Stanford Delivering First-Ever Dual-Enrollment Course for High Schoolers
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 10/26/21
Stanford
University is delivering its first-ever dual-enrollment class with 15
high schools across the country. A fall 2021 pilot has enrolled 220
students Computer Science 105, an introductory course for students
who attend high schools where at least 40% of students live in
low-income households.
This
is the first initiative undertaken by a new office at Stanford
charged with broadening equity and access to higher education through
digital pathways. The Office
of the Vice Provost for Digital Education will
"incubate and support" digital education initiatives across
the institution, to "serve the public good."
For
this first program, Digital Education is working with the National
Education Equity Lab, a nonprofit that works to bridge
the gap between high school and college. The duo intends to offer
additional courses later in the year, all credit-bearing.
Stanford
lecturer Patrick Young, who is leading the course, worked with
Digital Education and the Ed Equity Lab to design lessons for a group
of students who may not have much background in the subject.
"The
goal is college-level rigor with support designed to meet the needs
of high school students," Young said in a statement.
The
high schoolers attend the class as part of their daily school
schedules. Stanford alumni and students serve as section leaders and
advisors. Teachers from each of the 15 participating high schools are
in the classrooms to facilitate and help with each lesson; all have
received professional development and support from Stanford's
Transforming
Learning Accelerator.
The
dual-enrollment program hopes to encourage students from
underrepresented backgrounds to aim higher in their college pursuits.
According to program officials, research has shown that most
high-achieving high school students from low-income families don't
apply to or attend "selective" colleges "where they
would have opportunities to flourish."
"Our
work is rooted in the fact that talent is evenly distributed,
opportunity is not," said Leslie Cornfeld, Ed Equity Lab's chief
executive officer. "By connecting our college partners with our
nation's historically underserved high schools, we aim to change
that, at scale. Stanford's effort shows what it looks like for a
university to play a leadership role in broadening educational
opportunity."
The
new Digital Education office at Stanford is led by Matthew Rascoff,
newly appointed as vice provost for digital education. In a campus
interview, Rascoff explained that the new office "has
a distinct mission — to
advance education innovation for equity and opportunity."
He
said that he expected the office to curate and negotiate partnerships
with outside organizations, that will help the university "contribute
to a more just, equitable and accessible system of education by
uniting Stanford's human and technological capabilities in new
combinations."
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.