SLIPPERY ROCK — More Slippery Rock High School students will have a chance to earn college credits while still in high school under a state program.

And their college credit costs could be substantially reduced.

The high school allows students the chance to attend Slippery Rock University or Butler County Community College in their senior year as part of a senior bypass program. Usually the students who participate have parents who work at the colleges, which makes their tuition free, according to Harry Beil, principal.

But if students must pay, tuition costs can be about $630 for a typical three-credit class at SRU.

However, the state dual enrollment program provides money for tuition, books and transportation costs when the students take college courses. Students can receive up to 80 percent reimbursement of tuition costs.

Beil plans to apply for a grant for this program with the approval of the Slippery Rock School Board. The amount of that grant will be based on several factors in the district, including property values and income levels.

Another different aspect of the dual enrollment program is students who take classes at a university also would get high school credit for that course, Beil said. Courses are required to be nonremedial and must be approved by Beil before students take them.

Beil said courses would need to be core academic subjects such as English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, government, economics and arts.

There are now five Slippery Rock High School students taking college classes at SRU, but they are not in the dual enrollment program.

According to the state Department of Education Web site, the dual enrollment program was set up in the 2005-06 school year to:

• Prepare students for success in college by giving them exposure to college level work.

• Support students as they make the transition from high school to postsecondary education.

• Increase students' access to postsecondary education, especially students from underserved populations.

• Provide at-risk students supportive, academically challenging environments where they can get a fresh start on their learning.

• Increase the rigor of the high school curriculum.

About 60 students attend BC3 under the dual enrollment program, but none are from Butler County.

Jane Dollhopf, coordinator for the program at BC3, said the college has dual enrollment agreements with about 10 schools from Armstrong, Lawrence and Crawford counties. Next year, Knoch High School plans to apply for a grant as well as Slippery Rock High School, she said.

Several schools participate in the college's College Within a High School program, where high school students take college classes, but the state doesn't provide funding for that, she said.

W.C. Vance, admissions director at SRU, said New Castle High School received a grant for dual enrollment with the university, but only one New Castle student attends SRU.

"There's high investment and low return now for the state," but the program is in place to increase interest in higher education gradually, he said.

Any school can apply to the program, but it must meet criteria set up by the state, including income guidelines.

No other schools in Butler County have applied to participate with SRU, Vance said.