Early College Program
The Early College Program is a dual enrollment partnership between Eastern Florida State College and Brevard Public Schools.
It is designed for public school students whose goal is to graduate from high school with a diploma and an Associate degree.
The program is available at all Brevard County Public High Schools, except for West Shore Jr/Sr High School, Edgewood Jr/Sr High School, Cocoa Beach Jr/Sr High School, Pineapple Cove Academy, and Odyssey Charter.
The Associate in Arts (A.A.) degree at EFSC is comparable to the freshman and sophomore years of a university program and requires completion of 60 credit hours, including general education courses and electives.
The Associate in Science (A.S.) degree at EFSC is a two-year career education degree that prepares students for direct entry into the workforce. It includes a combination of general education courses, major courses, and technical electives equaling at least 60 credit hours.
Review the Early College Program benefits below, including a detailed accordion on how to enroll.
Early college participants enjoy substantial financial benefits.
By receiving an Associate degree at the time of high school graduation, students will have completed two years of college with no tuition, textbook, or housing costs. The only potential costs are for consumable workbooks and lab manuals, an Internet access fee of $10 per term, a one-time graduation application fee of $20, and a yearly parking permit.
The Early College Program offers a Three-Year Track for students entering the 10th grade and a Two-Year Track for students entering 11th grade.
Eligibility criteria include an unweighted high school GPA of 3.0 or higher and college-ready reading and writing scores on an accepted college-placement test.
Potential candidates and their families will receive an invitation from their school to attend an Early College Informational Presentation where they will explore how to qualify and cover the information on how to enroll in Early College.
An Early College Trifecta
Bayside H.S. Class of 2022 graduates Lauren Tarducci, Josh Imel, and Kiersten Blaylock also earned their Associate in Arts degrees through EFSC's Early College Program, saving thousands of dollars in tuition, and speeding up their pathway to adding their next degree.
More Dual Enrollment OptionsThree-Year Track for 10th Graders
Students entering the Three-Year Track are bused to an Eastern Florida campus in the fall and spring terms of 10th grade. Transportation is guaranteed only to 10th graders. Students will spend two periods Monday through Thursday at EFSC, taking two courses each term. The other part of the day is spent at the high school. Once students complete 10th grade, they are expected to enroll in two classes during each of the next two summer terms and three classes in the fall and spring terms of 11th and 12th grade.
Two-Year Track for Rising 11th Graders
Students entering the Two-Year Track enroll in two summer classes after 10th and 11th grades and three college classes in both the fall and spring terms. Most 12th grade students in this track attend Eastern Florida as full-time students through Early Admission to complete degree requirements.
EFSC Academic Advising Team Support
Eastern Florida’s high school outreach Advisors play an important role in the Early College Program. They are available to students by email, telephone, Microsoft Teams meetings, and in-person meetings by appointment only. Advisors assist students in developing an academic plan and in connecting with valuable college resources, such as free online or in-person tutoring. They also help students with the course registration process and to use the myGPS tool to track courses towards their degree program.
For questions about the Early College Program, contact us by email at dualenroll@easternflorida.edu or by phone at 321-433-7614.
How to Enroll in the Early College Program
If you and your parent/guardian received an invitation from your school to learn more about the Early College Program, you have been identified as a potential candidate for this accelerated education opportunity.
Follow your school’s instructions for viewing or attending the Early College Information Presentation. You will learn how your college courses will be scheduled, the additional eligibility criteria for acceptance, the benefits of the program, and the challenges.
You must return the Student Interest Form provided by your school by the deadline to be considered for the program.
Submit the online EFSC Application for Admission. You will need to know your Social Security Number (SSN) and your state unweighted high school GPA.
You must score college-ready in reading and writing on an approved college-placement test for acceptance into the Early College Program.
Your high school may offer the PERT, or you can schedule the PERT placement test through RegisterBlast, EFSC's online test scheduling system.
EFSC offers the ACCUPLACER which is a remote online option, or the PERT, which is an on-campus testing option; however, seating is limited.
If you do not score college-ready in reading and/or writing, you may schedule a retest to take place 30 days after the initial testing date.
After you receive your EFSC acceptance letter, you must complete a two-step orientation process.
First complete the College's Online Dual Enrollment Orientation. It provides you with information about college resources and tools, student services, academic policies and procedures, student safety and more.
To access the orientation, log into the myEFSC portal. Refer to your acceptance letter for your Student email address and initial password
required to log in. Locate the Student Orientation/Titan Preview icon in the app launcher. Clicking the
icon will begin the orientation. If you cannot complete the process at one sitting,
the system will remember where you left off and pick up there when you log back in
through myEFSC.
There is also a separate, mandatory in-person orientation that you must attend with a parent or guardian after clearing the placement testing requirement. This session is required once you've been cleared to proceed with final steps. In-person orientation sessions are over for the 2024-25 school year and students who did not complete the required session are not eligible for the Early College Program for the coming year.
- Sign the Early College Program Student Performance Contract (supplied by your school) and return the form to your guidance counselor by your high school's deadline.
- Complete the 60-question Career Coach Interest Assessment. Student must sign up and create a profile using their EFSC Student ID and Titan student email. Please note: This cannot be completed until the student has been admitted to EFSC and obtains student credentials. Review our guide about completing this career assessment.
- View the Dual Enrollment course registration related dates. Dual enrolled students follow a specific timeline and must adhere to program deadlines.
- You should review your myGPS Degree Audit inside the myEFSC Portal for your "Plan" prepared by an EFSC advisor to assist with course registration. Watch a video about how to access and find your plan.
- Meet with your high school counselor and/or review your course plan in myGPS prior to the start of registration to select courses that meet your needs for your school schedule and high school graduation requirements. This may be your initial advising appointment, and then in follow-on terms, be sure to review your course needs again.
- New students are encouraged to register for their first term with the support of their advisor at a school-based registration event or at a scheduled one-on-one advising session.
- Students may self-register for their courses online. Registration must be completed in one session for all courses for the specified term. IMPORTANT: Dual enrollment students will be locked from making any changes to courses upon completion of registration. Watch a video on "How to Register for Courses Online."
- If a student needs to change their courses, they must see their high school counselor. Schedule changes will only be made during the designated add/drop period for dual enrollment.
- View the Registration Details page for more information on this process.
Fees: EFSC waives tuition and fees in accordance with Florida Statute for students participating in Dual Enrollment. All students are responsible for paying the $10 per semester Wi-Fi/Print Access Fee. If you intend to park a vehicle on campus you must purchase a parking decal. Decals are $40 plus tax if bought in Fall Term for the Academic Year through the following Summer Term; or $20 plus tax if purchased during a Spring or Summer Term to cover those two terms. To avoid receiving a traffic citation and fine, purchase your parking permit by the end of the first week of classes and park only in student designated parking areas.
Early College program students:
- Will automatically be enrolled in the Titan First Day Ready program at no charge and receive program communications to their Titan email from the Barnes and Noble College bookstore.
- Are responsible for purchasing required consumable instructional materials that cannot be used by another student, such as lab coats, goggles, and personal tools.