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More high school students taking UConn courses

Posted on Sep 19, 2010

By Frank Juliano, Photos by Autumn Driscoll
©2010CONNECTICUT POST reprint - September 19, 2010

Students at many area high schools are doing more than looking ahead to college; they are taking actual college courses for credit.

The largest program, the Early College Experience offered by the University of Connecticut, certifies high school instructors as adjunct professors, allowing them to teach UConn courses using the same syllabus and grading rubric as on the Storrs campus.

Fairfield Warde, Fairfield Ludlowe, Stratford, Bunnell, Joseph A. Foran and Jonathan Law in Milford and Lauralton Hall are among the 148 high schools in the state participating in the UConn program.

ECE participants are not guaranteed admission to UConn, said Jennifer Griffin, the program's marketing director. But the credits earned are transferable to any college or university that accepts UConn credits if students go elsewhere, she said.

Lauralton seniors Casey DelBosso and Maggie Mellott are taking the UConn course Fundamentals of Music Theory' this semester, from instructor Margy Sargent.

"The ECE class is definitely more challenging,'' DelBosso said. "You are expected to work by yourself more, not to be guided step by step.''

Susan Carvar, who teaches UConn's biology course at Lauralton as well as some of the high school's science courses, said that material is covered in more detail in the college-level course.

"A pre-requisite for the ECE course is that they have to have taken our honors biology (class),'' Cavar said. "But most of our science textbooks are college texts, and we cover a lot.''

Rachel Roberts, a junior, recalled that when she began Courtney Dwyer's American History ECE course, the Lauralton instructor said "Welcome to college'.

"It's not the teacher's responsibility to hold your hand at that level,'' Roberts said. "It's much more independent, freestyle learning.''

Lauralton is participating in the UConn ECE program for the first time this year, site director Jan Powers said, and seven instructors certified by the university are offering seven courses to a total of 66 students.

Stratford High is offering UConn courses in French, American history and political science, while across town at Bunnell students are taking French, Spanish physics and music, among others.

Students in Milford's high schools can take the same courses for ECE and Advanced Placement credit, said acting Superintendent R. Michael Cummings Jr.

Although the ECE program has existed in some form since 1955, the number of high school students taking the UConn courses has more than doubled since 2005, to more than 8,000 this year compared to 3,800 five years ago, Griffin said.

The same course that costs $500 per credit on the Storrs campus costs participating high school students $25 per credit, Powers of Lauralton said.

"My parents are very happy that I'm building my transcript and saving money,'' Roberts said.

Thomas Murphy, spokesman for the state Department of Education, said that UConn's program and similar ones at other colleges comply with the state's Secondary School Reform plan.

A state law that will take effect next July 1 requires all high schools to offer advanced placement courses in some form, he said.

Housatonic Community College has several programs similar to UConn's, spokesman Anson Smith said. "We have the Middle College program where high school students come to the college for dual credit, and we have the high-school partnership program where qualified high school students can take courses here for free.''

Fairfield University allows academically-eligible high school juniors and seniors to take courses on campus, on a space-available basis, with the university's current students, program coordinator Patricia Pivernik said.

All of these efforts are helpful to students, said Murphy of the DOE. "We encourage any college level coursework and ... we are also encouraging more collaboration between college and high school faculties to make sure that the high school curriculum is consistent with expectations on the college campus, especially in the areas of math, science and engineering,'' he said.

Click here to view this article at Connecticut Post online.



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