Creating Equitable and Inclusive 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

1. 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.

2. 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. 

3. 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. 

4. 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.

5. 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. 

6. CIS ensures quality.  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. 

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 Emily Hanson or Koleen Knudson 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.

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.