Challenge program attracts students

Students earn

college credits

at NUHS

By KREMENA TODOROVA

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Sixty-one local students are taking, or have enrolled in, three college-credit courses offered under a new program called Challenge, reports New Ulm High School Principal Mark Bergmann.

The program, offered by Southwest State University, Marshall, and approved by the District 88 school board on July 24, gives students the opportunity to take classes for college credit without leaving their school.

The courses are College English, offered over two semesters for a total of seven credits, with 21 students enrolled; Chemistry II, also offered over two semesters for a total of nine credits, with 15 students; and Government, offered in the second semester for three credits, with 25 students signed up.

This brings the number of college credits that can be earned at the high school to 19, which Bergmann says is a very good number, considering that the program is just being introduced.

The courses are taught by local teachers who use a curriculum designed by Southwest State. The teachers each work in conjunction with a Southwest State professor. Some professors expect student work to be sent directly to them, while others assign more responsibility to the local teachers.

The idea about the Challenge program was suggested by Bergmann, who has had experience with it at his former school.

The high school's goal is to ultimately offer a full year's worth of college credits as the program expands, Bergmann says. Students will then have the option of taking that full year's worth of credits -- or, else, "any portion of it." Bergmann expects courses in math, science and social studies to be included in the future.

While Challenge program participants receive college credits accepted statewide without having to take Advanced Placement tests, students who wish to take AP tests still have that option.

The school is offering AP classes in European History, Economics, Spanish and German.

Students who want to go to a college campus for classes can still do so, and about 30 have chosen that path, either full-time or part-time, according to Bergmann. The reasons for these students' choice vary from social to scheduling, says Bergmann. The Challenge program was introduced fairly late, when some students had already registered for off-campus classes.

Bergmann assesses interest in the Challenge program in positive terms, especially considering its late introduction. In one example, enrollment in the chemistry class doubled from seven to 15 after it was announced the course can be taken for college credit, he says.

Bergmann notes that the program is structured to "protect" the kids through a dual grading system. When evaluated at the college level, for example, a student may receive a B grade -- but when evaluated at the high-school level, the same student may get an A in his or her transcript. The dual grading system is expected to take some pressure off of students and encourage them to opt for a more challenging course than they otherwise would choose.

Bergmann points to another "side benefit" of the program -- it is of some financial benefit to the district. He estimates that about 40 students were planning to take off-campus courses before the program was started, and about ten changed their mind when given an alternative. The district saved money on the difference, since it loses about $700 in state aid for each student who leaves campus for classes elsewhere.

Bergmann put the cost of introducing and administering the Challenge program at under $15,000.

The Challenge program has translated into "some work" for the local teachers, says Bergmann. Teaching a university's curriculum has involved a "mindset change," and teachers have possibly had to "give up some ownership." On the other hand, they have not been forced to develop an entire new curriculum.