a prerequisite). A complete list of preapproved GE classes can be found on the HSE webpage:
- AFRAM 1, Intro to African American Studies (11th grade or later)
- AMIND 31, American Indian Culture (11th grade or later)
- ANTHRO 1, Biological Anthropology (11th grade or later)
- ART 2, Art Appreciation (9th grade or later)
- ASAMER 15, Intro to Asian American Studies (11th grade or later)
- ASL 1, Beginning American Sign Language (9th grade or later)
- ASL 2*, High-Beginning American Sign Language (9th grade or later)
- ASTRO 10, Basic Astronomy (10th grade or later)
- BIO 3, Introduction to Life Science (10th grade or later)
- BIO 14, Conservation Biology (10th grade or later)
- CHDEV 38, Lifespan Development (11th grade or later)
- CHDEV 39, Child Growth and Development (11th grade or later)
- CLS 11, Introduction to Chicano-Latino Studies (11th grade or later)
- COMM 1, Introduction to Public Speaking (11th grade or later)
- COMM 4, Persuasion (11th grade or later)
- COMM 8, Group Communication (11th grade or later)
- COUN 53, College and Life Management (9th grade or later)
- CRIM 1, Introduction to Criminology (11th grade or later)
- DS 21*, Finite Mathematics (12th grade)
- ECON 40*, Introduction to Microeconomics (11th grade or later)
- ECON 50*, Introduction to Macroeconomics(11th grade or later)
- ENG 1A*, Reading and Composition (11th grade or later)
- ENGL 1B*, Introduction to the Study of Literature (12th grade)
- ENGL 3*, Critical Reading and Writing (12th grade)
- ETHNST 10, Introduction to Ethnic Studies(11th grade or later)
- FILM 6, Film Genres (10th grade or later)
- GEOL 1, Physical Geology (10th grade or later)
- HIST 11, History of the US to 1877 (11th grade or later)
- HIST 12, History of the US Since 1877 (11th grade or later)
- MATH 3A*, College Algebra (12th grade)
- MATH 4A*, Trigonometry (12th grade)
- MUS 12, Music Appreciation (9th grade or later)
- MUS 17, History of Rock (9th grade or later)
- PHIL 1A*, Theories of Knowledge and Reality (12th grade)
- PHIL 2*, Critical Reasoning and Analytic Writing (12th grade)
- POLSCI 2, American Government (12th grade)
- PSY 2, General Psychology (11th grade or later)
- SOC 1A, Introduction to Sociology (11th grade or later)
- SPAN 1, Beginning Spanish (10th grade or later)
- SPAN 2*, High-Beginning Spanish (9th grade or later)
- SPAN 2NS*, Preparatory Spanish for Native Speakers (9th grade or later)
- TA 30, Theater Appreciation (9th grade or later)
