Welcome! If you are here for the “Earn CCS Credit While in High School” program, you are in the right place. My name is Eric Caster, and I will be your co-host this evening. Our main presenter tonight is Jane Stewart, who is the Director of Pre-College and Continuing Studies. Hi, Jane!

Before we begin, I want to let you know that we are recording this session to share it with others. If you have any questions, please feel free to enter them in the chat box at the bottom of your screen. We will address these questions either during the presentation or afterwards. At that point, you are welcome to unmute yourself and ask any questions aloud as well.

With that, I will turn things over to Jane.

Thank you, Eric. I’m Jane Stewart, the Director of Pre-College and Continuing Studies. It has been an absolute pleasure for me to meet high school students, see them go through art and design college, and launch into amazing careers. I love what I do, and I’m excited to share ways you can earn college credits.

In case you are not familiar with the College for Creative Studies (CCS), we are a fully accredited four-year art and design college located in Detroit. You will see a list of various majors in which you can earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Tonight, we will discuss three opportunities for you to start earning college credit before graduating from high school: the Pre-College Summer Experience, one-week summer classes that are non-credit, and the Fall Dual Enrollment program.

Let me explain each of these opportunities in detail. The Pre-College Summer Experience is a three-week program where we bring in 150 students from all over the United States and the world. During these three weeks, you will receive 90 hours of contact time. Imagine being in high school where you might be the only creative student, or there might be just a handful of creative kids. Now imagine 150 of them all in one place—that’s what the Pre-College Summer Experience is like.

Last year, we had students from Bulgaria, Korea, Mexico, China, and many other countries. We are unsure where everyone will come from this year, but we know we will have someone from Italy and possibly from Mexico. It’s an amazing experience to be surrounded by so many creative young people.

For every eight to ten students, we assign a mentor. These mentors are current undergraduate students at CCS, and they come from various majors such as Entertainment Arts, Transportation Design, and Illustration. They are there to help guide you through the Pre-College Summer Experience.

As I mentioned earlier, you can earn three college credits by completing this program. To have the credits transfer, you need to earn a grade of C or higher. The program will transfer to any college of your choice. The contact time consists of morning sessions from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., afternoon sessions from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and additional studio time in the evenings twice a week.

We have ten concentrations for students to choose from. One of them is Design 101, where students will work in Interior Design and Product Design, exploring aesthetics and creating design furniture that fits a cohesive environment.

In the Transportation Design course, students will design a vehicle for the future and will engage in activities like tape drawing to create orthographic views. This will help them visualize what their designs would look like in 3D. In Detroit, we have many industry professionals around, and last year, Michael Simco, the head of design for General Motors, attended our final presentations.

We also offer a Blender 3D Modeling course that is essential for game design, film industry, and special effects animation. Students will participate in gesture drawing to enhance their character development. Our Drawing Studio course focuses on perspective and three-dimensional work on 2D paper, making it an excellent choice for students looking to build their portfolios.

In our Illustration program, students will work on both hand-drawn and digital pieces, ensuring they leave with several portfolio-ready works. The 2D Hand-Drawn Animation course allows students to create short animations frame by frame, which will help them understand character development.

In the Film and Photo program, students will learn both still photography and videography while acquiring Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro skills. We also have classes focusing on character concept art and visual development, where students will create well-rounded characters along with their environments and props.

The Painting, Ceramics, and Metals course consists of one week of painting, one week of ceramics, and one week of metals, providing students with a comprehensive understanding of studio arts and crafts.

We not only have classes but also host guest speakers. Last year, Tim Flattery, a professional concept artist for Marvel and DC, shared his journey in the motion picture industry. We also offer weekend workshops that allow students to try various disciplines, such as glass blowing, block printing, installation art, and fashion illustration.

Field trips to the Detroit Institute of Arts, which is rated as one of the top art museums in the country, are also included in the program. Students will have the opportunity to meet peers and enjoy a good time together.

At the end of the program, we hold a student exhibition where everyone showcases their work, attended by faculty, staff, and industry professionals. If you attend the Pre-College Summer Experience as a resident student, your room and board are covered. If you live close to campus and are a commuter, your meals will be included.

Students who live out of town will be picked up by the CCS van upon arrival at the airport, where staff will be waiting in CCS t-shirts to greet them. We ensure a safe process, checking IDs to confirm their identity.

Most scholarships for the program have already been awarded, but there may still be a few available. If you have questions about scholarships, I can provide more information.

In addition to the Pre-College Summer Experience, we also offer one-week non-credit classes. These classes run Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Students can design and make their own sneakers or create characters using Blender. They can also participate in watercolor painting on location around Detroit or studio photography.

If you have questions about these non-credit courses, please let me know.

Eric, would you like to address the questions in the chat?

Sure, Jane. The questions in the chat are information and links that I am providing. Just so everyone knows, I have Jane’s contact information, including her phone number and email address, for any additional questions you may have after this evening. I also have links for the teen and youth classes as well as the CCS summer Pre-College program for further information. Additionally, Jane will discuss dual enrollment and AP credits shortly. I have a resource link that outlines the requirements for AP credits and the corresponding classes.

Please be sure to copy those links for your reference.

Thank you! We have two classes that are one week long and available online. One is Character Concept Art, led by artist Michael Wynn, who created the “Arms Masters” books and animations. The other is Automotive Design, which will also be offered online. These classes will be live over Zoom from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, allowing students from all over the country, and even some from Canada, to join in and work on their portfolio pieces.

As Eric mentioned, we will discuss dual enrollment courses for the 2024 Fall and 2024-2025 Winter semesters.

So, what is dual enrollment? It allows you to take actual college-level classes and earn three college credits. Many students can use these credits to fulfill both high school and college requirements. The advantage is that you will meet faculty, build your portfolio, and gain firsthand experience of what an art and design college is like. The studio classes will be more challenging than high school classes, involving more work. Another significant advantage is the cost savings.

Typically, a three-credit class at our art and design college costs about $5,200. However, dual enrollment is discounted to only $900 for students. If you live in Michigan and attend a Michigan high school, your school district will help underwrite the cost with Michigan tax dollars. For example, UDA Community Schools contributes $763 toward each three-credit class, resulting in a total cost of only $137 per class for those students.

If you attend a parochial school or are homeschooled, please reach out to us, as there may be options available to assist you.

Here are the classes we are offering on campus for in-person attendance. If you live within driving distance to Detroit or are a resident, you can enroll in these prerequisite courses, which are essential if you want to pursue a major.

If you are interested in Communication Design, you could take Typography 1, which is the first class that all fall freshmen take. If you are interested in Animation, you might want to take Intro to 3D Graphics to learn how to use the Maya 3D animation system. Drawing 1 is also an excellent class to build your portfolio.

When you apply for college admissions, they will consider your GPA and portfolio, so doing college-level work can boost your scholarship potential.

We also have online classes available if you live outside the area or if transportation is an issue in the fall. Courses available online include 2D Design, Digital Techniques, Drawing 1, Drawing 2, and courses in Entertainment Arts, Illustration, Product Design, Transportation Design, and Western Art History.

If you attend school in Michigan, for example, at Birmingham Schools, you could take these courses for $400 instead of $900, allowing you to complete your prerequisites while building your portfolio.

New this year, we also have an Animation track. If you are an Animation student, you can take Creative Visualization online in the fall, and in the winter, you can take Animation for Video Games.

If you want to learn more about how dual enrollment works, please reach out, and we will be happy to assist you. I want to give a huge shout-out to our fabulous staff for helping make all of this happen, and I am looking forward to another exciting year of the Pre-College Summer Experience!

Thank you, Jane. As I mentioned earlier, I have Jane’s contact information, so feel free to reach out to her if you have any additional questions or need assistance. I will also share the resources you can use to sign up for classes and learn more about dual enrollment.

Thank you for joining us this evening, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your night!