Beaufort Schools are bringing college to high school students county-wide

Local high school students could complete college qualifications and hold associate’s degrees in the coming months.

Beaufort County School District and the Technical College of the Lowcountry have established a partnership that allows high school students in the area to earn associate’s degrees before graduating from high school.

The program, called Tides, offers dual enrollment to high school students in Beaufort County and is now in its second year. Its first day this year is on Wednesday.

Students who join the program in their freshman year have the opportunity to earn two associate’s degrees by the time they graduate. In later years of the program, students will also have the opportunity to earn different certifications in areas such as computer technology and business administration.

The program is also offered at no cost to students and their families. The school district pays TCL for classes with funds from the board-approved budget, according to Taylor Wellborn, executive director of admissions, enrollment and student success at TCL.

Students in Tides attend classes at TCL New River campus in Bluffton or Beaufort Mather campus in Beaufort.

First day of school

Packed in an auditorium at TCL on Wednesday, the first and second ever cohort of students were learning how to navigate the platform necessary for class. There are 85 students total, and 17 are sophomores.

Each student sat in their seat, excited for what their unique high school experience would look like this year.

“I wanted the freedom that high school would not allow,” Jenson Gooding, a sophomore who wants to be a computer scientist on the associate of science track.

For the students who don’t have their plans laid out for what they want to do in college or as an adult, they believe this program will help them find their way.

For Vince Mathison, a freshman this year, his high school classes were too easy.

“I’m here because I wanted something like, more challenging than just a regular high school,” Mathison said.

Freshmen this year will declare their science or arts track at the end of the first semester.

In the sophomore cohort, there are only two students who are on the Associate of Arts track; the rest are on the science track.

Who qualifies for Tides?

All students in the Beaufort County school district can apply to Tides. If a student in a neighboring county or private school wishes to attend, they would need to “choice into the school district,” Wellborn said. Once they are accepted into the district, they can apply.

The application considers:

• If a student is enrolled in the Beaufort County School District
• A legal U.S. citizen or resident
• Must have a 3.0 GPA or above
• Scored in the 70th percentile or higher for PSAT

These are just part of the criteria; the application looks at the student as a whole. It is determined by both TCL Admissions and BCSD.

How classes work

Most of the classes are being taught by TCL faculty. There are a few supplemental high school classes that are taught by BCSD teachers.

Full-time faculty at TCL can teach up to six classes. Faculty selected to teach Tides provide instruction in one or two of the Tides classes along with their other courses at the institution.

“Just for a really good example, Spanish, we offer two years of Spanish here at TCL, but there is an introductory Spanish at the high school level that really gives them the strong foundation to be successful,” Wellborn said. “So they take high school Spanish in their first semester here with us as freshman, and then in their next semester, they enroll immediately into our Spanish 101, so that they continue to build on that.”

Class credits taken in Tides can be applied to four-year institutions in South Carolina, such as USC and Clemson. Other schools, such as private and out-of-state, may also recognize them.

Getting ahead in school is why sophomore Ashley McDonnell, an aspiring aerospace engineer, chose Tides.

“It was an opportunity to get ahead in my classes,” McDonnel said. “I want to go into a very hard program or degree in college, so I want to get ahead on that.”

In the first semester, students will take all of the same courses. In their next semester, they move to more focused classes within their track, arts or science.

Certifications will be available for students in their third and fourth years in Tides.

More about the program can be found on the TCL website.

This story was originally published August 8, 2025 at 9:33 AM.