Piedmont Technical College Dual Enrollment program helps Nadia Sanders graduate from University of South Carolina in only two years

Nadia Sanders credits the Dual Enrollment Program at Piedmont Technical College (PTC) with enabling her to graduate from the University of South Carolina in only two years.

“It was definitely the dual enrollment. If I hadn't taken all those credits beforehand, I would not have been able to do that,” Sanders said. “I think doing this program is great. It was very helpful for me.”  

Sanders finished her associate degree at PTC while still attending Laurens District 55 High School. She then was able to transfer 60 hours of academic credits to the University of South Carolina, where she received a bachelor’s degree in political science in May. She is now applying to law schools while working as a legal assistant at The Greene Law Firm in Greenville.

Dual Enrollment is an advanced-credit program for high school juniors and seniors. Different classes are available online, at the student’s high school, or on the PTC campus. There are four ways to participate in Dual Enrollment at PTC: 
•    Traditional Dual Enrollment courses are taken at the student’s high school with their high school instructors.
•    OnDECK classes are offered on a PTC campus and let students earn high school units and college credit at the same time.
•    PTC has partnered with some school districts on a Middle College that allows high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to earn 48-plus college credit hours.
•    Early admission is for students looking to earn credit through PTC, but not through their high school. 

Sanders was among the first group of students at her high school to take part in the Middle College option.

“The teachers were very helpful with office hours and meeting up in person,” she said. “And it also helped having students that were doing the program with me, you know, having study nights and meeting up to help each other out.”

Before applying for Dual Enrollment, students should understand that college-level courses require more effort to succeed than a typical high school class. Since Dual Enrollment courses become part of a permanent college transcript, students must commit to doing the necessary work.

Sanders said she encountered difficulties in two courses – statistics and calculus – as a Dual Enrollment student.

“I am not that good in math,” she acknowledged. “I wanted to stop because it was getting very stressful.”

After receiving encouragement from her Dual Enrollment classmates and an academic advisor at PTC, Sanders persevered.

“They helped me realize that I could keep going with it and it would be OK,” she said.

Dual Enrollment at PTC is designed to be affordable to all students. South Carolina residents attend tuition-free if they take at least six credit hours per semester (generally at least two classes) at their high school, on campus or online. 

When asked for her advice to high school students, Sanders said, “Take dual enrollment classes, even if you don't take as many as I did.

“It's a good experience to get your feet in the water - see if it's something that you really want to do, and also gain that credit without having to pay money for it,” she said. “It is really helpful to just have that associate degree under your belt and have a foundation towards a career in something bigger.”