This fall, about 6,000 more Kentucky high school students signed up for courses that count toward their diplomas and future college careers compared with last year.
The spike comes after the legislature set aside $15 million in scholarships for students to sign up for dual credit courses over the next two years.
Hal Heiner, the secretary of the state's Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, said the initiative will help students get to college and succeed in the workforce.
“A high school diploma alone is simply no longer enough to equip today’s students for their futures,” Heiner said in a news release. “I believe the choice must be college or college — college on the traditional academic route or college on the career and technical track.”
The dual-credit program, which began in June of this year, funds scholarships for students to take college-level classes and have them count towards a degree at any state college or six private schools in the state.
Local school districts apply for the scholarships, which are awarded based on how many seniors each high school has.
Gov. Matt Bevin called the uptick "astounding."
"We want Kentucky to have the most well-educated, well-prepared and workforce-ready young adults in the nation. This program is a vital step in advancing us toward that exciting goal,” Bevin said in a release.
There were 22,707 students enrolled in dual credit courses in fall semester 2016, up from 16,659 a year ago, according to the Kentucky Department of Education. There’s also been a 50 percent rise in the total number of dual credit courses taken, from 28,334 last year to 42,477 now.
All of Kentucky’s public colleges and universities plus 11 private universities are participating in the program.