Numbers For Eastern's Dual Enrollment High School Program Soaring

WILLIMANTIC, CT — The numbers for Eastern Connecticut State University's dual enrollment program with Connecticut high schools have skyrocketed, to the benefit of the region's students, school officials said Wednesday.

The program is supported, in part, by a three-year, $178,000 grant from the Connecticut Department of Education.

The program allows students from 16 high schools to earn high school and college credit concurrently and has grown from 450 students in fall 2023 to 730 this fall. The program's participation has more than doubled over the past three years, officials said.

Students take the Eastern courses in their home high school, taught by high school teachers who have been approved by the University faculty. Each course also features an Eastern professor who serves as a liaison to the high school instructor, creating an "ongoing collaboration" between participating high schools and the corresponding Eastern academic department.

The dual credit program is intended to save students money by giving them a head start on college credits and possibly enabling them to graduate from college earlier, officials said. Statistics show that dual credit courses also have a positive impact on students' college enrollment and access, according to the state.

Colleges must approve the courses to ensure they meet their standards and align with their curriculum, and the high school teachers involved must submit credentials indicating they have the expertise to teach a college-level course.

"We are excited about giving more students access to concurrent courses," said Chris Drewry, director of co-curricular academic programming at Eastern. "We are equally committed to ensuring that the quality of the curriculum and the students' academic experience is up to Eastern standards. In addition to giving students the opportunity to earn college credits earlier, this program allows students to recognize that going to college can be a reality in their future. We are also able to give access to more families with financial need."

The $178,000 grant is being used to pay for high schoolers' visits to Eastern's Willimantic campus, faculty stipends to enhance curriculum and funds to support the program's accreditation.

"The additional funding allows us to bring dual enrollment students to engage in classrooms on our campus," Drewry said. "Getting here with a group of classmates to tour the grounds, engage with faculty and dine with our students allows them the chance to get much more comfortable with the idea of attending college. And ideally it will get them excited about applying to colleges, as well."

The state grant addresses both access and quality by requiring Eastern to waive tuition for low-income families and committing to go through accreditation. The National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Programs is the accrediting body, which has a three-year accreditation process for initiatives such as Eastern's dual credit program.

Participating high schools include E.O. Smith, RHAM, Newtown, Norwich Free Academy, Coventry, Plainfield, New London, Killingly, Bacon Academy, Rockville, Windham, Woodstock Academy and Bolton, with three new schools coming on board this fall — Thomaston, Fitch and East Hampton.

Some of the dual credit courses offered in high schools are also advanced placement classes. Students can choose whether to earn AP credits or college credits. The advantage of the dual credit option is that a student's college credit is based on an entire year's work rather than on one AP test at the end of the year, Drewry said.

Credits earned at Eastern are part of a student's transcript if they enroll at Eastern. If they enroll at another college, that college would determine whether to accept the credits.

Most do, Drewry said.

A special component of the program is STEM related.