North Shore Community College is getting a financial boost to help prepare area high school students for college.

Last week, Gov. Maura Healey’s administration announced that it would award NSCC $40,000 for Fiscal Year 2024 for the school’s Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership (CDEP) grant program.

“Early college programming is proven to be a strong motivator for college attendance as well as a way to break down equity barriers in education,” NSCC President William Heineman said. “NSCC is proud to have a full portfolio in this arena, along with the Commonwealth’s first on-campus early college high school in the Frederick Douglass Collegiate Academy in Lynn.”

CDEP provides opportunities for high school students to take college-level courses and earn credit toward high school completion and their future college degrees.

Additionally, CDEP eases the transition from high school to college by allowing students to get a head start on their college careers and provide academic experiences to qualified students who otherwise may not have access to an early college experience.

Massachusetts Department of Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega thanked NSCC for its support in giving high school students a head start in college.

“And thank you for your commitment to increasing college participation through dual enrollment activities, particularly for low-income, underrepresented, and first-generation college students,” Ortega said. “Through this funding and your continued support, we hope to expand access to great educational opportunities for every student in the Commonwealth.”

NSCC’s CDEP grant program serves non-matriculated students via Early College Designation programs with Danvers High School, Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School, Lynn Classical High School, Lynn English High School, Lynn Vocational Technical Institute, Salem High School, Frederick Douglass Collegiate Academy, and Saugus Middle High School.