Got College? San Juan Hills Does

Starting next semester, students at can take a college class without ever leaving their campus.

is coming to them.

In the first program of its kind for , Saddleback will not only offer the class at San Juan Hills, but will do so during the regular school day.

Capo's Board of Trustees approved the program Monday.

“We’re very excited about this," Saddleback College President Tod A. Burnett said. "This is where education is going in the state and in the nation. All students should be taking this kind of course during their high-school careers.”

Capo Unified spokesman Marcus Walton said one purpose of the program is to remove the barrier of transportation for students who can’t get to Saddleback’s campus in Mission Viejo.

The course is from the applied psychology major and is titled Educational and Vocational Planning, said Jennie McCue, spokeswoman for the college.

According to the college’s website, the class is “designed to assist students to clarify career and educational goals and to develop an academic plan to reach those goals.”

“They’re career prep classes to help students plan an academic path,” McCue said. They're especially good if a student has figured out what major or trade to pursue after high school.

The class will count as an elective for high-school graduation purposes and as credit that transfers to whichever college a student pursues after leaving San Juan Hills, according to the memorandum of understanding between Capo Unified and Saddleback College.

Just like when a high school student takes a class at the college campus, the course offered at the high school will be free of charge, McCue said.

Interested San Juan Hill students need to sign up at the college’s website, she added.