Living in Two Worlds: Merging
Higher Education into the High
School Environment
Dr. Rebecca Olympia Millán
South Texas College
May 25, 2009

2
STC’s Service Area
Starr County
Campus
Rio Grande City Technology
Nursing & Allied Campus
Health Campus Pecan Campus
McAllen Mid Valley
McAllen McAllen Campus
Weslaco

3
Brief History of STC
1993 – Created by Texas Senate Bill 251
10 certificates and 1000 students
1995 - $20 million to fund the initial
construction
2000 – SACS - 10 year reaffirmation
accreditation
2001 - $98.7 million bond to expand
construction
2004 – 96 degrees/ certificates
2005– First Bachelor’s Degree

4
STC’S Vital Statistics
• More than 60% of the student population are
the first in the family to attend college
• More than 95% of the students are Hispanic
• More than 75% of the students (not including
dual enrollment students) take advantage of
some form of financial aid
• More than 35% of the students go on to
immediately pursue a bachelor’s degree

Educational Attainment 5
of STC’s Service Area
Level or Degree Hidalgo Starr
County County
Graduate or Professional Degree 4% 3%
Bachelor’s Degree 11% 5%
Associate’s Degree 4% 2%
Some college, No degree 15% 12%
High School diploma or 25% 24%
equivalency
Less than High School diploma 41% 54%
American Community Survey 2005-2007
US Census Population and Housing Profile: 2005-2007
American FactFinder

6
High School Programs and
Services’ Mission
• will serve our students and communities through a
world-class higher education institution
• will utilize a new learning paradigm that places
emphasis on challenging high school students with a
variety of innovative programs intended for the
tangible transition to higher education and a better
way of life.
• will accomplish this while maintaining instructional
accountability, fundamental to all college-level
disciplines.

7
Dual Enrollment Programs
Special
Programs
Early College HS
2008
Academy Programs
2005
Career & Technology (CATE)
2000
Academic Courses
in 15 School Districts (42 High School Sites)
1999

8
STC’s Historical Enrollment
Fall Semester Enrollment
25,000 2 2 ,0 6 6
19 ,9 73
20,000 17,13 8 16 ,8 59
18 ,4 6 6
15,3 3 4
15,000 12 ,4 4 8
13 ,6 9 5
11,3 3 8
10 ,3 8 1
9 ,4 53
10,000
6 ,8 57
5,4 2 4
5,000 2 ,3 3 4
3 ,2 6 7
1,0 58
0
1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007

9
Dual Enrollment Student Trends
8000
7038
7000
6000
5696
5000 4600
4000 3697
2733 3207
3000 2130
2000
1000
0
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

10
STC’s Student Composition

11
Section Trends for Academic
and Career & Technology Courses
800
700
600 265
500 205
400 159
300 92
90
44 469
200 382
271 321
100 215 237
14
0 19
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Academic CATE

Faculty Involved
12
with Dual Enrollment
Academic Year *Number of Faculty
• Fall 2004 – Spring 2005 137
• Fall 2005 – Spring 2006 146
• Fall 2006 – Spring 2007 196
• Fall 2007– Spring 2008 240
• Fall 2008 – Spring 2009 303
*These numbers reflect the full-time faculty members
as well as part-time faculty members.

13
Sociological Structural Variables
• Ranking-placing one individual above
another
• Division of labor-delineation of who does
what and how it is done in a cooperative
or competitive settings
• Social distance-how close the “parts” are
supposed to be
• Boundaries-determining who can
participate

14
Defining Culture
• How individuals collectively understand and do
things.
• Shared meanings and interpretations that are
taught.
– The meanings are symbolic as they define our
values, beliefs, and expectations.
• Culture is different from structure in that it is
individualistic and collective. Unlike structure,
culture is not enforced by society but rather it is
part of the sameness that unites individuals in a
society.

15
Merging the Worlds
Dual
Enrollment
Program
South
Texas
College
ISDs
Faculty
and
Members
Schools

16
Changing the Culture by
Impacting the Structure
• Advisory Boards and Taskforce Committees
• Faculty Orientations and Discussions
• Handbooks
• Appreciation Ceremony
• Part-Time Faculty Academy
• Professional Development

17
Impacting Ranking
• Clarifying the instructor’s position
– Adjunct and Full-time Faculty Status
– Qualified High School teachers teaching
Dual Enrollment courses
• Although the designation was in the system at the Office
of Human Resources, the Dual Enrollment Faculty (DEF)
classification became official.
• Impacted the hiring and monitoring
processes which were formalized
through Taskforce committees.

18
Impacting the Division of Labor
• Dual Enrollment Advisory Board
– Comprised of High School Counselors who serve as
mediators between the high school, dual enrollment
student and STC
– Representation from High Schools with varying
degrees of success, student enrollment, and dual
enrollment programs
– Provided trainings to increase the assistance the
counselors and faculty could offer students
– Provided opportunities for input on policy and
procedural changes impacting the high schools,
students, and faculty

19
Impacting the Division of Labor
Orientations and Discussions
– Cooperative environment within
a perceived competitive structure
• Full-time Faculty concerns regarding
number of students and number of
sections taught within a high school
• Communication of policies, best
practices, and correcting the
misconceptions surrounding
students, faculty, and courses

20
Impacting the Division of Labor
• Dual Enrollment Handbooks
Provide stakeholders the expectations and practices of the
college in comparison to the high school (i.e. attendance,
grading policy, and Student Code of Conduct)
– Full-time Faculty
• Completed and will be continually updated
Summer Projects:
– Dual Enrollment Faculty Handbook
– High School Administration Handbook
– Student and Parent Handbook
– Orientation
• STC Outreach
• Larger Scale

21
Impacting Social Distance

22
Impacting Social Distance
and Boundaries
Professional Development
Opportunities

23
Impacting Social Distance
and Boundaries
April 2009
December
2008
November
2008

24
Impacting Social Distance
and Boundaries

25
Impacting Boundaries
• Policy Change regarding Tuition and
Fees
– High school dual enrollment students who
independently enroll in college classes
offered at any STC campus or facility will be
charged a flat tuition rate of $50 per credit
hour.
– Students will be responsible for applicable
parking fees, materials and textbook(s)
associated with taking the course(s).

26
Lingering and Continuing Issues
• Students’ Culture
– Impact of Attendance
– Grading policies
– Expectations and Responsibilities
• Organizational Issues
– Textbooks
– Faculty’s Academic Freedom
– Determining Number of Sections
– Quality and Monitoring

27
Future Projects
Improving Dual Enrollment Online Presence
• Website
• Blackboard Class Management
• Social Networking Sites

28
Future Projects
• Career and Technology (assisting Workforce Specialist)
– Procedures and Guidelines
– Handbooks
– Safety
– Examining College Readiness
– Improving Student Success

29
Other Dual Enrollment Related
Break-out Sessions
Opening Early College High Schools
– Dr. Wallace Johnson, Room 8C, Level 3, 1:30 - 2:30
Challenges and Innovations in Teaching and Learning in Dual-
Enrollment Programs
– Roundtable Area A, Tuesday, 12:30 - 1:15
Part-Time Faculty Academy
– Room 18C, Level 4, with Lee Grimes and Anahid Petrosian,
Tuesday, 2:45 - 3:45
A Program Like No Other, STC’s Dual Enrollment Programs
– Room 12B, Level 4, Wednesday, 9:30 - 10:30

Discussion and Questions

31
Contact Information
Dr. Rebecca Olympia Millán, Coordinator of DE
Programs
(956) 872-6705 rmillan@southtexascollege.edu
Nick Gonzalez, Associate Dean for HS Programs and
Services
(956) 872-2133 ngon@southtexascollege.edu
Dr. Wallace Johnson, Assistant Director of ECHS
(956) 872-2673 wally@southtexascollege.edu
Lupe Chavez, Coordinator for DE Academies
(956) 872-3499 gchavez@southtexascollege.edu
Kimberly D. Harrington, Workforce Programs Specialist
(956) 872-6246 kdharrington@southtexascollege.edu