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Mayor Emanuel Announces Expansion of City Colleges Dual Credit Program that Allows CPS Students to Earn College Credit


Expansion Increases Chicago Students’ Access to High-Quality Education Options; Announcement Comes on One-Year Anniversary of Innovative College to Careers Program, Helping Chicagoans Prepare for Careers in Fast-Growing Fields

CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–December 10, 2012. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) Chancellor Cheryl Hyman and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett announced today the expansion of the CCC Dual Credit program to a total of 17 CPS high schools during the 2012-13 academic year, nearly tripling the number of schools where the program is offered. More than 250 students at six CPS schools—both juniors and seniors—are currently earning both high-school and college credit and gaining advanced math or English skills without leaving their CPS classroom through the expanded program, which started in Spring 2012. Eleven additional schools will begin offering Dual Credit courses in Spring 2013. Five hundred students are expected to enroll in courses this spring.

“Expanding the dual credit program is another way we are working to ensure that our students have options available to them that will help them excel in college and in their future careers,” said Mayor Emanuel. “This partnership between CPS and CCC provides our students with a unique opportunity to earn college credits while still in high school, propelling them towards success.”

Ninety percent of the CPS students currently enrolled in the dual credit program earned college credit, passing the class with a grade of C or better. The Dual Credit program currently operates at the following six high schools: Ronald Amundsen High School, Bronzeville Scholastic Academy High School, Infinity Math, Science and Technology High School, Benito Juarez Community Academy, Wendell Phillips Academy High School, and Rickover Naval Academy. Eleven addition schools will begin offering Dual Credit courses in Spring 2013: Edwin G. Foreman, William Howard Taft, Clemente, Curie, Daniel Hale Williams, Hancock, Harper, Hyde Park, Julian, Roosevelt, Sullivan. 

“We are laser-focused on our students’ success,” said Chancellor Hyman, who has led City Colleges since 2010, a period in which CCC has recorded its highest graduation rate in more than a decade.  “The dual credit program shortens students’ path to a college degree, helping CPS students be prepared to pursue further education and seize future career opportunities.  By working with industry partners and four-year universities, we are ensuring a City Colleges of Chicago education will put students on a clear path to further college and careers.”

An additional option available to CPS students is the CCC dual enrollment program, which offers CPS students the opportunity to take college-level courses at CCC campuses. This program has seen an increase in participation over the past year: 374 students are currently enrolled, a 225 percent increase from its Fall 2011 enrollment.

“By providing our students with essential resources during high school like the Dual Credit Program, they will be better prepared for success in college and beyond,” said Barbara Byrd-Bennett, CEO of Chicago Public Schools. “Not only does this program offer CPS students a head start on gaining college credits, but it also cuts down the cost of a degree and the time it will take them to graduate. This is a unique opportunity to help our students focus on post-secondary life and inspire them in the pursuit of a college degree.” 

The expansion of the dual credit program comes on the one-year anniversary of the innovative, nationally-recognized College to Careers (C2C) program at City Colleges of Chicago (CCC). Mayor Emanuel also announced that enrollment in key C2C courses is up in the past year, nearly 70 local and international corporations and organizations have partnered with CCC to develop cutting-edge curriculum, and over 400 CCC students have landed internships or jobs, many with C2C partners, including Allscripts, Advocate Healthcare, CVS Caremark, Kay Manufacturing, Schneider, UPS, and Walgreen, putting them on the path to succeed in the careers of tomorrow.

Mayor Emanuel launched C2C in December 2011 to partner industry experts in six high-growth sectors with City Colleges faculty and staff at six colleges to develop relevant, innovative curriculum in order to directly prepare students for careers in high-demand and high-growth fields and close the skills gap that often prevents people from securing available positions. Together, these six sectors are projected to provide more than 200,000 job openings in the Chicago area over the next decade.

Enrollment is up significantly in the first two C2C programs to be put in place: Allied Healthcare, located at Malcolm X College and the Transportation, Distribution and Logistics (TDL), located at Olive-Harvey College.

  • The CCC nursing program has seen a 30 percent increase in Fall 2012 new student enrollment, compared to Fall 2011 enrollment, including a nearly nine-fold increase of new nursing students at Malcolm X College. Moreover, Malcolm X College nursing completions are up nearly 70 percent.
  • The TDL programs at Olive-Harvey College have experienced a 50 percent enrollment increase during the same period.

Ten new or enhanced programs have launched, and work is underway between CCC faculty and staff and industry partners to review and revamp City Colleges programs in the additional areas of focus: Business, Professional Services, and Entrepreneurship at Harold Washington College, which was announced in the Summer of 2011, as well as Information Technology at Wilbur Wright College, Advanced Manufacturing at Richard J. Daley College, and Culinary and Hospitality at Kennedy-King College, which were launched in October 2012.

Additional City Colleges’ C2C  partners include:

TDL (Olive-Harvey College)

AAR Corp., BNSF, Canadian National Rail, CenterPoint Properties, Coyote Logistics, CTA, Echo Logistics, Grainger, ITS Technologies and Logistics, Navistar, Schneider Logistics, Schneider Finance, Union Pacific, United Airlines, UPS, Walgreens

Allied Healthcare (Malcolm X College)

Accretive Health, Advocate Healthcare Systems, Allscripts, Baxter, CVSCaremark, DaVita, Inc., Emmi Solutions, Fresenius Medical Care North American , GE Healthcare, Jesse Brown VA Hospital, John Stroger Cook County Hospitals, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, MCHC (Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council), Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Presence Health, Rush University Health Center, University of Chicago Medicine, University of Illinois Medical Center, Walgreens

Advanced Manufacturing (Daley College)

Arrow Gear, GC America, Kay Manufacturing, Lincoln Electric, Northstar Aerospace, Rexam, S + C Electric, Solo Cup, UPS, WaterSaver Faucet Co.

Information Technology (Wright College)

Cisco, CompTIA, Google, IfbyPhone, Motorola Solutions, Vibes

Culinary/Hospitality (Kennedy-King College)

Aramark, Areas Airport, Heaven on Seven, Hilton (Drake), Hojeij Branded Foods (HBF), Hyatt / Hyatt Regency, InterContinental Chicago , Illinois Restaurant Association, IHLA, Sheraton (Water), Solo Cup

Business, Entrepreneurship & Professional Services (Harold Washington College)

Allstate, AON. Braintree, Comcast Country Financial, Emmi Solutions, Federal Savings Bank, Huron Consulting Group, Kemper, Mesirow, Willis, Zurich

Source: cityofchicago.org


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