In support of its mission to promote excellence in education, the Center for Excellence in Higher Education says it is offering Career Online High School program to Utah and Colorado students lacking high school diplomas. CEHE has made the online program available in campus-based learning labs at its sponsored colleges.
The Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE) has joined the growing list of post-secondary organizations making Career Online High School (COHS) available to students seeking an accredited high school diploma. Through its new partnership with Smart Horizons Career Online Education and ed2go, CEHE has launched COHS on its college campuses in Utah and Colorado.
Established in 2006, CEHE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting excellence in higher education through philanthropy and by offering career-focused educational programs. COHS, which enables students to complete their high school diplomas in order to move on to enrollment into post-secondary institutions, will be offered at several colleges under the CEHE umbrella, including Stevens-Henager College in West Haven, Utah.
“We recognize the enduring need in our community to curb the high school dropout rate, to reverse the trend that we are seeing in Utah,” said Vicky Dewsnup, President of Stevens-Henager and CEHE’s Regional Director for Northern Utah and Idaho. “Utah used to have one of the highest levels of education, but it has been dropping. We want to see more students graduating from high school and going on to college. Furthermore, there are a number of large corporations moving into Utah that are going to need an educated workforce.”
Moreover, Dewsnup said it was important to provide students with an opportunity to earn an official high school diploma. “We had been offering a GED preparatory class, but we realized that a high school diploma is more highly regarded, and we want to offer the best we can to our students.”
Offering an accredited high school diploma and credentialed career certificate in a single comprehensive online program, COHS is part of the world’s first SACS accredited online school district, Smart Horizons Career Online Education. The school was established in 2012 through a partnership between Smart Horizons Career Online Education and Cengage Learning’s ed2go, the nation’s largest provider of turnkey online training. The ongoing mission of these two leaders in the education industry is to provide affordable, career-based online education opportunities for the millions of adults in the United States without high school diplomas.
COHS will be made available in special learning labs set up on CEHE campuses. These unique hybrid learning environments, which marry onsite and online support, will be staffed by facilitators and will enable COHS students to experience a college campus environment. “Another important aspect of COHS is that it’s designed to be supportive in such a way that it helps students who have dropped out overcome any trauma from previous academic failures,” said Dewsnup.
The program will also be offered at CollegeAmerica’s main campus in Denver, Colorado. Nathan Larson, the school’s Executive Director and Regional Director of CEHE’s Fort Collins and Cheyenne campuses, is enthusiastic about making COHS available on his campus.
“I am familiar with Cengage Learning and trust anything they offer as a product,” Larson said. “I also like the fact that COHS is set up as a self-paced program. The students get a chance to come back to high school and complete it at their own pace. When I looked at the program, I was very impressed with the software, the tutorials, and the 24/7 support provided to each student. It also gives us a chance to show prospective students the educational opportunities available at CollegeAmerica.”
About Center for Excellence in Higher Education
Established in 2006, CEHE originally operated as a public charity with a mission to educate the public about the state of higher education in America and help donors promote excellence in higher education through philanthropy. CEHE conducted a series of research programs and supported faculty interested in improving higher education at universities around the country and internationally. CEHE also engaged in several important research projects, acting in the background to help philanthropists who wanted to promote structural reform of higher education more generally. In 2012, CEHE undertook a new and unique approach to improving higher education by merging four colleges under its umbrella as 501 (c) (3) nonprofit educational organizations. For more information visit www.cehe.org or e-mail info@cehe.org.
About Cengage Learning and ed2go
Cengage Learning is a leading educational content, software and services company for the academic, professional and library markets worldwide. ed2go, part of Cengage Learning, is the largest provider of turnkey online training and education solutions serving the adult education, career, and corporate training markets. With over 2,000 colleges, universities, community based organizations and other training providers, ed2go has served more than 2.5 million students. ed2go’s ever-growing catalog of Online Courses and Career Training Programs makes it simple for students to enrich their lives or reach professional goals in a supportive and engaging environment. ed2go also can help educational institutions jump-start their online education programs or augment existing distance learning options. For more information visit www.cengage.com or www.ed2go.com.