NEWARK, NJ — A new partnership between the Newark Public School District and Rutgers University is being touted as a "game changer" for local high school students who want to get an early jump on their college careers.

Thanks to the new pact, high school students in the Newark district will be able to earn college credits for taking certain courses, such as Introduction to Psychology and Introduction to Caribbean Studies, the Newark City of Learning Collaborative (NCLC) announced Monday. Students at all Newark public high schools are eligible to participate in the free college credit program, a Rutgers spokesperson said.

Hopefully, the ability to earn credit at a major institution such as Rutgers – while still in high school – will help to boost the number of Newark high school students that finish college, school administrators said. The partnership was recently formalized in the first-ever dual enrollment memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Newark Public Schools (NPS) and Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences-Newark.

"Our goal… is to help as many Newark residents as possible to get into and through college, which is why we are excited to provide this opportunity for students to earn college credit while still in high school," Executive Director Reginald Lewis said. "By expanding access to more rigorous course options, like dual enrollment, we ensure that more of our students are on track to graduate high school on time, as well as graduate ready to do college-level work." "This dual enrollment opportunity will undoubtedly be a game changer for students," said Angela Mincy, principal of Barringer High School. "What better gift can we give our youth than exposure and access to high quality opportunities to push their intellectual and physical boundaries beyond the traditional high school walls?"

One unique detail about the program is that students take the courses on the Rutgers-Newark campus, rather than taking online courses or courses offered at their local high school.

Nearly 40 high schoolers in Newark will join their collegiate peers as the spring semester kicks off at Rutgers this week, officials said.