About CIS
Creating Equitable CIS Partnerships
The mission of College in the Schools partnerships is to connect high school with college to create a culture of lifelong learning and advance academic and career growth. CIS values inclusive access and academic course success for students currently underrepresented in U partnerships, and environments of learning and belonging that affirm student and community cultures.
Students, Instructors and School Partners and Pathways
CIS serves students, instructors and high schools through symbiotic concurrent enrollment relationships and supports. Join us in actions that make systemic change to serve all students and instructors.
Students take University of Minnesota courses at their high school and develop confidence, momentum, skills and knowledge that supports their future educational and career success.
CIS instructors teach the University of Minnesota course, work with University faculty coordinators, invest in ongoing professional development, and belong to a discipline-specific community of practice.
CIS administrative and instructional partners in high schools and at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities collaborate to ensure equitable practices, pathways, and access. Two current aspirations: transparent course information is reaching students and families; and inclusive teaching and learning supports are functioning and in place for all students and instructors.
We at CIS serve to leverage and develop resources that improve partnership outcomes and the lived experiences that contribute to individual well being and academic excellence promoted by equitable systems, narratives and processes.
Over 30 Years of Experience with Concurrent Enrollment (CE) Partnerships
In Minnesota, partnerships that allow high school students to take University courses through PSEO or College in the Schools are governed by the Minnesota Postsecondary Enrollment Options Act (124D.09) which provides high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to take a postsecondary course(s), either on a college campus or in their own high schools. The popularity of CE partnerships has spread widely, however the early narrow focus of primarily serving gifted and talented limited student involvement. We know CIS is not reaching BIPOC students at the same rate as white students in their schools and we are changing our CE systems and partnerships to equitably serve all students in the partnership. The research is clear. When students are able to demonstrate college knowledge and skills in multiple and varied ways and engage in active, reflective learning throughout a course, they not only succeed, it is meaningful.
CIS students taking a postsecondary course simultaneously earn both high school and postsecondary academic credit. Taking college coursework builds academic momentum--toward continuing and having the credit they've already earned recognized.
University of Minnesota College in the Schools partnerships started small in 1986-87 with one English course, under Minnesota’s groundbreaking Postsecondary Enrollment Options Act. Now we offer more than 30 U of M introductory courses from the College of Design, College of Liberal Arts, College of Sciences and Engineering, College of Food, Agriculture & Natural Sciences, and College of Education and Human Development. CIS leadership and partners work together to remove barriers and build systems that ensure BIPOC student inclusion and afford all students CE course experiences.
CIS offers course experiences that make the hard work matter to student and instructor academic trajectories. A University course experience that provides insight into careers and apply to majors; course experiences lead to new communication skills and new career considerations; and course experiences build in student curiosity and joy of learning. See the U of M Courses page on the CIS website to view the entire list of options and view the U of M courses offered at high schools across Minnesota and Wisconsin.
6 Essential Facts
CIS courses are actual U of M courses. CIS policies and practices ensure that the course content, pedagogies, and assessments in CIS sections are taught with the same academic integrity, pedagogical styles, and cultural relevancy as the on campus sections of the same course. U of M courses prepare students with mindsets that introduce "thinking like a professional in the field", knowledge to take the next course in the sequence, and with academic skills added to their brilliance as they move into their next endeavor. In each course, University approved materials or the same textbooks are used and multiple and varied assessments provide formative and summative opportunities for active learning: praxis, creation, demonstration and reflection. If on-campus sections use cooperative learning groups, then CIS sections of the same course all use the same pedagogy; faculty coordinators approve materials, and the same or similar topics and assessments ensure students are engaged, learning and prepared.
CIS students earn University of Minnesota credit. CIS students are registered as non-admitted students through the College of Continuing and Professional Studies; students’ credits and grades are recorded on an official University of Minnesota transcript.
U of M credit earned through CIS is recognized by other colleges and universities, coast to coast. Annual survey results have consistently shown that 92%-97% of respondents who sought to have their UM credits earned through CIS recognized by other colleges or universities were successful. Credit recognition means: (1) U of M credit was counted toward graduation requirements; and/or (2) students were exempted from required courses and/or (3) students were given advanced placement in a subject—all as a result of their earning U of M credit through CIS.
CIS provides exemplary, ongoing professional development to instructors at no additional cost to the school or instructor. CIS requires instructors to participate in 3-4 annual CIS discipline-specific workshops for as long as they teach in CIS. Led by collegial U of M faculty who serve as CIS faculty coordinators, these workshops cover the content, pedagogy, assessment and address issues and developments in the field of the courses taught by CIS instructors. CIS Instructors have opportunities to: participate in leadership in the cohort, access vast research and perspectives, deepen their discipline specific expertise, and interrogate of the questions of our day.
CIS Instructors are appointed Teaching Specialists in the College of Continuing and Professional Studies. They are instructor of record at the University and have been accepted to teach by the faculty coordinator representing the department that offers the course on campus.
CIS is Accredited. CIS at the U of M Twin Cities is part of the University of Minnesota's accreditation by the Higher Education Commission and holds an additional and required accreditation by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP). This accreditation ensures markers of partnership excellence are met and sustained.
Benefits to High School Students, Instructors, and Schools
For students . . .
Encourages high school seniors to elect a more challenging academic schedule.
Allows students to demonstrate mastery of content and skills through multiple and varied assessments.
Builds academic behaviors that support college success.
Gives students greater flexibility in their college academic schedules, because they’ve already completed many general education requirements while in high school.
Supports timely college graduation.
Can save families significant amounts of college costs, because college credits earned during high school can shorten the time to college graduation.
For instructors . . .
Professional development builds the breadth and depth of instructors’ discipline-specific knowledge and skills
Provides instructors with a collegiate network of university and high school instructors
Offers access to University libraries and academic department resources
Improves job satisfaction
For schools . . .
Strengthens high school academic departments. When CIS instructors understand and share with their colleagues what students need to know and be able to do to succeed in a U of M course, the high school academic departments may choose to strengthen other related courses.
Keeps high-achieving students in the high school. Eighty-five percent of respondents to the 2011 Impact Survey agreed or strongly agreed that fewer students left their school buildings to take courses on college campuses, because CIS provided the courses in the high school. This fact benefits schools because:
The presence of high-achieving students in the high school can raise the academic bar for all students and provides the school with capable student leaders.
When students remain in the high schools, the schools retain all of their per-pupil state funding.
Ensuring Quality: NACEP Accreditation
College in the Schools is accredited by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP). To earn accreditation, CIS had to demonstrate that it meets NACEP standards related to partnerships, instructors, curriculum, student services, student assessment, and program evaluation. Having met these standards, CIS can guarantee that it has the policies and practices in place that ensure that U of M courses administered by CIS are of the same quality as courses taught on the U of M campus. Programs need to apply for re-accreditation every seven years.
Related Links:
Research & Evaluation
College in the Schools Surveys
Surveys of College in the Schools alumni going back as far as 2002 show that:
On average, 93% of respondents who sought to have their U of M credits earned through CIS recognized by other colleges or universities were successful. Credit recognition includes credit transfer and/or exemption from required courses and/or advanced placement in a subject.
On average, more than 98% of respondents would recommend CIS to high school juniors and seniors.
Most recent survey reports:
Research
Many large and credible studies have shown the benefits of dual credit programs, including concurrent enrollment programs like College in the Schools.