By Brian Boecherer

In 1954, University Provost Al Waugh was out of control. That is, it seems, no one wanted to control him as he started the University on its academic development plan of the age. Provost Waugh was known

for many celestial things; building the first planetarium in Connecticut (1954), his foundational texts

on sundials, and his creation of UConn Early College Experience.

In December of that year, Provost Waugh convened a special committee of University leadership and three high school principals to express his distress over how less-motivated students get the lion share of time from good teachers. In high school, he believed, it created a space for academically talented students to waste their time and lose their motivation. For this reason he wanted to build a relationship with local high schools to establish UConn courses at the high school to fight what would eventually be known as “senioritis”. The program was called  The Cooperative Program for Superior Students. By September 1955 seven schools were able to get instructors certified and for the first time in the United

States, 108 students were taking university courses on the high school campus.

Most of our partners are aware that UConn ECE offers an excellent opportunity for high school students

to get a head-start on their college career, and at a very affordable price. What many are probably not aware of is that the UConn ECE program is self-supporting. The fees that UConn ECE students pay for classes, cover all of the administrative costs of the program. For the past several years,  UConn ECE has been able to support motivated students that could not otherwise afford to take ECE courses by providing scholarships for these students. In 2013-2014, UConn ECE funded more than 1,600 students state-wide.

But the need grows greater each year. The UConn ECE office is faced with increasing requests for student scholarships, classroom supplies, or to help cover the cost of an event or field trip. Unfortunately, because we operate within an increasingly limited budget, many of these requests will go unfulfilled. Through our new fundraising efforts, our goal is to be better able to support our students and partner schools. “We would love to say yes to every request we get. There are amazing students and classes at our partner schools,” said Wendi Richardson, Assistant Director. Program and giving information can be f o u n d o n o u r n e w s i t e www.ece.uconn.edu/donate. Please take a moment to check it out and consider a gift to support a student’s academic success!

Annually, UConn ECE con- ducts surveys of students who have gone through the program the year before and also four years out of the program. The last survey of the year was done on the 2008-2009 cohort. The results were extremely positive and add to the volume of results supporting the claim that concurrent enrollment greatly contributes to student success. Of the 605 responses, 100% continued their education beyond high school at a post-secondary institution. About 90% were able to successfully transfer some or all of their UConn credit to their new institution. Students reported that they graduated on average in 3.98 years with an average GPA of 3.53. Among the responses, 73% strongly agree or agree that they were better prepared academically for college and 64% strongly agree or agree that they were more confident about their ability to succeed in college as a result of taking UConn ECE courses in high school. Alumni rated their experience as excellent or good 85% of the time and 95% of respondents would recommend the program to current high school students. In many of the openended comments, students mentioned that the classes were very rigorous  and that they learned valuable college skills while in the course. For more information about these results and results of previous surveys, please visit ece.uconn.edu/research.

UConn ECE has completed a study which investigated how concurrent enrollment credits transfer to higher education institutions, the largest study of its kind ever attempted. Institutions responded that they accept UConn ECE credit about 82% of the time. From student surveys, the researchers discovered that the transfer success rate is actually higher. When students take an active role in the credit transfer process, when they contact university departments and send in a syllabus of the UConn ECE course to be examined, they are more likely to have that credit transfer. The researchers are confident the rate of transfer is about 87%. A mixed methods approach was used involving a student survey, a survey of registrars and admissions officers, and data-mining of policy information. Data was collected on the type of credit earned and rejected, student experience, and the perception of concurrent enrollment among higher education administrators. Armed with this information, the researchers developed strategies for successful transfer: educating students early about the credit transfer process, training high school staff to talk about it effectively, and providing an extensive portal of information online, which includes a public database of transfer frequency. The Credit Transfer Database will be available in early spring 2014 for students and parents to explore where UConn ECE credit will likely transfer before applying to college. The study was supported by a grant from the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (www.nacep.edu) and the results were presented in part at the National NACEP Conference in Jacksonville, FL in October. For more information about the results, please visit ece.uconn.edu/.

The Provost’s Award for Excellence in Public Engagement is a yearly award given to honor faculty, staff, students, alumni and programs that engage the public to address critical societal issues. The University community submits nominations and faculty and staff members of the Public Engagement Forum evaluate the candidates. The criteria used in the evaluation process are as follows

ECE’s rich history of excellence ensured that all criteria were thoroughly fulfilled, culminating in this prestigious honor. Originating in 1955 as the High School Cooperative Program, the program today has grown to enroll over 10,000 motivated students in approximately 160 partner high schools and is the nation’s longest running program of its kind. ECE ensures that students from all socioeconomic backgrounds are provided the opportunity to experience college while in high school by offering student scholarships to those who qualify. When UConn faculty perform site visits to view our certified instructors at work, they report that not only do ECE courses meet the rigor required of a UConn class, but also are often enhanced with hands-on activities – a beneficial addition to syllabi. In addition to courses, ECE sponsors educational events to enhance student engagement in various subject areas. Most recently, students across Connecticut attended an on-campus French Immersion Day and Quiz Bowl and this past summer played host to the third annual Biology Summer Institute. ECE alumni that choose to attend UConn are markedly successful, posting significantly higher first and second semester grade point averages than freshman admitted without ECE credits, and constituting one-third of all honors

students at UConn. UConn ECE is honored to have been selected for this award and incredibly grateful for all of the hardworking parties that made it possible.