The Early College High School Initiative in the United States allows students to receive a
high school diploma
A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...
and an
associate degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree.
The fi ...
, or up to two years of
college credit
A credit is the recognition for having taken a course at school or university, used as measure if enough hours have been made for graduation.
University credits United States Credit hours
In a college or university in the United States, student ...
, by taking a mixture of
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
and
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
classes. This differs from
dual enrollment In the United States, dual enrollment (DE), also called concurrent enrollment, programs allow students to be enrolled in two separate, academically related institutions. Generally, it refers to high school students taking college or university cours ...
, where students are enrolled in a traditional high school and take college classes, whereas early college students take high school classes in preparation for full college workloads. At early colleges, students also have fewer high school classes because some of their college classes replace their high school classes. Early colleges differ from closely related middle colleges. ECHS students spend their school day at college, and go to their home school occasionally for events such as football games, homecoming, and prom.
The ECHS Initiative began in 2002 with funding from the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was l ...
, among others. The first early college in the United States, Bard College at Simon's Rock, was founded in 1966. Today, more than 230 early colleges across 28 states serve 50,000+ students.
Data
* 92% of early college students graduate from high school, versus the national rate of 69 percent.
* 86% of graduates enroll in college the next semester after high school graduation.
[Webb & Mayka (2011), p.9]
* 91% of early college graduates earn transferable college credit.
[Webb & Mayka (2011), p.8]
* 44% of graduates at schools open 4+ years earn at least one year of college credit.
* 24% of graduates at schools open 4+ years earn two years of college credit or an associate degree.
* 70% of early college students are students of color.
[Webb & Mayka (2011), p.3]
* 59% of early college students are classified as eligible for free or reduced lunch (used as a conservative estimate of how many students' families are low-income).
Most early colleges are funded to target first generation college, low-income families, and/or academically gifted students.
Intermediary partners
Fifteen intermediary partners work directly with early college schools, school districts, and postsecondary institutions. They provide start-up and ongoing technical support, guidance, and professional development for their networks of schools.
* Center for Native Education
* Center of Excellence for Leadership of Learning (CELL) at University of Indianapolis
* City University of New York
* Communities Foundation of Texas/Texas High School Project
* Foundation for California Community Colleges
* Gateway to College National Network
* Georgia Board of Regents
* Middle College National Consortium
* National Council of La Raza
* NC New Schools/Breakthrough Learning
* SECME, Inc.
*Surry Community College
* Utah Partnership for Education
* Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
See also
*
Dual enrollment In the United States, dual enrollment (DE), also called concurrent enrollment, programs allow students to be enrolled in two separate, academically related institutions. Generally, it refers to high school students taking college or university cours ...
*
Early entrance to college
Early entrance to college, sometimes called early admission or early enrollment, is the practice of allowing high school students to be accelerated into college, one or more years before the traditional age of college entrance, and without obtaini ...
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
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External links
Early Colleges home pageECHSI evaluation reportsby the American Institutes for Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Early College High School
Adolescence
Educational stages
School terminology
School types
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Early College High Schools