Texas Border Business
PHARR – Over 1,400 students from all Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD (PSJA) high schools are currently taking free college courses this summer at the new PSJA College & University Center located in the corner of Ridge Rd. and Veterans Blvd. in San Juan.
“It’s a really exciting time for our students because they can come in, collaborate with each other (and) take advantage of the free dual enrollment courses that PSJA offers,” said Linda Uribe, PSJA ISD Administrator for College Readiness.
In continuation with PSJA’s partnership with South Texas College (STC), month-long Dual Credit (DC) courses are offered for summer one in June and summer two in July. The students are able to attend a semester’s worth of classes and get ahead before the start of the school year, bringing them one step closer to an Associate Degree.
“One of the experiences that we want the students to take away from this is starting college early is to their advantage,” Uribe said. “PSJA offers so many opportunities for them and coming together as a district and a PSJA Family really allows them to learn from each other, to get their dual enrollment out of the way and to graduate college before high school.”
According to Uribe, housing students at the new PSJA College & University Center, which opened its doors in August 2018, provides them with a single location to meet their every needs academically and socially. Rather than taking courses at one of STC’s campuses, students are able to get the full high school-college experience during the summer.
“What we’re expecting is the students to get a really rigorous foundation here through their dual enrollment and get the support services all at a one-stop shop,” Uribe said. “We really service them and make sure that they’re successful.”
 high schools are currently taking free college courses this summer at the new PSJA College & University Center located in the corner of Ridge Rd. and Veterans Blvd. in San Juan.){kind=link}