Early College Credit Program Updates

by Tahira Chaudary, DPI 

As you may remember, Wisconsin Act 59 (Act) introduced the new Early College Credit Program (ECCP), which replaced the Course Options and Youth Options programs. All changes were effective July 1, 2018, which means this fall is the first time students across the state are participating in the program. The ECCP allows Wisconsin public and private high school students to take one or more courses at an institution of higher education (IHE) for high school and/or college credit. Within the ECCP statute, IHE refers to an institution in the University of Wisconsin System (UW System), a tribally controlled college, or a private, nonprofit institution of higher education (WAICU) located in the state. 

A few important updates to the program are worth noting: 

On April 16, 2018, the Governor signed Assembly Bill 805 (the bill), enacting significant changes to the ECCP statute. The bill excludes certain postsecondary courses from the rules and requirements under the ECCP. This means the statute and its cost-sharing model no longerapply to dual enrollment courses taught in a high school, by high school staff who are certified/approved by the IHE.

In addition, the bill has been interpreted differently by the IHEs. The UW System has determined the language in the bill exempts its online courses from the ECCP. In practice, a student taking an online course through the UW System may take it for credit if they pay the tuition for the course. WAICU has interpreted ECCP differently, offering online courses through their institutions under the ECCP. Please check with the institution your students are interested in attending for more information on course applicability.

Additionally, on April 17, 2018, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) held a preliminary public hearing and comment period for the scope statements for updating the PI 40 rule related to the ECCP statute. The scope statements were approved, and the DPI has started the work related to promulgation of the rule. DPI will hold an agency public hearing related to the rule once it is available for review. We hope to finalize the rule by January 2019.

The DPI is also working on creating an easy and efficient ECCP reimbursement process for school districts and private schools. Currently the Act provides $1,753,500 in state aid through reimbursement of expenditures to offset costs. School districts and private schools are responsible for payment directly to the IHE within 30 days of the end of the semester and will be reimbursed by the DPI at the end of the school year. Schools will also be responsible for reporting to the DPI the costs incurred for courses taken by students under the ECCP, so that the department can calculate their state aid. Payments will be prorated if the appropriation is insufficient to fully fund all claims for reimbursements.

Lastly, appeals related to denied ECCP courses can be filed under s. PI 1.01. All appeals must be filed within 30 days after the school board's decision. More information on the appeals process for ECCP can be found here: https://dpi.wi.gov/dualenrollment/eccp/application.

For more information regarding the Early College Credit Program, please visit our website https://dpi.wi.gov/dual-enrollment/eccp or contact Tahira Chaudary at (608) 267-3161 or [email protected].

 

 

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