College Preparation

Get Started

Step 1:  You have earned your high school diploma or GED and want to improve your skills and prepare for college.
Students improve their placement into credit classes by taking our low cost/no cost courses.

Step 2:  You have completed our Steps to Enroll.

Step 3:  You have determined when and where you will take your classes.
Within 3 business days of submitting the student intake form, a staff member from the ABSE department will be in touch with you to discuss your interest in classes.

Courses

College Preparation and Transition: These courses prepare learners who need to build or brush up on college readiness skills for post-secondary education, including math, reading, writing, and student success principles. Students learn how to successfully navigate the college system, explore career/degree options, practice time/self-management, while completing coursework aligned to credit level programs.

Language Development Courses

Level C: Reading and Writing Fundamentals for GED and College/Career Readiness

This is a reading and writing class that helps students improve their basic skills as the foundation for the GED test, College or Career readiness. 

Students will practice ways to better understand what they read and how to express their thoughts and ideas in writing. Students will learn strategies for reading closely in order to identify main themes and supporting evidence, and develop writing skills to be able to create organized text-based responses. Readings will be anywhere from one paragraph to several pages. Writing activities will include one to several logical and detailed paragraphs, working toward an essay format. Social studies and science content will be introduced

This is a good option for students who would like to take their time to build basic reading and writing skills in order to progress to the next level for GED or college preparation.

Level D/E: Reading and Writing for College and Career Success 

This is a reading and writing class that helps students enter and succeed in college by building stronger strategies in order to understand increasingly complex academic texts and be able to communicate thoughts and ideas in multiple writing formats including academic essays. 

Students explore college degrees, learn to navigate college systems, and build student success behaviors such as time management and learner engagement. Students will evaluate and analyze readings in order to write about their thoughts and ideas. Readings will range from one page to several pages and range in complexity. Writing activities will range from short responses to multiple page essays. 

This class is a good option for students who have a strong reading background and would like to accelerate into their college program.

Bridge to College

This course is combined in a Learning Community with Level D/E Reading and Writing for College and Career Success and College Ready Math. Students will be enrolled into all three classes unless otherwise determined by the instructor.

Students will: Explore career options and degree programs, reflect on goals, create an action plan, explore scholarship options, gain an understanding of placement scores for college writing and math courses, connect with supportive staff across campus, learn about tutoring centers, and navigate through college admissions and enrollment.

Math Development Courses

Level B: Fundamentals of Math

This course will develop knowledge and skill in operations with whole numbers, decimals and benchmark fractions; place value; estimation; problems involving measurement and time; representing data with a bar graph; perimeter and area of squares and rectangles; introduction to very basic algebraic thinking.

Level C: Strategic Problem Solving

This course will develop knowledge and skill in operations with large numbers, longer decimals, and improper and mixed fractions; ratios and proportions; multi-step word problems; order of operations; 1-step equations; marking points on a graph; making a line graph for a set of data; computing volume of a box. 

Level D: Foundations for College Math

This course will develop knowledge and skill in operations with positive and negative numbers; ratio and proportion; solving 1- and 2-step equations and inequalities; graphing linear equations; order of operations; scientific notation; computing circumference, area, surface area and volume for various shapes; mean/median/mode; simple probabilities. 

Level E: Algebra Essentials

This course will develop knowledge and skill in  exponents and roots; solving multi-step problems; simplifying and evaluating expressions; solving equations and inequalities; factoring expressions; graphing the solutions of equations and inequalities; systems; functions. 

College Ready Math

The content of this course overlaps D and E levels, with an emphasis on building a strong foundation for either the algebra/calculus college pathway or the non-STEM pathway. In addition, to math content, there is strong emphasis on study skills, testing strategies, and utilization of college resources.

Scholarships & Tuition Waivers 

In addition to our college preparation classes, ABSE has several resources available to help you transition to college classes once you're academically ready.

6-credit Tuition Waiver: Graduates of our GED preparation program or ABSE College Ready Cohort are eligible to apply for a 6-credit tuition waiver. Successful applicants are eligible for a 6-credit tuition waiver that can be applied toward classes taken at Lane Community College. In order to be eligible for the waiver, you must be a first time credit student at LCC, and:

  • Complete the GED in English or Spanish, or complete the ABSE College Ready Cohort program
  • Attend Lane’s GED Preparation classes or ABSE College Ready Cohort at least 40 hours in a 10-week period
  • Complete CASAS pre- and post-testing in the ABSE department
  • Meet all other criteria to enroll as a credit student at Lane Community College
  • Complete the GED Tuition Waiver Application and submit it for consideration within 3 terms of completing the ABSE program.

Scholarship Opportunities at Lane - The Lane Community College Foundation offers many scholarship opportunities for students.

Career Explorations

Lane offers a wealth of information to guide you in your pursuit of a career. Career Pathways is a great place to start. Visuals help you chart your course from one-year certificates, to two-year associate's degrees, four-year degrees and beyond in high-demand occupations.

For more information

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, or call or visit a Lane ABSE site near you.