Six higher education institutions—including Idaho State University and Crowder College in Missouri—recently earned a seal of approval for programs that provide high school students with an opportunity to earn college credit. In addition, five other programs were reaccredited by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships.
The announcement this week by NACEP brings the total number of programs it has accredited to 92.
These programs are sometimes called dual enrollment, but NACEP specifically evaluates concurrent enrollment programs, one form of dual enrollment. Under this approach, high school students take college-credit-bearing courses by college-approved high school teachers, rather than by college faculty.
In addition to Idaho State and Crowder College, the new institutions to receive NACEP accreditation include the College of Southern Idaho, West Kentucky Community and Technical College, Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, and Everett Community College in Everett, Wash. Those recently reaccredited include the University of Connecticut, Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, Ill., the University of Minnesota Crookston, Weber State University in Utah, and the University of Washington in Seattle.
NACEP first began accrediting programs in 2004 to ensure the quality of college courses offered in high school matches the course content and expectations for student work at the partner institution of higher education. To earn accreditation from NACEP, concurrent enrollment programs conduct a self-study, document how their programs adhere to NACEP’s standards, and are evaluated by peer reviewers from NACEP-accredited programs, according to the Chapel Hill, N.C.-based organization. Accreditation is valid for seven years.
Currently, 47 states and the District of Columbia that have laws in place allowing for dual enrollment, a recent analysis by the Education Commission of the States shows.
The National Center for Education Statistics reports that among institutions with a dual-enrollment programs, 83 percent have courses within the program that were taught at the college campus, 64 percent reported courses were taught at the high school campus, and 48 percent reported courses were taught through distance learning.
For a complete list of NACEP accredited programs, click here.