Davenport University first in state to extend college credits for high school career tech classes

By Sharon Hanks

Calling it a "landmark agreement," Davenport University and the Michigan Department of Education have agreed to grant Davenport college credit to thousands of high school students enrolled in any of more than 200,000 state-approved career and technical training classes in Michigan.

Starting this year, high school students can earn up to 40 college credits at career and technical programs that can be transferred this fall to any of the 14 Davenport campuses statewide. More than half of these classes are held at a high school campus, state education officials say.

By next year, with 40 credits under their belt, the deal would allow students to enter Davenport at a status as high as a sophomore.

"We've been working on this for more than two years," says Carol Clark, a Lansing consultant for the Michigan Department of Education's Office of Career and Technical Education. "It's so exciting. I don't think there are any local-control states in the country that have a statewide articulation of this magnitude, especially with a university.

"The whole idea is to get students into college, save the parents and students money, and make sure they are progressing as quickly as they can through the college system," Clark says. "We want to get them into the job market well-trained and well-educated."

In the past, only students enrolled in Advanced Placement classes in high school might be granted college credit at many colleges statewide. But those students enrolled in career and technical education programs were rejected for college credits, even though their programs have become "very rigorous" compared to a generation ago, the consultant says.

The classes cover thousands of programs, including those in health education, public safety and early childhood education that are held either at a high school campus or such places as the Kent Career Technical Center, the Allegan Career Center, and Montcalm Area Career Center.

She says talks of the agreement began when she and Davenport administrator Chris Marx struck up a conversation at an education conference.

"We hope other universities and colleges will step up to the plate and see this as a valuable system for students and contact us with a similar proposal," she says, thereby allowing students to transfer credits to institutions other than Davenport. "This is just the starting point. We've already been contacted by two community colleges."

Source: Carol Clark, Lansing consultant for the Michigan Department of Education's Office of Career and Technical Education; Davenport University

Sharon is the innovations and job news editor at Rapid Growth Media. She can be reached at [email protected].