Donna E. Ekal, Ph.D.Associate Provost, Office for Undergraduate Studies
The University of Texas at El PasoWednesday, April 21, 2010
THSP Spring 2010 Webinar Series:Engaging Higher Education for
Early College Success
Today’s Agenda
• Introduction to El Paso & UTEP• ECHS in El Paso• Things We Had to Figure Out• Key Practices• Meet Some Students• Future Opportunities
The Tri State Area
• El Paso, Texas• Las Cruces,
New Mexico• Ciudad Juarez,
Chihuahua, Mexico
21,011 students– 76% Hispanic– 10% Mexican nationals
About to celebrate our 100th anniversary
UTEP
Two Primary Educational Initiatives Currently in Texas
Closing the Gaps – 2015 goals• Participation – add 630,000
students to higher education to 5.7%
• Success – award 210,000 degrees and certificates
• Excellence – increase the number of nationally recognized programs
• Research – increase the level of federal science and engineering research and development obligations to Texas institutions to 6.5 percent
Tier One• House Bill 51• Criteria
– $100 million external research funding
– 200 doctoral graduates per year
ECHS in El Paso
• Mission ECHS• Valle Verde ECHS• Transmountain ECHS• Northwest ECHS• Cotton Valley ECHS• Clint ECHS
• Mission, VV, TM, & NW are all on EPCC campuses
• CV and Clint will not be• Dr. Richard Rhodes,
president of EPCC, had the vision
Locations of the ECHSs
Projected ECHS Student Enrollment at UTEP
• 100 – 125 per graduating class• Full enrollment at all 6 schools:
600 – 750 graduating ECHS seniors each year• Estimating 75% attendance at UTEP:
450 – 565 incoming students ≈ 10% freshmen class
Potential ECHS Student Enrollment at UTEP
Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Fall 2011 Fall 2012 Fall 2013 Fall 20140
200
400
600
800
1000
Types of Entering ECHS Students
Traditional ECHS• Complete Associate’s
degree at end of senior year of high school
• Complete Associate’s degree and High School diploma at the same time
• 60 or more credits
Accelerated ECHS• Complete Associate’s
degree PRIOR to the end of senior year of high school
• Senior year of high school and junior year of college are taken concurrently
The 23
Fall 2009
EPCC
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The 23 Fall 2009 Results
• 11 / 23 were registered full time, the remainder part time (5 – 11 hours)
• 7 students earned a 4.0• 2 additional students made the Dean's List• Average GPA of the 23 was 3.44• All 23 students are registered for spring, most
for ≥ 12 hours (5 students PT, 18 FT)
Spring 2010• “The 23” in their second
semester at UTEP and their final semester in High school
• “The 42” in their first semester at UTEP and their final semester in High School
Fall 2010• “The 23” as FTFTF / Senior
year at UTEP• “The 42” as FTFTF / second
semester Juniors• “The 35ish” next group of
accelerated high school Juniors
• Estimated 75% of the graduating Senior class
Things We Had to Figure Out
• Recruiting– 6 more high schools in the area– Different message than traditional high schools
• Orientation– New Student / Transfer Orientation?– Timing – Content
• Parental Involvement
Things We Had to Figure Out
• Degree Plans–Articulation with EPCC–Professional / Graduate School Special
Issues• Nursing• OT, PT, SLP, and other 5 year UG/G programs
Things We Had to Figure Out
• Enrollment Coding / Tracking in Banner(First Time Full Time Freshmen with 90 credits?)
• Financial Aid – especially the Accelerated• Academic Advising - > 60 hours• Socialization Concerns• Faculty Preconceived Notions
Key Practices
• Integrate across the University– Created an ECHS Advisory Committee with Faculty
and Staff representatives• Financial Aid Enrollment Services• Academic Advising Faculty in key
disciplines– Kept Administration current with progress,
successes, and issues– Took key personnel to on-site tours, include lunch
when possible for immediate processing
Key Practices
• Write Grants to support various components– NSF GK-12: $2.8 million– Boeing: ECHS Young Women in STEM: $4,000– Teachers for a New Era• ECHS Professional Development• Summer Conference in partnership with the
Communities Foundation of Texas and theTexas High School Project• Case Study of The 23
Key Practices
– Learn & Serve with Center for Civic Engagement and College of Engineering• Center for Civic Engagement, College of Engineering• Tiered service learning opportunities for CoEng students
in high school classrooms– HHMI Summer Research in Residence Program– Title V
Key Practices
• Write Articles– Series of 5 – In partnership with EPCC and ECHS
• Add a Research element– Encourage Graduate Student theses and dissertations– Case Study of The 23
• Share the Word– College Board Prepárate– Texas High School Project Administrative Forum– Submitting for the Fall 2010 HACU national conference
Key Practices …
• Record what we are doing– Policies & procedures as we figure them out– ECHS / UTEP Transfer Guide
• Coordinate with other groups on campus• Promote changes in policy that are not aligned
with new paradigms– ECHS New Student Orientation– FTFTF with 90 credits?– Financial Aid !!!
Key Practices …
• Financial Aid / Scholarships– Accelerated ECHS students are not eligible for
federally / state based financial aid by HEA law– We can support them at UTEP by• Waiving tuition and fees• Using existing or finding new scholarship dollars
Meet Some Students …
Roberto Vina-Marruffo– 4.00– 88 credits
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Summer Internship
“In only three years the Associate’s Degree was achieved while at the same time going through the regular high school curriculum. Credit for this cannot go to my overwhelming graciousness and good-studentry, assuming such a thing has even existed. The credit goes to the school for making such an opportunity possible, and a miniscule chunk goes to luck. In other words: I’m very fortunate to have to come to this school.”
Armando GarciaPhysics
The three most important lessons I acquired at MECHS would be with words perseverance, insight, and confidence; never give up on what you want, observe the world from a different angles with understanding, and believe in yourself no matter what others say.
Sofia Reyes, Civil Engineering
Future Opportunities?
• Better links with Career Services• Earlier connections to 2nd/3rd year application
degrees such as Nursing, Speech Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy
• More engagement with Clubs and Organizations, other student support services such as Study Abroad, etc.
Future Opportunities?
• Expanded 2 + 3 degree plans– Master Degree programs– Professional Degree pathways
• Summer Programming– Research– On-campus residency
• Stronger support of recruiting and outreach– 8th grade application– ECHS involvement
Future Opportunities?
• Financial Aid– Start an endowment– Find state/other funds for which they
are eligible– Petition for modification to the Higher
Education Act
