Minnesota State Mankato’s Concurrent Enrollment Program Earns National Re-Accreditation
University's concurrent enrollment program enrolled 862 students in 2017-2018 academic year.
Mankato, Minn. – The National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) Accreditation Commission announced May 2 that Minnesota State University, Mankato’s concurrent enrollment program has been re-accredited, a designation that distinguishes high-quality concurrent enrollment programs administered by institutions of higher education throughout the nation.
Concurrent enrollment is a partnership between the university, academic departments and secondary districts to provide dual credit opportunities for eligible high school students. Approved high school instructors provide the course content in the high school. This allows high school students to earn transferrable college credits and prepare for the rigor of college courses at the same time they are earning high school credits.
Minnesota State Mankato currently offers concurrent enrollment courses at 23 Minnesota high schools in southern Minnesota and the metro area, with 53 instructors approved to teach courses in 13 disciplines. In the 2017-2018 academic year, the program enrolled 862 students, who earned 4,759 credits and saved more than $1.5 million in tuition. Participating high schools will grow to 30 during the 2018-2019 academic year.
Minnesota State Mankato’s concurrent enrollment program has been accredited since 2010. Having been re-accredited, Minnesota State Mankato’s program will be one of 15 accredited programs in Minnesota and one of 107 accredited programs in the nation in the 2018-19 academic year.
National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships accreditation is valid for seven years.
According to a National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships news release, “through the non-governmental peer review accreditation model offered by NACEP, high quality concurrent enrollment programs demonstrate that the academic integrity of their college courses are maintained in the high school setting. These institutions commit resources, particularly faculty time and effort, to ensuring that appropriate levels of academic oversight occur.”
Victoria Zeppelin of Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, N.Y., the 2017-18 chair of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships Accreditation Commission, said: “I’m very pleased to recognize the concurrent enrollment program at Minnesota State University, Mankato as one of a select group of 107 concurrent enrollment partnerships nationwide accredited through NACEP’s extensive peer-review process. Minnesota State University, Mankato has once again demonstrated to its peers that the college courses it offers in high schools are of the same high quality as college courses offered on campus.”
For more information, contact Michael Altomari, assistant director for PSEO & concurrent enrollment at Minnesota State Mankato, by phone at 507-389-5119 or by email at michael.altomari@mnsu.edu.
Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,712 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 30 colleges and seven universities.
