Education experts at the University of Indianapolis are undertaking a three-year, $349,000 project to enhance programs that help Indiana high school students make the transition to college.

With key financial support from Lumina Foundation for Education, the university’s Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning will conduct a policy study of three mechanisms that break down barriers between high school and higher education: Dual Credit courses, the International Baccalaureate diploma and Advanced Placement courses and tests.

CELL will identify and advocate for potential improvements to those programs after examining such factors as accessibility, costs and funding, curriculum development, teacher selection and training, public awareness, and the statutes and guidelines followed by government agencies and education institutions.

Project director David Dresslar, a senior fellow with CELL, said the work would benefit all Indiana high school students, but especially those who face socioeconomic hurdles and lack a family history of attending college.

“As more families recognize the vital importance of higher education for career and life success, the line between high school and college is disappearing,” Dresslar said. “AP, IB and Dual Credit programs are in greater demand, but Indiana’s policy environment may not have changed quickly enough to give students the full benefit of these opportunities.”

The project will be funded primarily by a $298,700 grant awarded earlier this month by Lumina Foundation, an Indianapolis-based private foundation dedicated to expanding access and success in education beyond high school. The term of the grant is Oct. 1, 2007, through Sept. 30, 2010.

CELL staff and consultants will perform their research, surveys and policy advocacy in consultation with state education agencies and with guidance from a diverse advisory committee representing government, public school corporations, charter high schools, colleges and universities.

The result will be a better coordinated and more accessible set of programs to ease the transition from high school to college, with clear benefits that are more easily understood by students, parents, governmental officials and the general public.

PROGRAMS TO BE EXAMINED:

Advanced Placement

Administered by the College Board, AP offers courses and exams that allow high school students to earn credit or advanced standing at most of the nation’s colleges and universities.

International Baccalaureate

Offered by a not-for-profit foundation, the IB curriculum prepares students for life and work in the global economy, with a diploma recognized by universities around the world.

Dual Credit

The term refers to instructional programs that allow high school students to earn high school credit and transferable college credit simultaneously, by completing courses offered in the high school or on a college campus.

About CELL
Created in 2001, the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning at the University of Indianapolis serves as a leading convener, catalyst and collaborator for dynamic, innovative education change to impact student achievement throughout Indiana. CELL’s efforts are rooted in the principle that all students, regardless of background, should graduate from high school prepared for postsecondary education, training and success in the 21st-century global economy.