Winthrop Joins with Fort Mill School District for Dual Enrollment Partnership (11/13/26)

HIGHLIGHTS

• An inaugural cohort of 25 students representing the three Fort Mill high schools - Fort Mill, Nation Ford and Catawba Ridge - started taking three courses this fall.
• This first cohort-based pathway allows the students to complete three dual credit courses per semester over two years, beginning in the fall of their junior year, earning up to 37 transferable college credits while fulfilling high school graduation requirements.

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Winthrop University and the Fort Mill School District officially announced a new Dual Enrollment partnership on Nov. 12 to educate high school students on the college campus.

An inaugural cohort of 25 students representing the three Fort Mill high schools - Fort Mill, Nation Ford and Catawba Ridge - started taking three courses this fall. They arrive on the Rock Hill campus in the morning to take Public Speaking, Introduction to Sociology and Principles of Microeconomics, and then return to their high schools for lunch and afternoon classes.

President Edward Serna '02 called the announcement a big milestone between Winthrop and the Fort Mill School District.

"These students are pioneering a new pathway for future generations of Fort Mill students by demonstrating the academic ambition, dedication and readiness to excel at college-level coursework," he told the crowd gathered in the second-floor meeting area of Byrnes Auditorium.

Serna mentioned that more initiatives are planned, including Winthrop's highly anticipated Fort Mill instructional site, which is set to open in fall 2027.

Fort Mill School District Superintendent Grey Young '01 said that Winthrop has consistently provided some of the best teacher candidates and leaders to the area for years. This partnership, he said, is taking that to an entirely new level.

"We are thrilled to partner with Winthrop University to expand Dual Enrollment opportunities for our students," Young said.

Addressing the Dual Enrollment students in attendance, he said: "You've chosen to challenge yourselves, you've stepped outside your comfort zone and you've taken advantage of an opportunity that will help shape your futures. It takes commitment, it takes courage and it takes a willingness to push yourself even harder.… Our focus [in Fort Mill Schools] is building a culture of excellence in everything you do, and I can't think of anything better than what today represents."

Erica Panton, Winthrop's director of Dual Enrollment, said the partnership provides a baccalaureate pathway for high school students. This first cohort-based pathway allows the students to complete three dual credit courses per semester over two years, beginning in the fall of their junior year, earning up to 37 transferable college credits while fulfilling high school graduation requirements.

Nation Ford High School juniors Piper Land and Cameron Schwede talked about how the partnership has allowed them to explore different courses and career paths, and learn more about themselves.

"I've realized it's about so much more than earning credits," Schwede said. "It's about preparing for the opportunities ahead."

Both are taking college courses that they may otherwise not have taken and love them.

Winthrop faculty member Alex Tsiukes said he has enjoyed working with the Dual Enrollment students in his Principles of Microeconomics course. "The Fort Mill students have been a wonderful, engaged group, and I think the partnership has worked well," he said. "I especially appreciate that students get a genuine college experience."

Another faculty member, Bonnye Stuart, is teaching an online speech course. "I can say they are very diligent and responsible. They get their assignments in on time and put a lot of effort and thought into their projects," she said.

For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, Winthrop news and media services manager, at [email protected] or at 803/323-2404 or Joe Burke, Fort Mill School District's chief communications officer, at [email protected].