Off to college early at Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology - The Boston Globe

Over the last 10 years, about 1,000 students from four Boston public high schools have taken free classes at the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in the South End.

Starting in spring, students at all of the city’s 30-plus public high schools can get a head start on college through the expansion of the institute’s early college program. “The expansion . . . will allow more students from underserved communities to earn a college degree in high-demand technical fields faster and with less debt than a four-year university,” Anthony Benoit, the institute’s president, said in a statement.

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Students will receive free tuition, fees, and books to earn college credits while still enrolled in high school. One class typically costs about $2,100, an official said. Credits can be put toward a degree at Benjamin Franklin, or transferred to another college, the statement said.

Since the program started in 2009, about 100 to 150 students each year have enrolled from Madison Park Vocational Technical High School, Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Tech Boston Academy, and Charlestown High School. By opening the program up to students in all of the city’s high schools, the institute hopes to boost enrollment to about 200 kids per year, said Marvin Loiseau, dean of recruitment.

Boston School Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said the expanded program will put more students on a path to success.

“By providing college-credit courses . . . we’re eliminating a barrier to real-world skills our students need to succeed after graduation,” Cassellius said in a statement.

Benjamin Franklin, founded in 1908, is one of the city’s oldest institutions for technical education. Rooted in the legacy of one of America’s founding fathers, the college started with a matching gift from industrialist Andrew Carnegie.

About 50 percent of the students who have so far taken part in the early college program go on to enroll at Ben Franklin after graduating from high school, said Loiseau.

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Students in all grades are eligible to apply for the program, but it is most popular with juniors and seniors, he said.

Students who apply are given an exam to gauge their skill level.

“We don’t want to set them up to fail,” Loiseau said. “If a student doesn’t perform well [on the exam], they have the opportunity to take remedial classes first.”

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Sofia Saric can be reached at sofia.saric@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @sofia_saric.

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