| By Gale Staff |
This is about more than a high school diploma. It’s about inspiring hope and offering adults a second chance—at earning their degree, finding a lifelong career, making enough money to support their families, and most of all, realizing that success is something they can achieve for themselves.
One of the biggest things we learned from the 2020 recession is how interconnected education, earning potential, and unemployment can be. Last year, adults with less than a high school diploma suffered the highest unemployment rate (11.7 percent) and lowest median weekly earnings ($619) compared to all other education levels.1 In today’s competitive workforce, a high school degree is essential for financial and professional growth.
As public libraries adapt to their community’s needs, it’s critical for librarians to not only make education programs and services available but reach adults through supportive programming that offers real results—like earning a high school diploma. Gale Presents: Excel Adult High School is a new online, accredited diploma completion program that does just that.
More than a high school equivalency program or GED
Gale Presents: Excel Adult High School is a 21.5-credit online high school completion program that allows public libraries to put an accredited high school diploma within reach. Unlike other online high school completion programs, Excel Adult High School has an academic focus that helps adults not only receive their diploma but prepare for what comes next—whether that’s college, a promotion at work, or a new career.
Available through public libraries, this program is 100 percent online and tuition-free for students. The program is self-paced and can be completed in 12 to 18 months (or less). Students are given up to 24 months to complete the program, and if they have previously earned high school, GED®, HiSET®, or TASC credits, those are accepted.
How does it work?
Patrons 18 years and older who are interested apply to the program through the library. Once participants are accepted and enroll, they will have 24/7 access to self-paced classes. If academic support is needed, they can schedule time for live, unlimited online tutoring. After completing the program, they earn an accredited high school diploma.
What should students expect?
This experience is designed to create an environment of academic, career, and technical support that will increase engagement and show the benefits of your library’s investment. The program lowers barriers to education that many adult learners may face in person or online.
For English language learners (ELLs), translation tools make it easy for adults to translate course content into their native language and display both side by side. This helps foster English language acquisition while facilitating understanding of the course content.
For adult students who need extra help, the program has an unlimited, live online tutoring program called Train the Brain. There’s no need to download software. Students simply upload assignments and receive one-on-one help from a qualified tutor before the project deadline. They can record sessions for future reference. Additional support is always available through academic advisors and course instructors.
Support for libraries means greater support for students
As part of the program, Gale provides a dedicated staff member who delivers extensive training, implementation, and student recruitment support to prepare libraries for success at launching this high school completion program to adults in their community.
We have a long history of successful programming
Gale partners with Excel Education Systems to deliver accredited high school diplomas through public libraries because of their long-standing commitment to providing high-quality, accredited education services to their students, including more than 20,000 adult learners. Excel High School is a nonpublic school headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and has been in operation since 2005. Since then, Excel High School has helped thousands of high school–age and adult learners graduate and move on to higher education, employment, military enlistment, and job advancement.
Excel Adult High School is accredited by Cognia, the parent organization of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), and the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC). View their accreditation profile.
Excel Adult High School is a candidate for accreditation with the Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (MSA-CESS). See MSA-CESS for more details.
How can this program improve the lives of adults in your community? Visit gale.com/public/excel to learn more.