MARIN COUNTY, CA – Want to earn credentialed high school diploma or a career certificate? You can now do so through the Marin County Free Library!

The Marin County Free Library recently introduced its Career Online High School, a pilot program supported by the state of California and public libraries statewide. The program enables local residents 19 years old and over to earn a credentialed high school diploma or a career certificate. It is available to library card holders who are willing to dedicate about 10 hours per week on coursework.

Applicants must have completed eighth grade and have basic English-language, computer and Internet skills. The average time needed to complete a high school diploma course is one year. "Demographics tell us that Marin has one of the country's highest education levels per capita, but there are many people here who didn't have the same opportunities growing up and had to join the workforce as teenagers," said Damon Hill, library services manager of Marin County Free Library. "We decided to offer this program to provide a fully accredited online program to complete high school education to make sure everyone has an equitable chance to succeed."

All courses are online and there are no textbooks. Each student is assigned an academic coach who offers support and additional instructional help when needed. The Marin County Free Library and the State Library are offering a limited number of free scholarships to qualified Marin adults.

Those who complete a prerequisite course with a score of 70 percent or higher within two weeks can qualify for a scholarship award. It would cost $1,000 or more to earn a diploma from similar programs without the library-sponsored scholarship.

The Career Online High School is available to MCFL through a partnership with Gale, a part of Cengage Learning. For more information, email the library at cohs@marincounty.org.