MREA traveled the state through the fall and heard from Greater Minnesota schools. Now it’s time to focus our collective voice on behalf of rural students as the 2016 legislative session approaches. The MREA Board of directors recommends the following platform for member approval at the annual meeting at the 2015 MREA Annual Conference on Nov. 17. View the proposed platform. The proposed platform focuses … Read More
Coming Together for Concurrent Enrollment
When faced with a complex problem in public administration that requires a solution, management experts advise nearly unanimously to “get the stakeholders together in a room and work out solutions.” Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius has said the department’s working groups have been successful because they get bright people together who are committed to solving the problem. Protecting Early College through … Read More
What's Next for Concurrent Enrollment in Minnesota
The Minnesota Joint Higher Education Committee held a hearing on Thursday in front of a packed audience on the newly required rules by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) for concurrent enrollment (or dual-credit) high school teachers. The St. Paul Pioneer Press described the ire of Minnesota’s K-12 community. Learn more about the hearing. Proponents of the HLC decision see it as … Read More
Minnesota Calls Higher Learning Commission to Reconsider Dual-Credit Change
In a packed hearing room Thursday in St. Paul, the House and Senate Higher Education Committees held a joint hearing to address the newly required regulation by the Higher Learning Commission and its effects on students and teachers in concurrent enrollment in Minnesota. The Commission defended its position while more than 40 Minnesotans shared the value of the current program. HLC … Read More
Concurrent Enrollment Hearing Streamed Live Thursday
The Minnesota Joint Higher Education Hearing with the Higher Learning Commission on Oct. 8 will be streamed live on the House Media website, starting at 1 pm. (Scroll down the page to find in the lower right hand corner). The hearing will begin with a presentation by President Gellman-Danley of the Higher Learning Commission followed by discussion with state lawmakers and public testimony on the Commission’s recent decision … Read More
Hearing Set on Concurrent Enrollment
A joint hearing on the recent changes to concurrent enrollment accessibility has been set for Oct. 8 in Minnesota. The Higher Learning Commission accepted the invitation from Minnesota’s Higher Education Committee Chairs Rep. Bud Nornes and Sen. Terri Bonoff. to come to Minnesota and explain the rule and their rationale. This Joint Meeting of the Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development … Read More
How Minnesota Got Here on Concurrent Enrollment
By Fred Nolan, PhD, MREA Executive Director Minnesota over the past 25 years has experienced both an explosion of K-12 teachers with general curriculum and instruction masters degrees and simultaneously an accelerating explosion of dual credit, concurrent courses in high schools taught by teachers with these masters degrees under the auspices and blessings of Minnesota’s public colleges and universities. In … Read More
Inside Concurrent Enrollment
Minnesota’s growing concurrent enrollment (dual-credit) programs for high school students to earn college credit while attending high school is being threatened by recent actions of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The Commission is proposing new credentialing requirements for Minnesota’s secondary teachers to teach these college courses under the auspices of a college or university. Thanks to the work and advocacy of MREA … Read More
Minnesota Needs to Lead Dual Credit Change
Barbara Gillman-Danley, president of the Higher Learning Commission, told Minnesota media on Friday that she was “surprised at the intensity” of the pushback in Minnesota to the commission’s decision to make the credentialing rules an explicit requirement for accreditation. Minnesota has been a leader in breaking down the barriers between high school and college for decades. Minnesota was the first … Read More
The Power of Your Voices for Students’ Dual-Credit Opportunities
Thank you for raising your voices to and regarding the Higher Learning Commissions’ recent decision affecting the ability of students to earn college credits while in high school. Teachers of any college credit class, including concurrent enrollment classes, now would need to have a masters in the discipline or 18 credits in the discipline beyond a masters not in the … Read More