This innovative new program from the Community College System of New Hampshire will allow high school students to take courses online for concurrent high school and college credit.

The program, eStart, is a collaboration between the college system and the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS), a fully approved online high school based in Exeter, NH. Credits earned through eStart can be transferred into one of New Hampshire's community colleges, or to other colleges and universities in NH and in other states.

eStart is an extension of CCSNH's popular and successful Running Start program, a partnership between participating high schools and the community colleges that allows high school students to take college-level classes in their high schools at a reduced rate of only $100 per course. As with Running Start, eStart allows a student to earn both high-school and college credit for the class.

Currently, the following courses are available to high school students through eStart:

• American Government - Ben Hampton - Manchester Community College
• Art History I - Annette Cohen - Great Bay Community College
• Biology I - Kim Nelson - Great Bay Community College
• Business, Introduction to - Jeanne Furfari - Great Bay Community College
• Calculus I - Stan Lockwood - NHTI
• Literature, Introduction to - Kris Lucas - NHTI
• Marketing, Principles of - John Carlisle - Nashua Community College
• Medical Terminology - Winnona Vachon - NHTI
• Psychology - Pamela Delli-Colli - White Mountain Community College
• Software Applications - Sann Lavallee - Lakes Region Community College
• Statistics - Roy Whalen - NHTI

The college system hopes to expand the number of courses available as the program grows. Tuition for each eStart course is $100, plus the cost of books. The courses are taught by college faculty, using the college grading system.

High school students interested in taking an eStart course should begin by enrolling on the VLACS website at www.vlacs.org.