Montana Governor Steve Bullock and Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian announced on Thursday a new initiative to increase access to higher education through dual enrollment for Montana high school students.

Deputy Commissioner for Higher Education Brock Tessman explained the ‘1-2-Free’ program.

“1-2-Free is a terrific program for Montana high school students and their families,” said Tessman. “It’ll mean a savings of over $1,000 a year, and that means across the state there’s a $5 million savings for high school students and their families.”

Tessman explains dual enrollment.

“High school students can take dual enrollment college credit courses on their high school campus or any Montana University System campus, and increasingly, they can take many of these courses online.”

Tessman said Montana taxpayers are not footing the bill for the ‘1-2-Free’ program.

“This is not on the backs of taxpayers, this is coming from the Montana University System, and we’ll work with college campuses to make sure that they are taken care of, as well,” he said. “It’s a reshuffling of resources in order to promote access to high school students across the state.”

The Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education has begun the implementation of “One-Two-Free” this academic semester. Students wishing to participate can find more information by visiting this site.

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