Category Archives: Newsletter – Spring 2012 – Vol. 18 | No. 2

New York State, like many other states, is looking for ways to fund tuition for early college students. Statistics from the New York state MCNC early colleges demonstrate that they are serving 78% of students that are eligible for free and reduced lunch and 90% children of color. If the state provides support by using existing Tuition Assistance Program funds for students in early colleges, all of our schools would be eligible for these resources. Since our early college students are not matriculated, the resources would be available to the schools directly. Currently the MCNC early colleges use a variety of funding sources including the per pupil allotment, CUNY waivers, and college and high school resources. This funding stream is very important to the long-term sustainability of early colleges.

Since transitioning to an early college, reflective practice has surfaced a greater need to accelerate the development of student college readiness. Where is the tipping point at which students lack college readiness? When do students really need to be college ready? In order to address these questions MMEC has re-envisioned the way in which it delivers core content and has pushed Dr. David Conley’s concepts into higher gear with the development of a new English II curriculum that was piloted two years ago and refined last year. The new course, co-created by Amy Cox and Katie Carr, MMEC English Teachers, seamlessly integrates Conley’s Key Cognitive Strategies into the ELA core content standards both transparently and deliberately.

According to Cindi Scheuer, Henry Ford Community College instructor and HFEC liaison, 24 students are graduating, 14 of whom will receive an associate’s degree in addition to a high school diploma. Ten other students have completed more than 40 college credits, thus providing them with a head start on their college careers. Many graduating students have been accepted at major four-year colleges and universities, including the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Eastern Michigan University, Central Michigan University, even DePaul University in Chicago.

All around the country, new middle and early colleges are opening their doors. Many of them are brand new schools; others involve existing schools that are adopting all or portions of the early college model. To help them to make decisions about how to structure their schools, NCREST drew on the existing research literature. Each of the following sections summarizes available research on a key question pertaining to student success in college courses.

What are the typical “starter” college courses for Early College students?
Should early college students take college courses singly or in groups?
What types of support are common in Early Colleges?