DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O.
SUPTS.
MEMO NO. 183
August 31, 2007
INFORMATIONAL
|
TO: |
Division Superintendents |
|
FROM: |
Billy K. Cannaday, Jr. Superintendent of Public Instruction |
|
SUBJECT: |
Early College Scholars Program |
During the 2006-2007
school year, school divisions reported that more than 8,157 seniors in
The Early College Scholars Program is
intended to encourage eligible high school students to complete requirements
for a high school diploma and concurrently earn at least 15 hours of
transferable credits toward a college degree.
This program can potentially result in a more productive senior year and
reduce the amount of college tuition for families. Students earning a college degree in seven
semesters instead of eight can save an average of $5,000 in college
expenses. Early College Scholars
participants should:
The Early College Scholars agreement will be
signed by participating students, their parent/guardian, and the high school
principal and school counselor. It may
be signed at any time, from ninth to twelfth grade. A copy of the agreement is attached and sets
forth the expectations and responsibilities of all parties in meeting the terms
of the agreement.
I encourage faculty
in your schools to identify students who meet the eligibility criteria for the Early
College Scholars Program. Please
note that it will be the responsibility of the principal to determine when at
least 15 hours of college credit have been earned such that a participating
student earns the distinction of Early College Scholar.
In the past, each
school division reported the number of students who have signed Early College Scholars agreements in the
Educational Information Management System (EIMS) record collections during the
fall and spring of the school year. The
Department used those data to determine the number of Early College Scholars certificates each division needed and then
mailed the appropriate number of certificates to the school division.
Beginning this school
year, the process will be automated to allow school divisions to print Early College Scholars certificates on
site. To automate the process, each school
division will need to continue to report the number of students who have signed
Early College Scholars agreements in
the EIMS during the fall and spring of the school year. The data entered during the spring collection
will be used to create data files for school divisions. Each divisions data file will be available
in late April or early May through the Single
Sign-On for Web Systems (SSWS) secure data collection tool. The
data file will include an Early College
Scholars certificate for each student reported in the spring student
records collection. School divisions
will then be able to print the certificates within the division. Certificates may be printed in color or black
and white. Detailed instructions for
printing certificates will be included in a Superintendents Memorandum to be
released in March 2008.
Due to this change
in the distribution of the Early College
Scholars certificates, it is imperative that the data entered into the EIMS
student records collection be as accurate as possible. Students not identified in the spring records
collection will not be included in the data file for printing
certificates. Therefore, a change in the
EIMS student records collection will have to be made before a certificate can
be issued to the student. The Department
will no longer print certificates and will be unable to issue blank
certificates for school divisions to fill in for students not identified in the
spring student records collection.
If you have any
questions about the program or the procedure for distributing Early College Scholars certificates,
please contact Tabitha Grossman, high school initiatives specialist, Office of Middle and High School
Instruction, by e-mail at Tabitha.Grossman@doe.virginia.gov,
or by telephone at (804) 786-1993.
BKCJr/TEG
Attachment
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2007/inf183a.pdf