Michigan has a growing demand for healthcare professionals.
The Early College Alliance (ECA) at Eastern Michigan University
could be one of the solutions.
Beginning in February 2008, the ECA will welcome about
50 high school students from four local districts to EMU,
where they'll earn college credits at a personalized pace
while they train for high-demand health services jobs.
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HEALTHY OUTLOOK: Beginning in February
2008, the
Early College Alliance (ECA) at Eastern
Michigan
University will welcome approximately
50 high
school students from four local school districts.
The
students will earn college credits at a personalized
pace while they train for high-demand health
services
jobs. |
The ECA's curriculum prepares students for entry-level
health services jobs or degree programs in EMU's College
of Health and Human Services. The program also is designed
to, in subsequent years, add strands that train students
in other in-demand fields. The partnership between the
school districts and EMU also helps schools evaluate whether
the courses they're offering are the right ones to prepare
students to succeed in college.
The alliance is built upon a new "three Rs" —
rigor, relevance and relationship.
"It's sort of a way of ratcheting up high school," said
Washtenaw Intermediate School District Superintendent (WISD)
Bill Miller, whose intermediate district was one of six
in the state to receive a Michigan Department of Education
Early College/Middle College grant.
The one-year, $300,000 grant will launch the Early College
Alliance, but the WISD and private donors have committed
to continuing it. Students and their families pay nothing.
"This represents an entirely different view of how
we prepare health professionals," said Jeff Schulz,
associate dean of EMU's College of Health and Human Services. "For
example, in a field like nursing, these programs are becoming
incredibly competitive nationwide. Not every student that
wants to go into those programs gets in. I think programs
like the Early College Alliance are going to put those
students at an advantage. And they'll be better prepared
to succeed once they do get into those classes."
The ECA's pilot class is made up of students in the Regional
Career Technical Center's allied health program, which
draws from Ypsilanti, Whitmore Lake, Lincoln and Willow
Run schools. The pilot group has one class, UNIV
100, on campus this fall as an introduction to EMU.
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Dugger |
When all of the students have finished the fall semester
in their respective districts, they'll start taking all
of their classes on EMU's campus. The program could eventually
include 400-500 students from districts all over Washtenaw
County, said ECA Executive Director Dave Dugger.
"I think this is a unique opportunity for students
and families," said Ypsilanti Schools Superintendent
Jim Hawkins "We know right now that the health-related
fields are an emerging area for career choices, especially
in Michigan where manufacturing jobs are simply withering
away."
In addition to preparing students for entry-level health
jobs, the ECA experience is designed to prepare students
to handle the independence and responsibilities of life
after high school.
"It's not about credit," Dugger said. "The
curriculum of the ECA is aligned with what a postsecondary
partner is looking for as the entry-level skills, and those
are emotional and social before academic."
The curriculum isn't time-driven so, while one student
might earn 60 college credits at EMU before their high
school class even graduates, another could take a couple
of additional years after high school to cover the same
ground. Students can stay in the program until they're
20. Each is on a personalized track.
"A college degree doesn't tell the world you're smart," said
Dugger, who spent 10 years as associate dean and principal
at Washtenaw Technical Middle College. "It tells the
world you endured the process. There's a crisis in postsecondary
education right now; there are a lot of noncompleters.
And I think the vast majority of the problem is they just
weren't prepared for the nonacademic skills they needed
to succeed in that environment."
To help students — who come into the program
at 16 — make
that transition, each will have an adult mentor on campus
who will serve as a familiar point of contact for both
students and their parents.
"The social and emotional intelligence piece is a
relationship, and that's what sets this program apart," Hawkins
said. "The chances for success are much greater than
the chances for failure."
For anyone who wants to know more about the program, Dugger
and his staff have scheduled an open forum Sept. 24, noon
to 2 p.m., in room 320 of the Student Center.
For more information about ECA, call 487-4290 or e-mail
ecamail@wash.k12.mi.us
