MURFREESBORO (AP) - Middle Tennessee State University is planning to expand its dual-enrollment program to offer more college-level classes to high school students.

The university will partner with Rutherford, Williamson and Bradley County high schools to offer a wider range of dual-enrollment courses at little to no cost for the students.

"It helps them prepare for that full-time college life, and it'll help financially," Phyllis Washington, the secondary schools coordinator for Rutherford County Schools said.

The classes will be offered on the university's campus or online, and students who pass will receive high school and college credits.

"Anytime we can expose more students to the rigor of college life and to the success of college life, we're better off in the long term," Oakland High School counselor Missy Blissard said.

Mike Boyle, dean of the University College at MTSU, said around 500 students will participate in the program statewide.

"Our number one goal is for students to get a feel for college," Boyle said. "When they matriculate, it won't be a culture shock."

The Daily News Journal reports (http://on.dnj.com/1J9cr3D) that a new state policy allowed tuition for the courses to be lowered to match the grant amount students can receive for their first two dual enrollment classes.