As Georgia expands pathways for students to attend college during high school, West Georgia Technical College has named Kevin Cain as director of high school initiatives to directly interface with local school systems.

Cain, who has served as director of institutional advancement since 2006, began his new role Sept. 1, reporting to Provost Dr. Perrin Alford and overseeing WGTC’s application of Georgia’s new Move On When Ready program.

“There is no more exciting and dynamic area for education in Georgia today than high school dual enrollment,” WGTC President Steve G. Daniel said. “We recognize the opportunity Move On When Ready offers high school students, and we are putting Kevin in this role to make sure we have the resources in place to serve these students.”

WGTC has about 775 high school students enrolled this fall semester, up from 559 last fall. Cain said this is just the tip of the iceberg for dual-enrollment.

“Move on When Ready is a really great deal for high school students,” he said. “Most students can now attend WGTC completely free of charge, earning guaranteed college credit that will not count against their HOPE Scholarship later.”

“We’re going to be working hard over the next year to tell this story to school administrators, students and parents,” Cain said. “I believe we are going to see a significant increase in the number of students who are able to take advantage of Move On When Ready in the future.”

In his past work as director of institutional advancement, Cain had a role in building relationships with business and industry through the College’s Foundation. Alford said this will be an asset to the college’s dual enrollment agenda.

“Kevin understands how to build relationships with people across our seven-county service area,” he said. “He’ll be working directly with principals, counselors, parents and students to ensure West Georgia Tech offers exactly what they need.”

Georgia’s new Move On When Ready program corrals several different dual-enrollment options that had been offered to high school students into one cohesive unit. MOWR pays the entire cost of college courses for most students who qualify, including books.

“I encourage high school students and parents to take a look at Move On When Ready,” Cain said. “They can see significant savings in both time and money.”