Double diploma: Students will be able to get Harper College degree while in high school

When they walk across the stage at graduation, some members of the Class of 2028 at three Northwest suburban school districts will receive not only their high school diplomas, but associate degrees too.

Harper College and the three districts — Northwest Suburban High School District 214, Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 and Barrington Area Unit District 220 — are launching the College Now dual degree program, which will have motivated high schoolers taking college-level coursework on the Palatine community college’s campus starting in the fall of 2026.

“Harper College is proud to stand with our high school partners in creating meaningful opportunities for students to accelerate their higher education journeys,” said Harper President Avis Proctor. “College Now underscores our shared vision of affordability, access and excellence in education.”

Starting this week, the three high school districts will host information sessions for students and families to learn more, with initial applications from interested sophomores due Oct. 15. Should they meet the program’s qualifications for grades and attendance, they’ll be notified of acceptance within the week.

Initial classes would begin in the fall of 2026, with high school juniors spending mornings at Harper taking college courses such as Biology, Introduction to Psychology and Ethics, then returning to their high schools in the afternoon to take additional college-level classes like Composition and Algebra.

By senior year, students would take most all classes at Harper, but still be able to participate in extracurricular activities at their high schools.

Should they earn a C grade or better in all courses, students will receive an associate of arts degree from Harper.

Tuition and fees would be discounted — nearly $2,000 for junior year and $3,500 for senior year — and families would only have to pay $250 per semester. Harper agreed to slash tuition by 25%, and the high school districts will cover the balance.

To be considered, students must have at least a 90% attendance rate, a minimum 2.0 unweighted grade-point average with no D or F grades, while earning A or B grades in English and Math and at least a C in Science.

Officials caution the program may not be right for everyone. As a placeholder, they’ve placed an initial cap of 50 students per district in the program, but that could be revisited next year.

“It’s for a group of highly motivated students with time management skills and who are mature enough to handle life on a college campus at a younger age,” said District 214 Superintendent Scott Rowe. “That conversation with their counselor and their family of, ‘Do I want to try this?’ is vital, because you’re taking a full college load as a 16-year-old, and that’s not for everybody.”

Rowe tapped longtime District 214 administrator Laz Lopez to spearhead the dual degree effort. Lopez, executive director of the district’s career pathways program and education foundation, collaborated with the Northwest Educational Council for Student Success to bring the four school districts together.

Modeled off dual degree initiatives in Texas, New York and elsewhere, they put their program together in about a year’s time. It’s typically taken three or four years in other areas, Lopez said.

“It was not easy for everyone to come together and really have one plan for students at all the districts,” Lopez said. “It took a lot of work, but we did it.”