Sustaining Partnerships
CIS Partnerships
College in the Schools Administration
CIS is part of the Degree and Credit Programs unit in the College of Continuing and Professional Studies (CCAPS).
Primary partnership development, leadership, administration and evaluation responsibilities are carried out by the CIS team and student enrollment support is provided by CCAPS enrollment services team.
We invite you to contact us to explore how we may assist your school in offering U of M courses and achieving equitable and inclusive goals for students and teachers through CIS. Concurrent enrollment is a strategic investment to reach more students across multiple disciplines.
Contact Us! CIS staff pages describe CIS roles in the program.
CIS Advisory Board
The CIS Advisory Board is comprised of a wide range of CIS stakeholders and the CIS team and meets twice a year. Members include representatives from K-12 education (superintendents, principals, counselors, directors advancing student development, CIS instructors); the community (parents and leaders); the University (faculty coordinators, department chairs and administrators); and personnel from related organizations (such as College Now and the Minnesota Department of Education).
Board members are appointed for three-year terms and provide these important services to CIS: advising on strategic issues; enlarging the CIS communication network; and advocating on behalf of CIS.
College Readiness Consortium
The College Readiness Consortium (CRC) engages with K-12 educators, youth workers and UMN programs to increase the number and diversity of students who graduate from high school ready for success in college.
New, Replacement, & Substitute Teachers
Offering and sustaining U of M Coursework depends on New and Replacement Teachers
Pivotal Considerations:
Invested high school instructors are essential to concurrent enrollment partnerships, and are most often, already highly qualified. The CIS instructor application process includes documentation from the instructor and a recommendation of support from the principal. The application process is expedited by submitting all materials to meet the March 30 deadline or as the need arises. We review completed applications as they arrive.
Teachers with 3-5 years of experience may apply and may need additional professional development or graduate coursework prior to teaching. Consulting and applying earlier rather than later assists in sustaining the U of M course offering.
Typically, teachers are approved to teach only one new U of M course per academic year.
It is ideal when, in cases such as a planned retirement, the replacement/applicant may begin to attend CIS professional development with the current CIS instructor, and they may begin to mentor their replacement as much as 12-15 months ahead.
CIS has checks and balances in place to ensure the U of M course is being taught at partner schools. However, as a last resort in cases where CIS instructors (ongoing or substitutes) are for whatever reason unable to continue or are not teaching the U of M course, CIS may withdraw U of M credit from the class. CIS will do all we can to assist with such transitions and maintain the partnerships with your school and the academic departments at the U of M.
Contact Jan M. Erickson (j-eric1@umn.edu; 612-624-9898) or Koleen Knudson (kknudson@umn.edu; 612-301-1853) with questions.
Long-Term Substitute Teachers
Notify the CIS office as soon as possible if you expect a CIS instructor absence to last 11 or more consecutive class days. CIS may be able to provide the names of former CIS instructors who are qualified to teach a particular course and who may be willing to step in during an emergency or family leave situation.
If a former CIS instructor isn’t available, please remember that all other substitute teachers need to apply and be approved to teach a U of M course in the same way your regular CIS instructor did.
CIS faculty coordinators and staff will provide accepted CIS long-term substitute teachers with mentoring, and support to ensure that the approved syllabus for the University course continues to be followed and that appropriate U of M assessment, grading and pedagogy are employed.
Costs & Fees, Funding
State Funding
Minnesota statute 124D.091 authorizes the state to reimburse high schools for costs incurred when they offer concurrent enrollment courses to their students. Passed in 2007, this statute requires high schools to partner with concurrent enrollment programs accredited by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) in order to be eligible for state reimbursement funds. High schools may also be eligible for reimbursement if they partner with a non-accredited program that can demonstrate it meets NACEP standards. College in the Schools has been accredited since 2005.
To maintain eligibility for state funding for concurrent enrollment, high schools must partner with concurrent enrollment programs that are NACEP-accredited, in the process of becoming accredited, or demonstrate that they’ve met standards comparable to NACEP standards. Please contact Jeanne Krile (jeanne.krile@state.mn.us; 651-582-8637), School Finance, Minnesota Department of Education, for more information.
Minnesota Law and CIS
124D.091. This statute provides reimbursement to high schools of up to $150 per student registration for costs incurred when offering concurrent enrollment courses.
While current law prohibits public schools from charging students for the cost of U of M courses offered through CIS, it does not prohibit schools from asking for voluntary donations. Students may not be excluded from a University course taught through CIS for inability to donate or pay.
Fees
Schools pay the fees and costs associated with offering U of M courses through CIS.
The CIS fee has remained at $145 per student course registration since 2009. CIS Fees are kept to a minimum to provide a these opportunities to build community and support students, schools and families.
Prevent Late Payment Fees after 45 days
The U of M third party billing policy includes a late fee of $90 per student when payment is not received within 45 days of the billing date.
If payment is not received within 45 days of the billing date, a late payment fee of $90 per student will be assessed to the school. After 60 days of nonpayment, a hold will be placed on the school’s record that will prevent students from being able to register for future U of M courses offered through CIS. The hold will not be released until the past due balance is paid in full.
After sending the initial invoice, Third Party Billing cannot guarantee they will contact schools regarding nonpayment. Notification of the account hold will be sent to the high school’s billing address.
Related Links:
Third Party Billing (U of M OneStop)
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and Third Party Billing
CIS initiates a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with each school upon teacher acceptance into the program. Each year thereafter, an email is sent to each school to confirm or update the billing contact information. Among other things, the MOA provides the U of M with contact information for the fiscal officer at the high school or district responsible for paying the CIS fees. This information is used by the Third Party Billing Office at the U of M, which is charged with managing such third party “sponsored” accounts. The billing information which follows is shared with the fiscal officer named in the MOA:
Each student’s charge is attached to the student’s account until it is transferred to the student’s school’s account just before the monthly bills are sent out. Occasionally a student finds his or her way to their U of M account online and finds this amount due; if you hear of this, you can assure them it will be erased shortly. If they receive a bill via email or mail, contact CIS at once as something is incorrect and we will help you sort it out.
Any other fees—for such things as a bus pass or library fine—remain on the student’s account and the student is responsible for paying them.
Bills are sent out monthly for student registrations (as well as adjustments or refunds for withdrawals) processed within the past month, so a bill may not always appear complete and current. Although we endeavor to process all the registrations from a single class at one time, it is not always possible, and so the registrations for one class may be spread out over two or more billing cycles. Registrations for multiple classes for the same student may also be spread out over billing cycles. This does not mean that you will be billed twice for the same class for any one student, only that not everyone got registered for U of M credit within the same monthly cycle. (Students who take the course for high school credit only will not appear on the bill.)
Contact:
Contact CIS or Third Party Billing (tpbill@umn.edu or 612-625-8559) with general questions.
Enrollment Services (cisenroll@umn.edu) can help with questions about whether a specific student’s registration or withdrawal is accounted for on a given bill.
Refunds for Withdrawals
If a student drops a class during a registration period, the school or district will not be billed for that student’s registration in that class. If the school or district has already been billed for that student, a credit will be issued. If a student withdraws after the deadline to register/drop, the U of M and CIS will not grant a refund.
U of M bills are mailed directly to the contact person designated by the school on the annual Memorandum of Agreement between the school and CIS. Invoices are sent monthly. Students in the same class may be registered in different University billing periods, which would cause the school to receive more than one invoice for a single class. While a school may receive more than one invoice for a U of M course offered through CIS, the school will be billed only once for each student registration.
Contact:
Enrollment Services (cisenroll@umn.edu) can help with questions about whether a specific student’s registration or withdrawal is accounted for on a given bill.
Textbooks, Technology and Course Materials
Schools are responsible for ensuring that students have access to required textbooks, technology, course materials, lab equipment and supplies. Information about required books and materials are found on individual course description pages on the CIS website.
CIS requires high schools to use the same textbook(s) as are used in the course taught on the U of M campus; a few courses allow the use of different textbooks, but in these cases the textbooks must be approved in advance by the U of M faculty coordinator for the course. Textbooks are replaced periodically with advance notice.
Student Field Days offer Peer & Academic Connections
Student field days are designed to welcome students and complement the U of M curriculum while giving students the opportunity to: meet students from other schools, use skills and knowledge from their U course, interact with on-campus students and faculty, explore resources, and be introduced to the U of M Twin Cities campus. Participation in student field days is highly recommended, however, it is required for Animal Science and Writing Studio and optional for the remainder of the courses.
Participating schools are responsible for paying to transport CIS students and instructors to the University to participate in student field days. This is not necessarily limited to school buses. Some CIS instructors have asked for voluntary contributions from their students to help pay for transportation; others have worked with teachers in adjoining school districts to share buses; some schools ask students to transport themselves.
CIS covers the costs of event planning and programming, venues, and speakers for each discipline specific Student Field Day.
See Student Field Days for more information.
Substitute Teachers for Professional Development & Student Field Days
School partners agree to providing the support and funding needed for CIS instructor participation at CIS professional development workshops and student field days. Schools are responsible for paying for these additional expenses.
Common expenses include:
substitute teachers for 2-3 days when CIS instructors attend required professional development workshops at the University
substitute teachers for days when CIS instructors bring CIS students to the University for a student field day
compensation for instructors for any non-contract day(s) spent in CIS's required summer professional development workshops.
support or stipends for additional chaperones at Student Field Days
See PD & Scholarly Community for more information about professional development attendance requirements.