Challenge college-credit program faces challenge

Source of

college credits are a concern

By KREMENA TODOROVA

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The college-credit Challenge program at the New Ulm High School may be running into some challenges of its own, according to local school officials.

Parents and students have raised questions as to whether "the kids are getting what they need in the classroom" and whether the program is "living up to what was advertised -- or are we ending up with something different," according to a report by school board member Carol Ackerson.

Contacted for details on issues mentioned by Ackerson, Superintendent Harold Remme explains that some local concerns are a result of "overbooking" at Southwest State University in Marshall, the college that administers the program.

When New Ulm joined Challenge on the eve of the current school year, SSU "did not have any more room under some criteria of the college" to accommodate New Ulm students, says Remme. It did, however, have a cooperative agreement with Alexandria Junior College, a vo-tech school -- so the course supervision for English was assigned to the latter. As a result, the credits for the English course this year may be issued by the Alexandria school -- which has been perceived as a "less prestigious" institution. Says Ackerson, "the devil's in the details."

In addition, according to Ackerson and Remme, local educators are anxious to ensure that the college offerings that substituted local choices are at least as rigorous as the programs they replaced.

"I think the chemistry program is actually more demanding; I am not sure about English," observes Remme.

The English course spans two semesters, and early concerns may turn out to be unwarranted, he indicates. It would be premature to judge the course before it is completed, based on the first semester alone.

In yet another twist, the school system this year may run into a timing problem related to Challenge. Because student registration booklets for the next school year are compiled over the Christmas break or in early January, officials may find it difficult to evaluate Challenge courses in time for inclusion in -- or exclusion from -- the booklets. Challenge Program offerings do not end until late January or the end of the school year.

The Challenge program is being pioneered locally, as an on-site alternative to AP and off-campus courses. The program, approved by the District 88 school board last July, gives local students the opportunity to take college-credit classes without leaving their school. The classes are taught by local teachers, but the curriculum, grading and oversight are supplied by SSU.

Currently, the program includes 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, according to numbers collected at the start of the year by High School Principal Mark Bergmann.

(An original intention to include Spanish failed to materialize despite being part of New Ulm's application. It turned out that SSU was unable to provide supervisory oversight for that course. That may have disappointed some students and parents, says Remme.)

Apart from its potential to expand student choices, the school board embraced the Challenge Program because of its savings potential. The district loses about $700 in state aid for each student who goes off-campus for courses. The Challenge program, costing under $15,000 to introduce and administer, was seen as a reasonably-priced alternative.

(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. While Challenge program participants receive college credits without having to take AP tests, students who wish to take AP tests still have that option, as well. The school is also offering AP classes in European History, Economics, Spanish and German.)

Remme indicated that the present issues with Challenge are likely to get resolved as the school system gains more experience with the program.

He notes that officials, "at least at the planning level," are discussing ways to sidestep the registration booklet issue, by "covering both bases" and offering students the alternative of signing up for either Challenge or AP courses.