Brief description: 

A program in Minnesota which gives students, especially those in smaller communities, an opportunity to take university-level classes online.

Subject the project is most concerned with:

The Statewide Minnesota Online College in the High School (OCHS) began offering general education courses, primarily in mathematics (college algebra), science (biology) and social science (psychology, geography and sociology) in 2005. In 2007 course offerings were expanded to include two technical program areas, health sciences (anatomy and physiology, and medical terminology) and information technology (HTML). Plans are to continue to expand course offerings in these technical areas, as well as to introduce courses in the paralegal, business administration, and human services pathways.

Part of the school system (e.g. elementary school, middle school, high school, all levels, special math/science school, etc.) the project focuses on:

High school. Restricted to juniors and seniors who meet grade point average requirements and placement test score requirements.

Primary focus of the program (e.g. new curriculum, attracting or retaining teachers, classroom technology, community outreach, etc.):

Offering relevant and rigorous educational experiences to students who are geographically isolated from traditional post secondary educational options, or who may benefit from an online learning experience.

Role of the school board in implementing or supporting the program:

Board approved student participation and the allowed students to receive high school credit, which would count towards graduation requirements, for their online coursework.  They also approve funding to cover the additional course costs for student participants.

Community and business partners:

The program has business partners in the Information Technology pathway, due to labor market demands for new highly skilled workers. This partnership came to the program through the post secondary customized training programs as a method to reach and recruit interested high school students.

Higher education partners:

There are currently four post-secondary partners involved with this project, three two-year colleges and one service center, with a plan of expansion to involve additional two- and four-year colleges, including the University of Minnesota system. The original four post-secondary partners had a history of working together on online learning and high school initiatives. The development of OCHS was a logical progression of this partnership. 

Funding and resources:

The courses offered by the program are self sufficient through tuition payments. The organization and management of OCHS was initially voluntary, however, funding has been received for certain specific functions:  In 2006, OCHS received state funding to develop its materials and resources in an electronic format and post them on a website (http://www.distance.minnesota.edu/ochs).  In 2007, OCHS received collaborative funding from the state based ISeek Council to expand from Northwest Minnesota to statewide.

Obstacles faced by the program:

The OCHS has had to deal with obstacles ranging from aligning high school and college terms for courses, to administrative access to the online learning platform which manages course work and grades, to technology infrastructure, to management of course offerings, tuition payments, and textbook ordering.  A leadership team was developed to manage and address all these problems

Duration of the program:

The program has been running for three years.

Advice for other districts:

“Begin small and slow, it can quickly become large and unmanageable. Retain, always, student success as the focus. Keep communication open and honest between partners."