Online College in the High School involves a collaboration of Minnesota high schools, five community colleges, and an online learner support center. Through this unique partnership, Online College in the High School offers accredited, online college transfer and career and technical courses to eligible high school juniors and seniors. The program allows students to remain on their high school campus while they access their online college courses through the D2L platform. The course offering colleges use a cohort model for the Online College in the High School students to connect learners from various parts of the state. In addition, the program partners use the services provided by an Online Support Center of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities to deliver customized student services to support student success. The partnership of community colleges, the online support center, and the high school personnel helps to address several needs. Many high schools in Minnesota do not have a college campus within proximity, and their students lack access to college level courses. Through online learning, the Online College in the High School program can serve students regardless of the size of their high school or its geographic location. In addition, the program can serve students who seek a part-time community college experience while they remain in their high school setting. This particular program feature allows the student to blend the best of both worlds. Since its inception in 2005, Online College in the High School has introduced the power of online learning to over 600 students. Course offerings encompass twenty discipline areas to provide students with an expanded path of rigorous academic experiences during the junior and senior year in high school. Course offerings include anatomy and physiology I and II, college algebra, world regional geography, ethics, developmental psychology, introduction to public speaking, environmental science issues, chemistry, principles of nutrition, biotechnology, jazz history, world history, sociology of popular culture, medical terminology, web graphic design, and more. Students participating in Online College in the High School earn an average successful completion rate (students earning grade of C or above) of 91%. Student surveys point to a high level of satisfaction with the program, and 97% of survey respondents state that their experience in Online College in the High School has prepared them to pursue more college after high school. From a student support view, the Online College in the High School program creators use a comprehensive set of service features to provide a "safety net" for students. These services include: *customized advising, admission, and registration advising; *customized web resources for students and high school partners; *seven day per week support via chat, phone, and email; *on-site proctors/key contacts at each high school site; *training for proctors/key contacts; *reserved sections for program students; *course support materials and study resources; *published program data; *early alert systems. A goal of this presentation will include taking audience members through the mission a passionate group of college and high school educators embarked upon to create Online College in the High School. Attendees will see the program's student support services and hear practical applications of the advising, admission, and early alert systems. Attendees will also view the student survey tools and program data used to guide the program's decision making and continuous improvement processes. The online nature of the courses and student services allows replication of the Online College in the High School model anywhere in the world. Thus, another goal of the presentation will include sharing key considerations for replication. Those key considerations involve funding, timelines for implementation, planning models, institutional capability to provide student support, marketing initiatives, and sustaining effective partnerships. The emphasis of this presentation is practical application. The target audience is novice or intermediate. An individual presentation is preferred, with a poster session as a backup.
