Special Interest
|
Special Interest |
|
Currently featured are two items of Special Interest: a call for information from the newly formed Political Information Committee and a look at dual credit, one of the concerns voiced at last October's conference.
Political Information Committee
The Political Information Committee of TYCA-Southwest was established by
the Executive Committee last year as a means of keeping you informed about which
issues are of interest to our membership and as a way of providing a forum for
discussing them. How do we know what those issues are? You tell us. A survey of
those attending last October's conference in New Orleans, for example, indicated
that topics of greatest concern were increased reliance on part-time faculty,
proliferation of distance learning classes, and the role of developmental education.
Other topics of some interest included student placement exams and dual credit/co-enrollment.
To provide us more information, I am asking that you complete the survey included
in this newsletter. Some of these issues we may be able to do something about.
Some, we won't. But we can discuss all of them. During TYCA-Southwest's annual
conference in Tulsa next October, the Political Information Committee will sponsor
at least one panel discussion or other session. This will give us all a chance
to talk. [Click here to go to the survey].
--David Lydic, Austin Community College Chair, Political Information Committee
Dual Credit
Currently a nation-wide educational trend, dual credit (also known as concurrent
enrollment) offers many opportunities and poses many problems. When dual credit
course contracts are forged between a high school and a college, a solid program
criteria must be in place to assure the high school students' success and to maintain
the college's educational standards.
Included in this site are the dual credit program criteria from Amarillo College (Amarillo, Texas) and Aims Community College (Greeley, Colorado). Dual credit policies vary from school to school; thus, the criteria from these institutions are by no means representative of all schools in the Southwest region.
For more information on dual credit policies throughout the six states in TYCA-SW, please contact each state's Executive Committee member listed on the Leadership page of this site.
Dual-Credit:
Program Description and General Information
The Dual-Credit Program is a cooperative partnership between an independent
school district and Amarillo College through which a student may be awarded
both college and high school credit in courses which meet the requirements of
both institutions. The high school will identify students who are eligible for
dual-credit courses and will recommend courses which potentially qualify for
dual-credit. Students who meet specific eligibility requirements are permitted
to enroll in those Amarillo College courses specified in the dual-credit agreement
and to earn credit toward high school graduation and college credit.
Teachers who teach the dual credit courses must meet the minimum requirements
of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Accrediting Agency (Masters
degree including 18 graduate hours in discipline unless SACS requirements permit
otherwise).
Dual-credit courses are joint college-level and high school courses that must
meet both high school and college standards.
The college faculty will meet with the high school faculty to match competencies
and identify courses to be offered for dual credit.
All dual-credit instructors will be involved in the same instructor/course evaluation
procedures as all Amarillo College faculty.
Claiming of ADA (Average Daily Attendance) is the responsibility of the independent
school district; however, appropriate guidelines are attached.
The faculty member who teaches the dual credit courses must record student grades
for the college course in a timely fashion as directed by the Office of the
Registrar and for the high school class as required by the high school.
The dual-credit agreement will be approved by the Superintendent of the ISD
and the President of Amarillo College based on the recommendation of the appropriate
individuals at each institution.
Program Options and Guidelines
Option 1 - A high school student enrolls in an Amarillo College course
independent of high school enrollment and the high school allows credit towards
high school graduation.
Option 2 - A high school student earns both high school and college credit
for a course taught in the high school by an Amarillo College faculty member
or a high school instructor who meets the minimum requirements of the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools Accrediting Agency (Masters degree including
18 graduate hours in discipline unless SACS requirements permit otherwise) and
who is approved by the appropriate Amarillo College department head.
Option 3 - the Amarillo College ITV course is completed in its entirety. Additional materials and requirements may be used by high school for portion of class. Dual-credit students earn both high school and college credit.
Option 4 - An Amarillo College instructor, as instructor-of-record, shares responsibility for the dual-credit course with the high school instructor. Enrolled students earn both high school and college credit. A variety of strategies may be used to accomplish this option. Specific guidelines are established by each department.
Student Guidelines
©Tyca-Southwest
1999. All rights reserved.