Buncombe County Middle College is a NC Cooperative-Innovative High School

As such, Middle College offers students the opportunity to earn their high school diploma on an accelerated pathway while also enabling them to pursue workforce certification and/or transferable college credit through courses offered at A-B Tech. 

What are the academic expectations for Middle College students?

Middle College adheres to the same instructional framework as all Buncombe County high schools. Middle College is an academic program for students who demonstrate the academic ability, maturity, motivation, and good decision making needed to succeed in a college setting combined with a non-traditional high school experience. 

High school classes are taught for honors credit by high school teachers. Middle College students select a personalized academic pathway when enrolling. Pathways enable students to obtain post high school goals, including work force certification and/or transferable college credits. 

Which high school classes do students need to have credit for before transferring to Middle College? 

Before attending Middle College students should successfully complete:

  • Health/PE

  • English I and English II 

  • Math I and Math II 

  • Earth & Environmental Science 

  • American History 1 

  • World History

  • All FF grades cleared for credit. Students cannot transfer to Middle College with FF grades or attendance failures. 


What are the conduct expectations for students at Middle College? 

To be a good candidate for Middle College, students need to demonstrate the following:

  • Regular school attendance 

  • Responsibility and maturity to attend classes on A-B Tech campus 

  • Very few discipline incidents 

  • Completing assigned work by deadlines

  • Minimum GPA requirements for select AB Tech courses 

  • Being respectful to others 

  • Showing respect to A-B Tech campus and use of campus spaces 

  • Recommendation of school counselor for Middle College 

 

How do I apply to Middle College? 

Middle College is open to rising 11th and 12th grade students. New students are enrolled at the beginning of each semester. Students interested in transferring to Middle College should complete the interest form on our website homepage. Students/Parents may also contact Middle College at (828)232-4123 and request information about enrollment. 

Which high school classes are offered at Middle College? 
 
Math III 
Math IV
English III 
English IV 
American History II 
Civics and Economics 
Physical Science 
Chemistry 
Biology  
Spanish I, II, III, and IV, Spanish Heritage I and II, or Chinese I and II 
NCVPS courses may also be available 

Math, English, History, and Science courses are honors level high school courses taught by Middle College high school teachers.  

Are students able to earn an Associate Degree while attending Middle College? 

All Middle College students have the option to take tuition free college classes at AB Tech in an area of study that meets their post-high college and career interests.
All students may chose to take advantage of a 5th year (or 13th grade) of high school to complete degree programs for free while still in high school. 

Students that enter Middle College at the beginning of their 11th grade year have the most time to complete these additional courses and are able to work toward the completion of an Associate Degree if they are willing to take academically rigorous course loads each semester, in the summer, and commit to a 13th grade of high school in order to take all the courses required for an Associate Degree.

Students entering Middle College during their 11th or 12th grade year may not have time to earn an Associate degrees, but do have time to complete career certificates and/or degrees in specific career areas, such as welding, construction, or cosmetology. 


Can Middle College students earn transferable college credit if they are not working toward an Associate Degree? 

Yes, Middle College students that want to earn college credits while in high school are strongly encouraged to do so. Middle College students are able to enroll in A-B Tech courses taught at A-B Tech while also taking their high school courses at Middle College. We encourage students to take advantage of the resources available to them as students on A-B Tech's campus, including courses that earn credit toward college degrees and/or career certifications.