2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Recruiting consumes considerable resources for any post-secondary institution. Many institutions also have a mission of K-12 engagement. A concurrent credit system can help an institution fulfill its K-12 outreach mission and also provide valuable recruiting opportunities. This paper explores the process of creating and implementing a Concurrent Credit program.
Traditional dual credit courses are high school courses delivered by high school faculty, for which students can also earn college credit. This University did not participate in traditional dual credit courses because of concerns with course content and rigor. Alternatively, This University has allowed high school seniors, and in some cases juniors, to enroll in This University courses. While this made This University courses a possibility for high school students, very few where geographically close enough to a This University campus to take advantage of the opportunity. The challenge was to create a mechanism that would satisfy This University’s concerns regarding dual credit and still keep the course accessible to high school juniors and seniors. A system has been implemented to deliver university courses taught by university faculty on the high school campuses. High school juniors and seniors enroll in these courses as part of their conventional high school schedule. The students begins to build a university transcript and, in addition, the high school awards high school credit for the university course. This approach is referred to as Concurrent Credit to help differentiate it from conventional dual credit delivery mechanisms and thus mitigate This University’s concerns over course content and rigor.
The implementation of an introductory information systems development course in the Concurrent Credit model at A Local High School will be presented as an example. Specific topics include establishing a relationship with a high school, identifying courses that provide Concurrent Credit opportunities, scheduling, university faculty involvement and commitment, and pedagogical differences between high school and college students. Success rates, the K-12 outreach mission, and recruiting outcomes are also examined.