1. Concurrent Enrollment Policy An Update on Recent Changes

2. Preview Working Definitions Actions by Regional Accreditors Actions by MDHE / DESE Accreditation by NACEP Emerging Opportunities

3. Concurrent Enrollment Definitions Dual Credit – Courses taught in the high school by, by a qualified high school teacher, for both high school and college credit. Dual Enrollment – Courses taken by high school students at a college or university (or online) in which a qualified college faculty member is the instructor. The course counts for college credit and may count for high school credit if the school so chooses. Competency-Based Credit – DESE rules permit high schools to grant high school credit based on the completion of certain learning objectives. Many universities across the nation are also experimenting with delivering college coursework in a competency-based, self-paced manner. In Missouri a competency-based approach delivered by a University, or online, would typically be considered dual enrollment. Definitions are not the same in every state. Concurrent Enrollment is a useful umbrella term and is used by NACEP to describe Dual Credit.

4. Higher Learning Commission Rules

5. Higher Learning Commission and Faculty Qualifications The Higher Learning Commission issued revised versions of its policy for Faculty Qualifications in October 2015 and March 2016. These guidelines were designed to enforce existing standards and clarify sources of ambiguity. The policy gives universities until September 1, 2017 to be in full compliance. Programs with existing dual credit partnerships that are not in compliance can seek extensions that force compliance by September 2022 if they can demonstrate that they cannot come into compliance by then.

6. Specific Limitations of HLC Policy High school faculty must hold the same qualifications as adjunct faculty at the partner college or university. HLC’s minimum expectations for faculty qualifications at the undergraduate level is a Master’s degree with at least 18 graduate hours in the subject matter being taught. If the faculty member holds a Master’s degree in a discipline other than the discipline in which they are teaching, they must have 18 graduate hours on top of the Master’s, and those must be specific to the discipline of instruction. In some fields, the 18 hours must come from a narrower sub-set, or “sub-discipline” of coursework. For example, a person with a Master’s in Math, may not automatically be able to teach Statistics. A faculty member with a Master’s in American Literature may not be able to teach Composition. “the attainment of a Master of Education degree does not demonstrate a qualification to teach dual credit courses in a particular discipline unless it is demonstrated that the content of that faculty member’s Master of Education degree is sufficiently related to the discipline of the dual credit course.” GRAY AREA.

7. Tested Experience: “No Help Here” HLC policy currently allows limited exceptions for faculty based on “tested experience” in the field of the coursework, but does not currently allow the duration of a teacher’s career, student performance on standardized tests, or prior dual credit teaching experience to count as “tested experience.” Examples of tested experience could be an experienced business executive teaching a business class, a journalist teaching a journalism class, etc. HLC’s policy seems EXTREMELY restrictive in the application of this policy and NACEP’s accreditation rules, do not appear to allow for this exception.

8. HLC on Career and Technical Education Qualifications “Faculty teaching in career and technical education college-level certificate and occupational associate’s degree programs should hold a bachelor’s degree in the field and/or a combination of education, training and tested experience.”

9. MDHE Dual Credit Policy

10. Process A team of college and university representatives worked on a policy revision during 2014-2015. A final policy was issued in June 2015 and became effective on January 1, 2016. Where it is more strict, or more detailed, MDHE policy trumps HLC policies. Recently passed legislation requires annual certification that each University is in compliance with these policies.

11. MDHE: Program and Curriculum Standards Must duplicate the requirements and have the same rigor as their college counterparts. Assignments, grading criteria, textbooks, syllabi, and assessment methods must be the same. All high school students enrolled in a dual credit course must meet the same requirements for completion of the course, whether or not the student is simultaneously registered for college credit. Colleges should use comparable deadlines for enrollment, withdrawal, fee collection, etc.

12. MDHE: Student Eligibility All prospective dual credit students must meet the same requirements for placement into individual courses, (e.g., English or mathematics) as those required of on-campus students. Institutions that use placement tests (e.g., ACT, ASSET, COMPASS) to assess students’ readiness for college-level, individual courses must ensure that these students score at proficient or above on the ACT or other common placement test as adopted by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education and outlined in the Principles of Best Practices in Remedial Education.

13. MDHE: Student Eligibility Grade LevelGPA (based on 4.0 scale) SignatureStandardized Test? 9 th 3.0Signed letter from Principal or Guidance Counsel; Written Parental Permission 90% or Above on the ACT or SAT 10 th 3.0Signed letter from Principal or Guidance Counsel; Written Parental Permission 11 th and 12 th 3.0Automatic Eligibility (Signatures Not Needed) Automatic Eligibility (Not Needed) 11 th and 12 th 2.50-2.99Signed letter from Principal or Guidance Counsel; Written Parental Permission

14. National Alliance for Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships National Dual Credit Accrediting Body

15. NACEP Significance MDHE expects colleges and universities to seek NACEP accreditation. For new providers, they need to be operating for at least 4 years before they can seek accreditation. Institutions that are not NACEP accredited must be reviewed by a Missouri review panel.

16. Important Features of NACEP Requirements Accreditation has five features: – Curriculum Standards – Faculty Standards – Student Qualification Standards – Assessment Standards – Program Evaluation Standards

17. Curriculum Standards Comparable titles, numbers, credits, and descriptions. Courses reflect the pedagogical, theoretical and philosophical orientation of the sponsoring college/university departments. Faculty site visits (annual) ensure that college/university courses offered through the CEP are the same as the courses offered on campus (verifying features such as comparability of syllabi, textbooks, assignments, and assessments).

18. Faculty Standards Instructors are approved by the respective college/university academic department and meet the academic department's requirements for teaching the college/university courses. The college/university provides new instructors with discipline-specific training and orientation regarding, but not limited to, course curriculum, assessment criteria, pedagogy, course philosophy and administrative responsibilities and procedures prior to the instructor teaching the course. The college/university provides annual discipline-specific professional development activities and ongoing collegial interaction to address course content, course delivery, assessment, evaluation, and/or research and development in the field. The CEP ensures CEP instructor participation. Procedures address instructor non-compliance with the college/university’s expectations for courses offered through the CEP (for example, non- participation in CEP training and/or activities).

19. Student Standards The college/university officially registers or admits students as degree-seeking, non-degree seeking, or non-matriculated students of the college/university and records courses administered through on official college/university transcripts. The CEP ensures its students meet the course prerequisites of the college/university. The CEP provides students and schools with a comprehensive publication that outlines rights and responsibilities of enrolled college/university students.

20. Assessment Standards Students are held to the same standards of achievement as those expected of students in on campus sections. The college/university ensures that students are held to the same grading standards as those expected of students in on campus sections. Students are assessed using the same methods (e.g., papers, portfolios, quizzes, labs, etc.) as students in on campus sections.

21. Evaluation Standards Conduct end-of-term student university/college course evaluations for each course section offered through the CEP. Conduct an annual survey of alumni who are one year out of high school. Conduct a survey of alumni who are four years out of high school at least once every three years.. Conduct surveys of participating high school instructors, principals, and guidance counselors at least once every three years.

22. Emerging Opportunities State: SB 997 authorizes the creation of a dual credit scholarship fund that would make $500 available from the state to support tuition for each qualified student up to 50% of the cost of coursework. Federal: Experimental sites initiatives at the federal level are exploring the use of Pell Grants to pay for dual credit (no universities in this area). Federal: Recent K-12 reauthorization includes provisions that could lead to block grants and other resources for supporting dual credit in the future. Truman: Looking for grant opportunities to foster new initiatives in the concurrent enrollment space.