NEWS

A VISION FULFILLED:

A Report on Matriculation to The University of Missouri-Kansas City of High School Students who Participated in the College of Arts and Sciences High School/College Program

by Tammy Green and Rick Leidig

Program History

Like a famous ad campaign that urged Americans to "Think Small" while aiming for big results, the High School/College Program (HSCP) is a grand vision with modest beginnings. Starting with just 80 students in two high schools, the University of Missouri-Kansas City's dual credit outreach program today serves students taking courses for university credit in 15 subject areas at nearly 60 high schools throughout the western corridor of Missouri. The impact of these student registrations extends in many instances beyond their graduation from high school. Taking Fall Semester 2003 as an example, 24 out of 100 freshmen entering the College of Arts and Sciences previously had taken some dual credit coursework through the HSCP.

On opening day, September 4, 1979, even its proud progenitors could not have imagined such impressive growth. Yet success was built into the grand design conceived by founding director Anna Larkin, late Professor of History Richard D. McKinzie, and other College of Arts and Sciences faculty. As professional educators, they saw the mission of the program clearly.

Based on a nationally respected model from Syracuse University in New York state, the HSCP was designed to offer qualified high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to take on the challenges of university-level course work. In contrast to visiting student arrangements that would require that students adapt to on-campus course scheduling, class size limitations and full fee structure, the HSCP courses would be delivered in participating high schools, during the regular class day, at reduced fees. Moreover, the courses would be taught by familiar figures-the high school's own instructors-- carefully selected according to rigorous criteria which have only in the past five years become a standard for all such programs throughout Missouri. These criteria include advance degrees with academic appointment from the relevant university academic unit.

Over the course of its near-quarter century, the program has been a leader in other ways as well. UMKC through its dual credit program is a charter member of the National Alliance for Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP). After several years of preliminary discussions and informal meetings, the organization was officially launched in 1999 to promote public awareness and legitimize dual credit as an alternative to Advance Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IBP) for qualified high school students and ensure integrity of the programs operated by member institutions.

Establishment of national standards for all aspects of dual credit -from training of adjunct faculty to a rigorous accreditation process- supports this overall objective. The HSCP is committed to achieving full NACEP accreditation and has already partially fulfilled some provisions such as periodic post-graduate surveys.

Coordinators-academic liaisons with professorial appointments from their corresponding on-campus departments-are a fundamental component charged with applying University oversight to classroom instruction through a regular schedule of on-site visits. They also recommend or approve adoption of textbooks. Perhaps their most important function is to represent the University to adjunct faculty in the high schools, to foster the relationship and bring faculty and their on-campus counterparts close together in a partnership of shared means and objectives.

Post-Graduate Profiles - Fall Semester 2003

We now shift attention away from the historical beginnings of the High School/College Program to a statistical overview of its place in the diverse and vital composite that is the University of Missouri-Kansas City today. We will offer a snapshot of that component of the University's fall semester 2003 on-campus undergraduate and graduate student population which had earned some university credits through the program in their high schools.

Who They Are -- Gender and Ethnicity

University-wide, during fall semester 2003 there were 889 female and 497 male students on campus whose academic backgrounds included credits earned through the HSCP. Of the 1,386 total, one had international non-resident status; nine claimed American Indian or Alaska native heritage; 84 were Asian or Pacific Islanders. There were 37 Hispanic students, 147 black, non-Hispanics; 1,073 white, non-Hispanics and 35 who fell outside these categories.

Where They Come From -- Feeder High Schools

Although the HSCP serves students throughout the western corridor of Missouri, suburban high schools within the Kansas City metroplex send proportionally greater numbers to campus. For fall 2003, the greatest numbers of HSCP post graduates seeking undergraduate or post graduate degrees came from the following schools:

Lee's Summit High School (108)
Blue Springs High School (79)
Truman High School (70)
Raymore-Peculiar High School (67)
Lee's Summit North High School (61)

What They are Studying -- Declared Majors

Tracking the most popular fields of study engaged in by HSCP post-graduates confirms that this segment shares concerns of the student population at large about strategic positioning in the professional job market. Business administration led the field with 91 students, followed by 65 psychology majors; 59 in the School of Law, closely followed by 58 in the School of Pharmacy, 58 in the six-year high school-to-M.D. program at the School of Medicine and 50 communication studies majors. For fall 2003, the greatest numbers of HSCP post graduates declared undergraduate or graduate majors from the following academic units:

Arts and Sciences (613)
School of Computing and Engineering (96)
Business and Public Administration (91)
Graduate Education (78)
Law (59)

How They Are Progressing-Current Level

UMKC students who previously earned credits through the High School/College program before coming to campus cover the academic spectrum from undergraduate through a range of post graduate programs. For fall semester 2003, the breakout is 1,060 undergraduates, 191 in PhD. and Masters programs and 129 in professional programs. The corresponding figures for fall 2002 were 1,037 undergraduates, 134 advanced degree seekers and 113 in professional programs. Thus, from fall 2002 to fall 2003 there was a growth factor of 2.2 percent in unduplicated undergraduate enrollments, a 42.5 percent increase in advanced degree enrollments and a 14.1 percent increase in professional program enrollments.

Conclusion

Analysis of these numbers would seem to indicate that the University may benefit from increased enrollments in courses for UMKC credit by high school juniors and seniors. Economic factors such as full employment, a boom in high-paying technology-related jobs and a constant credit hour fee rate combined with aggressive marketing of the program throughout the service area to yield a corresponding advance in unduplicated enrollment numbers. Expansion of the program into new schools and new districts accounted in part for the upsurge.

The HSCP also contributes to on-campus numbers by promoting undergraduate retention. A study ("Dual Credit and Advance Placement: Do They Help Prepare Students for Success in College?" by Eimers, M. and Mullen, R.) conducted at UM system level suggests that high school students who attempt any coursework that exceeds requirements for high school credit, whether dual credit or Advance Placement (AP), will perform better after matriculation and be more likely to graduate. However, the structure of the HSCP would seem to confer several advantages in comparison to the alternatives. Instead of granting credit by examination, as is the case with AP and International Baccalaureate Program (IBP), course work completed through the HSCP earns a letter grade that is a composite of class attendance, class participation, and a demonstration of subject mastery through intensive writing of research papers and reports. In addition, the program is administered primarily through the College of Arts and Sciences, while AP is administered by the College Board. The parent office for IBP is in Geneva, Switzerland.

Thus, it is by no means certain that on-campus enrollments by HSCP alumni would have happened merely as a spin-off of economic good times and increased marketing activity in the high schools. Other less tangible factors undoubtedly play a part. Anecdotal evidence in the form of comments on returned one- and five-year post-graduate surveys suggests that the perceived value of the UMKC experience was sufficiently high to position the University and the College of Arts and Sciences as serious players among institutions seeking to attract new students.

Tammy Green is the Director of the High School/College Program and Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Rick Leidig is the Assistant Director of the High School/College Program