Written by the American Youth Policy Forum for the High School-to-College Transition Pr oject

Transcription

1 C E L L C E N T E R O F E X C E L L E N C E I N L E A D E R S H I P O F L E A R N I N G U n d e r s t a n d i n g C o s t s o f C r e d i t - B a s e d Tr a n s i t i o n P r o g r a m s i n I n d i a n a * Written by the American Youth Policy Forum for the High School-to-College Transition Pr oject M a r c h *Credit-Based Transition Programs include Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB), and dual credit. Complete definitions can be found within this document. 1

2 U n d e r s t a n d i n g C o s t s o f C r e d i t - B a s e d T r a n s i t i o n P r o g r a m s i n I n d i a n a Without a doubt, one of the most challenging and complex policy issues facing credit-based transition programs is that of funding. As credit-based transition programs draw on resources both within K-12 and postsecondary education, it is important to consider how each institution is compensated for its expenditure. More importantly, it is important to consider cost as a potential hurdle to student participation, program growth, and sustainability. This brief will describe the costs associated with operating the credit-based transition programs available in Indiana, focusing on the cost to students and their families. In addition, it will highlight some critical issues for Indiana policymakers to consider and present an array of policy options. Table 1: Summary of Indiana Credit-Based Transition Program Exam and Tuition Costs to Students and Families Standard Cost to Students and Families Students Eligible for Free/Reduced-Price Lunch Math & Science Courses Career/Technical Education Courses Concurrent Enrollment (Taught By High School Faculty at the High School) Free via Ivy Tech; all other public institutions offer reduced tuition, ranging from $75 to $267 per 3-credit-hour course Free; all public postsecondary institutions waive tuition Free via Ivy Tech and Vincennes Dual Credit On Campus Typically charged full college tuition rate ranging from $314 (ITCC) 1 to $741 (PU) per 3-credithour course 2, though some local articulation agreements address costs Dual Credit Distance Education Typically charged full college tuition rate 3 Advanced Placement $86 per exam Free; federal and College Board funding Free; state funding N/A International Baccalaureate $92 per exam Free; federal funding No special exam N/A D u a l C r e d i t Dual credit allows high school students to enroll in college courses and have the opportunity to simultaneously earn high school and college credit. Dual credit concretely links K-12 and postsecondary education through agreements that specify what courses will be made available where, taught by whom, and for what credit at each level. The dual credit programs available in Indiana can be classified into six categories: concurrent enrollment, college instructor at high school, on-campus enrollment in classes with college students, on-campus enrollment in classes solely for high school students, distance education, and Early College High Schools. Following a brief description of the general funding structure for dual credit in Indiana, each category will be described programmatically and unique aspects of funding will be noted. 2

3 Indiana s funding structure provides revenue streams for both K-12 and postsecondary education to participate in dual credit. School corporations maintain Average Daily Membership (ADM) funding for high school students taking dual credit courses. Public postsecondary education institutions can claim the same students toward their Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) calculations for Enrollment Change/Completed Credits growth calculations. This arrangement, often referred to as hold harmless, attempts not to penalize either K-12 school corporations or public postsecondary education institutions. In Indiana, the formula for calculating enrollment change is a four-year rolling average of course growth or decline, with one FTE representing 30 credit hours. It should be noted that stable campuses 4 do not receive Enrollment Change funding. Enrollment Change funding is limited; it represents less than 1.5 percent of state appropriations for postsecondary education operating costs, and the General Assembly frequently has funded Enrollment Change at 50 percent over the past 10 years. With limited direct funding from the state to postsecondary institutions for dual credit students, all the public postsecondary institutions charge tuition for on-campus dual credit courses and all but Ivy Tech charge for liberal arts concurrent enrollment courses offered in the high schools. Concurrent Enrollment Concurrent enrollment is the most prevalent form of dual credit in the state of Indiana. This model has a high school or career center teacher approved by a postsecondary institution to offer the college s course in the high school or career center classroom (typically during the regularly scheduled school day) for which a student can earn both secondary and postsecondary credit. Concurrent enrollment programs are a true partnership between K-12 and postsecondary education; each system provides critical components to ensure success. High schools provide the teacher and classroom space for the courses and, on some occasions, are able to cover the cost of textbooks. Institutions of postsecondary education predominantly incur costs associated with program administration, professional development, and course oversight. This includes salaries for program coordinators, stipends for faculty liaisons and high school instructors, professional development, and travel costs associated with high school visits. For the school year, Indiana s public postsecondary institutions reported spending $4.5 million on concurrent enrollment partnerships, while collecting only $2.5 million in revenue. The funding formula takes into account that both K-12 and postsecondary education are providing services. Thus, K-12 maintains the full ADM funding and institutions of postsecondary education can include increases in FTE resulting from concurrent enrollment in their enrollment change requests. Postsecondary institutions report that state funding that is received does not cover the full cost of offering concurrent enrollment classes and rarely flows directly to the dual credit programs. Institutions often charge tuition to recoup their cost, although the tuition cost is lower than the on-campus rate. Table 2 is a brief summary of the tuition costs at all public providers of concurrent enrollment, adapted from the Indiana Concurrent Enrollment Partnership (CEP) Fiscal Analysis Report and updated with information. Table 2: Concurrent Enrollment Tuition Costs at Indiana Public Postsecondar y Institutions, School Year Institution Name of Program Concurrent Percent Full College Enrollment Tuition Reduction Tuition per per 3-Credit- from Full 3-Credit- Hour Course Tuition Hour Course Ivy Tech Community College Dual Credit $0 100% $314 Vincennes University Project EXCEL $75* 82% $414 Indiana State University College Challenge $210 71% $720 University of Southern Indiana College Achievement Program $240 50% $480 Ball State University College Transition Program $250 65% $717 Indiana University advance College Project $260** 67% $789 Purdue University Concurrent Enrollment Program $280** 62% $741 *As of fall 2009, Vincennes University is waiving the tuition cost for most career and technical education courses. ** Indiana University and Purdue University have established uniform concurrent enrollment tuition rates across all campuses, while full tuition varies by campus. Full tuition listed is for the flagship research campuses. Purdue University Calumet is offering concurrent enrollment for the first time this year under a grant-funded pilot program and thus reports lower tuition costs per student. 3

4 Under the Double Up Program (IC ), all public institutions of postsecondary education are required to waive tuition for 11th- and 12th-grade students in a concurrent enrollment course who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The Double Up Program encourages secondary schools and public postsecondary institutions to establish collaborative programs that feature extensive use of dual credit and set some quality controls on dual credit offerings. Unlike AP and IB, the state does not reimburse institutions for waiving tuition for low-income students. In addition to tuition costs, students and their families often must pay for costly textbooks required for concurrent enrollment courses. Concurrent enrollment courses utilize the same textbooks as the on-campus courses, which typically cost more than high school textbooks and are not always available through school textbook rental programs because of the frequent college textbook replacement cycle. College Instr uctor at High School A slight variation on the concurrent enrollment arrangement described above, this model has a postsecondary instructor teaching a college course solely to high school students in the high school or career center classroom (typically during the regularly scheduled school day). Colleges sometimes refer to this arrangement as a Bridge Program or Professor on Loan. As this method is used infrequently in Indiana, local arrangements are made between the postsecondary education institution and K-12 school corporations regarding who pays for the cost of the instructor s salary. The tuition structure for this category is typically the same as described for concurrent enrollment and can be a costly model for students and their families. In addition, this model is not as cost-efficient as concurrent enrollment for institutions of postsecondary education because the revenue from these courses is less than if the instructor were teaching on campus to fully matriculated students. On-Campus Enrollment in Classes with College Students Providing high school students with an experience most similar to those of a traditional college student, this category is where a high school student attends a college course taught by a postsecondary instructor alongside traditional postsecondary students on a college campus (including satellite locations, such as evening classes in high school buildings). This category includes traditional high school students looking for a college experience in advanced courses not offered in the high school, and students embarking on a career pathway with advanced technical courses, as well as dropouts and other nontraditional students who are returning to education without a high school credential. 5 Traditional high school students are not necessarily guaranteed high school credit for courses taken on a college campus, particularly for courses that are not included in articulation agreements. For courses taken on campus, students typically pay full tuition. On-Campus Enrollment in Classes Solely for High School Students Often, a postsecondary institution offers a credit-bearing course on the college campus specifically for high school students that is taught by a postsecondary instructor through such programs as Summer Bridge and Upward Bound. Students might not earn high school credit for these courses, but typically these courses are funded by federal TRIO 6 and other grant programs and thus offered with no tuition cost for students. Distance Education Distance education includes online, videoconference, and correspondence courses (including those taught by a postsecondary instructor or secondary instructor approved by the postsecondary institution). All seven Indiana public postsecondary institutions offer college courses online in which high school students typically can enroll under the same admission standards as on-campus enrollment for high school students. For these courses, students typically are charged the full college tuition rate. Vincennes University s Project LINK, Indiana University High School, IUPUI s CITIDOE, and Purdue University s Continuing Education all offer distance education college courses specifically for high school students. Tuition for these three-credit-hour courses ranges considerably: Vincennes University at $150/course, Purdue at $255/course, IUPUI at $260/course, Indiana University (via IU High School) at $260/course, and Ball State at $350/course. Early College High School This high school model intentionally enrolls students traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education while providing additional academic and social supports in dual credit courses in order to allow them to simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an associate degree or up to two years of college credit. In Indiana, Early College High Schools utilize a variety of dual credit instructional approaches including high school and college instructors teaching courses on 4

5 either the high school or college campus. Early College High Schools in Indiana serve primarily students who qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch and thus receive the tuition waiver for concurrent enrollment courses. For those that do not, most Early College High Schools cover the tuition through a combination of high school funds, postsecondary tuition waivers, and private donors. Additionally, Early College High Schools typically cover the cost of textbooks to ensure that dual credit courses are provided at little to no cost to their students. A d v a n c e d P l a c e m e n t Administered by the College Board and taught at local high schools, Advanced Placement (AP) allows students to participate in a college-level course and potentially earn college credit when they matriculate to college. High school teachers and college faculty cooperate in drafting nationally standardized course descriptions and exams. Students have the opportunity to show mastery in college-level courses by taking corresponding AP end-of-course exams in May of each school year. Based on state policy and individual institutional policy regarding exam scores, colleges and universities either will award students credit or place them into advanced-level courses based on their score on the AP examination. The primary cost to students and families associated with AP are the examination fees, which are currently $86 per exam. The College Board offers a fee reduction of $22 per examination for students who demonstrate financial need. This fee reduction, coupled with the school offering the examination forgoing its $8 testing site fee, brings the total cost of the exam for a student with financial need to $56 per exam. Indiana, like many states, uses federal funds from the Advanced Placement Fee Test Program to pay the reduced fee for all exams for students who demonstrate financial need. For the school year, Indiana issued 652 fee waivers for low-income students, totaling $35, Since 1994, the Indiana General Assembly has provided funding to cover the cost of exams in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) subject areas. Currently, the state pays the entire fee for the following AP examinations: Biology; Calculus AB; Calculus BC; Chemistry; Environmental Science; Physics B; Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism; Physics C: Mechanics; and Statistics. Students are required to complete the respective AP course approved by the AP Course Audit process. For the school year, Indiana high school students took 13,298 examinations in these subject areas, costing the state $1,117,032. Because this amount exceeded the funds appropriated by the General Assembly, the Indiana Department of Education tapped into other unrestricted funds to make up the shortfall. While the primary cost of administering the AP program is associated with the end-of-course exams, it is important to note associated costs at the school level. For example, there can be significant costs for professional development to ensure a school has qualified instructors. Under the College Preparation Curriculum Act (IC ), all high schools are required to offer at least two AP courses and two dual credit courses. Therefore, many high schools spend the necessary funds to ensure they have qualified teachers by sending them to College Board s AP workshops and institutes, where they receive the training to teach these courses. AP course instructors can use any textbook of their choosing so that schools and students do not face an additional cost associated with a specific textbook. I n t e r n a t i o n a l B a c c a l a u r e a t e D i p l o m a P r o g r a m m e International Baccalaureate (IB) is a demanding two-year pre-university program that students can complete to earn college credit. IB emphasizes interdisciplinary critical thinking and understanding of other cultures and points of view. A diploma is awarded on completion of the IB program, which also includes a service-learning requirement and an inquiryand research-based Extended Essay. Similar to the AP program, the primary yearly costs associated with IB are related to the examinations. As IB students work toward an internationally recognized credential the IB Diploma students must pay a one-time registration fee of $135 for the academic year. Along with the registration fee, students in the academic year paid a $92 examination fee for each of six IB content areas. Student exam scores are determined by multiple assessments, some 5

6 graded by the teacher and some graded by IB scorers in various regions of the world. Students typically are expected to cover the examination costs, but Indiana has made a commitment to cover all costs for free or reduced-priced lunch students using federal funding from the Advanced Placement Fee Test Program. For the May 2009 examination administration, Indiana paid for 62 registrations and 156 exam fees, for a total of $21, For the school year, Indiana expects an increase of 78 registrations and 245 exam fees to total $33,070. Since International Baccalaureate is a structured curriculum, there are both start-up and sustained costs of offering the program, including professional development, textbooks, postage, and a yearly subscription fee charged to the school corporation. Currently, the Indiana Department of Education has not dedicated funding specifically for IB program creation or professional development, but, when it is available, some schools have used state high ability funding to cover the cost of IB. P o l i c y O p t i o n s The following recommendations were developed through the work of the CELL High School-to-College Transition Project Advisory Committee. These recommendations consider options at the school and school corporation level, as well as state legislative and regulatory changes. These recommendations are intended to provide an array of options for Indiana to pursue to strengthen its commitment to providing credit-based transition programs that expand equity and access and that fortify commitment to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. To expand Indiana s commitment to access and equity: Encourage the use of Honors Diploma Awards and Gifted and Talented grants to fund AP, IB, and dual credit programs, as well as the preparatory courses for those programs (pre-ap, pre-ib, etc.). Consider establishing tuition caps on all priority dual credit courses as determined by the Indiana Dual Credit Advisory Council. Provide tuition waivers for dual credit courses to students in the 21 st Century Scholars Program who no longer qualify for free or reduced-price lunch at the time when they take a dual credit class in high school because of increases in their family s income. Create a needs-based financial aid program for students who are not eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, yet cannot afford the college tuition needed to pay for dual credit courses. Extend free or reduced-price lunch tuition waivers to on-campus and distance education dual credit courses. Provide funding for distance education dual credit, AP, and IB courses. Provide funds to cover high-poverty and/or low-performing schools cost of planning and implementing credit-based transition programs (e.g., professional development, vertical curriculum articulation, etc.). Provide financial incentives for teachers, students, and/or schools that are successful with these courses. When possible, higher education institutions should use online materials and other supplements to lengthen the textbook replacement cycle to six years to mirror the public high school cycle, thus enabling more high schools to purchase classroom sets or rent dual credit textbooks to students. To fortify Indiana s commitment to strengthening high-quality STEM courses for high school students: Revise the current statute to pay the cost of math and science IB exams and dual credit courses. Consider establishing tuition caps in priority dual credit courses in STEM content areas. Incentivize high school teachers to obtain the necessary certificate or training to teach science and math AP, IB, or concurrent enrollment courses. 6

7 S u m m a r y a n d C o n c l u s i o n In Indiana, the cost of credit-based transition programs often is borne largely by students and families. Low-income students generally do not pay for exams for AP and IB courses, nor for tuition for dual credit courses, because of the availability of federal funds for AP and IB exams, as well as public postsecondary institutions waiving tuition for concurrent enrollment (as required by the Double Up Program (IC ). The Indiana General Assembly has prioritized state appropriations for AP by covering selected math and science exams, in line with the state s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) priorities. As per their missions to provide training opportunities to Indiana students, Ivy Tech and Vincennes offer Career and Technical Education (CTE) concurrent enrollment courses for free. As Indiana has pledged to continue to support these opportunities, any changes to the funding structure for all creditbased transition programs must continue to preserve the current commitments to access, equity, and emphasis on STEM. The current environment ensures that both K-12 and postsecondary education receive some compensation for the services provided and also attempts to ensure that cost is not a barrier for some low-income students. Even in these challenging economic times, Indiana must remain committed to ensuring that all qualified students are able to participate in these opportunities. Moving forward, Indiana should continue to foster collaboration between K-12 and postsecondary education to ensure all students graduate ready to succeed in college, careers, and beyond. E n d n o t e s 1 Ivy Tech s dual credit policy states: High school students taking an Ivy Tech-based dual credit course must be charged tuition under most circumstances. In some regions, local articulation agreements have resulted in reduced or free tuition for CTE or other courses taken with Ivy Tech faculty. 2 While the Double Up for College tuition waivers are not explicitly limited by statute to concurrent enrollment, all public postsecondary education institutions have interpreted these tuition waivers as applying solely to concurrent enrollment courses. 3 Vincennes University s Project LINK and Indiana University High School offer dual credit distance education courses specifically for high school students at reduced cost: Per three-credit-hour course, Vincennes Project LINK charges $150, and Indiana University High School charges $260 (the same as IU s concurrent enrollment program). 4 Stable campuses for the Higher Education Budget included Ball State University, Indiana University Bloomington, Purdue University West Lafayette, and University of Southern Indiana. For the biennium, Indiana State University was considered stable while University of Southern Indiana was not. 5 The High School Fast Track to College Program was created to allow nontraditional students to return to education by enrolling at an institution of postsecondary education, in which they can earn a high school diploma by succeeding in college classes. Under this legislation, Ivy Tech and other public institutions that chose to offer Fast Track are eligible to receive ADA from the student s home school corporation to cover tuition costs. 6 The Federal TRIO Programs are federal outreach and student services programs designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. TRIO includes eight programs targeted to serve and assist lowincome individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs. 7 It should be noted that the AP fees were $84; thus, the cost to the state with the fee reduction was $54 per exam. 8 Registration fees for were $135, but the exam fees were slightly lower at $86. 7

8 The High School-to-College Transition Project The High School-to-College Transition Project, led by CELL (the Center for Excellence in Leadership of Learning) at the University of Indianapolis, examines state and institutional policies that can be improved to help Indiana high school students transition successfully into postsecondary education and subsequently earn a degree. Working through an advisory committee comprising Indiana state officials and K-12 school corporation and postsecondary administrators, the High School-to-College Transition Project has made significant progress in changing the landscape of credit-based transition programs such as Advanced Placement, Dual Credit, and International Baccalaureate across Indiana by encouraging the expansion of opportunities and advocating for necessary policy changes. The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional development organization based in Washington, D.C., provides learning opportunities for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working on youth and education issues at the national, state, and local levels. AYPF s goal is to enable participants to become more effective in the development, enactment, and implementation of sound policies affecting the nation s young people by providing information, insights, and networks to better understand the development of healthy and successful young people, productive workers, and participating citizens in a democratic society. AYPF does not lobby or advocate for positions on pending legislation. Rather, we believe that greater intellectual and experiential knowledge of youth issues will lead to sounder, more informed policymaking. We strive to generate a climate of constructive action by enhancing communication, understanding, and trust among youth policy professionals. AYPF publishes a variety of nationally disseminated youth policy reports and materials, many of which may be viewed at C E L L C E N T E R O F E X C E L L E N C E I N L E A D E R S H I P O F L E A R N I N G cell.uindy.edu 8