Transcript Early College Start, Dual Credit, and College Connection Northeast Texas Community College April 11, 2008

Early College Start,
Dual Credit, and
College Connection
Northeast Texas Community College
April 11, 2008
Presenter
Luanne Preston, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Early College Start and College
Connection
Austin Community College
Phone: 512-223-7354
E-mail: [email protected]
Agenda
• Austin Community College
• Overview: Closing the Gaps
• Early College Start (ECS)
• How it works
•
Benefits
•
Results
• College Connection and ECS
• Best Practices
Agenda
• ACC’s Early College Model Development
• Working Models
• Lockhart High School
• Crockett College Academy
• How to Build the Model
• Questions/Answers
Austin Community College
• “One College” with 7 campuses
• 34,000 students in credit programs
• Strong commitment to high school
outreach programs
Closing the Gaps Overview
• Closing the Gaps warns that if more
Texans do not receive college degrees by
2030, the State could lose up to $40 billion
in annual household income.
• The goal is to increase student enrollment
in higher education by 630,000 by 2015.
• Most students will elect to start at a
community college.
• Austin Community College District expects
over 15,000 more students by 2015.
Source: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/ClosingtheGaps/ctgtargets_pdf.cfm?Goal=1
Early College Start
• Umbrella concept for ways students
can obtain free/low-cost college credit
while in high school
• Dual credit
• Co-enrollment
• Tech Prep/Credit-in-escrow
• Pre-enrollment services delivered at
high school campus
• ACC outreach program for rising
juniors and seniors
College Connection
• Response to “Closing the Gaps”
• Pre-enrollment services delivered at
high school campus
• ACC outreach program for 100% of
senior class
How ECS Works
Dual Credit/Co-enrollment
Students:
• Demonstrate college-readiness via
state-approved tests
• Meet all academic skills and college
course prerequisites
• Follow the college process for
enrollment – services brought to high
school campuses
• Register for ACC courses
How ECS Works
Dual Credit/Co-enrollment
• ACC waives tuition and fees
• for in-district students
• classes taught on high school campuses;
• $40 per-course fee for out-ofdistrict
• Students transfer credit
• back to high school
• use at ACC toward degree/certificate
• forward to 4-year institution
How ECS Works
Credit-in-Escrow
Students:
• Enroll for high school classes
articulated to college courses
• Complete with a “B” or better
• Upon graduation, apply at ACC
• CATEMA system indicates to student
that they have credit to claim
• ACC applies credit-in-escrow to
student’s college transcript
How College Connection
Works
Seniors
• Complete pre-enrollment process on
high school campus during senior
year
•
•
•
•
Application
Assessment testing
Orientation
Academic advising
How College Connection
Works
• Are ready-to-register by graduation
• May enroll at ACC as early as the
summer following graduation
Benefits of ECS
• Makes college accessible and
affordable
• Supports “Closing the Gaps” state goal
• Creates a college-going culture in high
school
• Increases college-going rate
• Creates enrollments for college
programs
• Creates familiarity with merits and
value of community college
Student Benefits
• Provides free/low-cost college
experience
• Fulfills advanced measures for Texas’
Distinguished Achievement Plan
• Enhances seamless transition to
college
• Satisfies high school graduation
requirement and earns college credit
(dual credit)
Student Benefits
• Allows completion of college/core
curriculum/general education transfer
courses
• Allows CATEMA* statewide registration
of Tech Prep credits
• Provides access to courses not
available in high school (e.g. Japanese,
Russian, photography)
*Career and Technology Education Management
application (system to enter, display, update, report data)
ECS and College
Connection
• Many student benefits are the
same
• Both programs reduce barriers to
college attendance
• Both programs are FREE
ECS Results
• 2,500 plus enrollments every semester
in ACC’s eight-county service area
• Participants from each of 57 servicearea high schools
• College classes offered on 37 high
school campuses
• ECS students enter after high school at
twice the annual rate for traditional
students
Post-High School Entry
to ACC (In-district)
2002-2004
50
40
30
20
10
0
ECS
45.7%
In-District
High
Schools
19%
Dual vs. Traditional
ACC Grade Distribution by Enrollment
Status (Dual vs. Traditional) and Delivery
Method (Distance Learning vs. Classroom)
Fall 2006
ECS Student Success
• ECS students have better success
indicators than traditional
students:
• Higher mean GPA
• Higher rate of retention
School District Benefits
• Offers large range of college-level
opportunities
• Offers increased “menu” options of
ECS college credit and AP
• Offers college-level programs that
students not considering AP can
access
• Offers classes not available in high
school curriculum
School District Benefits
• Provides alternative to “wasted” senior
year perception/criticism
• Reduces high school personnel units
as more students take college classes
• Offers potential to satisfy 4x4 needs
• Is convenient—ACC will offer classes
during school day on high school
campus
Advantages of ECS
• Students gain a true college
experience
• college academic content,
• typical college semester format (rather
than over an entire academic year)
• exposed to college professors who meet
SACS standards
• Students establish a college
transcript
• credit in-hand upon successfully
completing the college course
• no additional testing needed
Advantages of ECS
• Ease of transfer of college credit
• transfers seamlessly to public institutions in
Texas
• transfers easily to Texas private institutions
and out-of-state public and private
institutions
• Maturing experience for students
• follow college enrollment process
• attend new student orientation
• learn the mechanics of going to college
and college survival skills
Advantages of ECS
• Student success in focus at
ACC
• access to community college support
services (libraries, tutoring labs, computer
labs)
High School Partnerships
• College policies and procedures
• Office to implement/staffing to
support
• Formal agreements
College Connection
Results
• Increased college-going rate in
every participating school
• Increased enrollments at ACC
• More students traditionally
underrepresented in higher
education, particularly AfricanAmerican and Hispanic, than in
the general ACC student
population
How ECS and College
Connection Work Together
• A strong dual-credit program
reduces the need for College
Connection services
– Dual credit students don’t need to
apply, may require no assessment
testing, have already been through
orientation, and have college
experience
How ECS and College
Connection Work Together
• College Connection and ECS
services can be delivered at the
same time
– Takes a little more planning
• College Connection is one more
opportunity to help dual credit
students with college awareness
and college planning
Why Do Austin Community
College (ACC) and School
Districts Need to Partner?
• Our constituencies overlap (parents, students,
business communities)
• We have a common interest in raising
educational achievement levels
• Closing the Gaps applies to all of us
• Economic development depends on educated
trained workforce
• We have similar challenges
• Funding
• Accountability
• We are stronger when we work together
Early College High Schools/
Middle Colleges
• Goal
• Blend high school and college
• small school concept
• secondary and postsecondary
partners take joint responsibility for
students
• Curriculum is carefully designed so
that students can earn a high school
diploma while earning college credit
Early College High Schools/
Middle Colleges
• Key Characteristics
• Engages students in college-level
course work
• Ensures that students graduate with
a high school diploma and an
associate degree or 2 years of
transferable college credit
Early College High Schools/
Middle Colleges
• Provides access to college,
important to economically
disadvantaged students
• Assumes that all students will
complete a postsecondary credential
• Often targets students who are
underrepresented in higher
education
Early College High Schools
•
•
•
•
Academically rigorous classes
College classes as early as Grade 10
Program completed in 4-5 years
Grade 9 and 10 classes are taught by
school district teachers
• Provides guidance and coaching from
high school advisors through the first 2
years of college
Middle Colleges
• Close links with Tech Prep programs
• Flexible schedule allows students to
work
• High school diploma comes with
college degree
• Provides alternative to traditional
high school programs
Early College High Schools/
Middle Colleges
• Gates Foundation Support
• Requirements for dedicated space
on college campus
• Dedicated faculty
• At-risk students, dropout recovery
• Funding mechanism, usually ADA
(grant funding is for planning)
• Challenges for ACC
ACC’s Model
Development
• How does ACC’s model differ?
• Works with available college
resources
• Focuses on completion of core
curriculum
• Works within the tuition waiver
allowed by ACC policy
ACC’s Model
Development
• Academic year planning
• Can be started by any school in
summer or fall with sufficient
enrollment
• Timing and sequence of courses to
make sense for rising juniors and
seniors
• Hybrid faculty and facility use
• Transportation
ACC’s Model
Development
• Flexibility
• Cohort approach
• Application process
• Parent involvement
• Multiple points of entry
• Juniors and/or seniors
• During school year only
• Students can earn up to a year of
college credit
ACC’s Model
Development
• Flexibility
• Adding summer courses allows
students to complete the core
curriculum the summer following
graduation
Working Models
• Lockhart High School
• Crockett College Academy
• Austin ISD
Working Models
• Lockhart High School
• Smaller, rural school
• Academic year only (students take
summer classes on their own)
• Multiple entry points
• Classes offered in face-to-face
format at LHS
• ACC faculty travel to LHS
• Some LHS faculty are also ACC
adjunct faculty
Working Models
• Lockhart High School
• Students routinely graduate with 24
core college credits
• Savings example: $9,064
(approximate) for 24 hours tuition/
fees, plus room and board for two
semesters at Texas A&M
Lockhart High School
Classification
Notes
Fall Semester
ACC Course
Number
Seniors
Course Title
English
Composition I
ENGL 1302
English
Composition II
HIST 1301
U.S. History I
HIST 1302
U.S. History II
British Literature I
ENGL 2322
British Literature
II* or elective
Principles of
Microeconomics
GOVT 2305
U.S. Government
ENGL 1301
English
Composition I
ENGL 1302
English
Composition II
ECON 2302
Principles of
Microeconomics
GOVT 2305
U.S. Government
Successfully
completed ENGL 2322
ENGL 1301
& 1302
ECON 2302
Didn’t take
ACC classes
as juniors
ACC Course
Number
ENGL 1301
Juniors
Seniors
Course Title
Spring Semester
Crockett College
Academy
• Cohort approach
• Application process
• Selective for a combination of
attitude, ability, and collegereadiness
• School year and summer classes
Crockett College
Academy
• Across the street from ACC’s
newest South Austin Campus
• Proximity allows classes taught at
both locations
• College and high school-based
faculty
Crockett College
Academy
• Students:
• are largely Hispanic, economically
disadvantaged
• complete almost all of the core
curriculum while in high school
• have many course choices based on
eventual AA/AS and BA/BS degree
sought
Crockett College
Academy
• receive agreed-upon extra support in
first two semesters
• First class is “Effective Learning” taught
at CHS
• Accompanied to second class at SAC
by a high school faculty member to
reinforce “Effective Learning” concepts,
and to help stay on track for successful,
first core curriculum course completion
• All ACC student success services,
including tutoring, available to CCA
students
Crockett College Academy
How to Build the Model
• Find your public ed/higher ed
partner
• Start with an academic year plan
• What to offer
• When to offer
• How much to offer
• Promote to students/parents
How to Build…
• Make good use of faculty
resources
• Check for master’s-degreed high
school faculty or recent retirees (they
understand high schools and high
school students
• Enlist support of college department
chairs
• Designate a “point person” for
each institution
How to Build…
• Schedule classes
• Arrange transportation, textbooks,
supervision, college and campus
orientation
• Who does this?
• Register students (use best
method)
• Cohort registration by college to
ensure access to correct section(s)
How to Build…
• Students use registration with
guidance
• Monitor progress
• Check with faculty and students
• Check student grades/retention
• Refine system
• CCA will change application,
selected larger cohort for second
year
• LHS adding new courses
Questions/Answers
Find a copy of this presentation at:
www.austincc.edu/isd/ntcc/041108Presentation.ppt