massachusetts early college designation

Board of Higher Education Meeting — June 20, 2017

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January 2016 Launch of Parthenon Study of Early College in Massachusetts

December 2016 Parthenon Report released

January 24, 2017 Joint BHE/BESE Motion, creation of ECJC

February 2017 DHE and DESE staff form working committee in partnership with EOE, to

develop criteria and process for Early College Designation

March 23, 2017 Launch of the MA Early College Initiative Event at UMass Club

April 12, 2017 First ECJC meeting, review of draft Designation Criteria

May 2, 2017 Presentation and feedback from BHE Academic Affairs committee

April/May 2017 First round of stakeholder outreach to policy leaders, early college and

dual enrollment experts and stakeholders

May 31, 2017 Second ECJC meeting, review and feedback on updated draft criteria

Early June 2017 Final stakeholder outreach, with refinements based on ECJC feedback

and final outreach

June 20, 2017 ECJC recommends Early College Designation Criteria to BHE for Board

approval, will be recommended to BESE on June 27, 2017

Massachusetts Early College Designation

Designation Design Process

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Key Design Principles of Early College

Equitable Access

▪ Prioritizing students underrepresented in

higher education

▪ Eliminating barriers to student participation

Guided Academic Pathways

▪ Experiences beyond the classroom, exposure

to career opportunities

▪ Credits toward postsecondary credential (12)

▪ College-level rigor and experience

Enhanced Student Support

▪ Wraparound services to promote success

and completion


Design Principles

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Key Design Principles of an

Early College School

Connection to Career

▪ Exposure to targeted pathway

opportunities intended

to lead to careers

Effective Partnerships

▪ At least one institution of

higher education and

one secondary school

and/or district


Design Principles (cont’d)

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Early College Designation

Framed around Guiding Principles

Joint application/partnership between institution of higher ed & K-12 district

First Preliminary Designation process to be complete in Fall 2017

First Final Designation process complete in early 2018 for

Fall 2018 enrollments

Next steps:

First Preliminary Designation application to be released mid-July

DHE and DESE to design structure, process, rubric for designation review

and approval

Technical assistance to be provided by both agencies for applicants and

designated Early College programs moving forward

ECJC continued role:

Final Designation determination based on recommendation of staff

Ongoing review of the designation process, criteria and implementation

Support and promotion of Early College in Massachusetts

Discussion