By SHANNON O. WELLS
More than 40 years ago, 16 high school students enrolled in an experimental college-level calculus class at North Hills High School in Ross. Fast forward to 2023, that fledgling program has grown to offer 50-some courses to more than 4,000 students at no fewer than 150 Pennsylvania and Ohio high schools.
In short, what started as a novel concept, the College in High School (CHS) program has become an integral — and ever-evolving — element of Pennsylvania’s educational landscape.
More than one year after its accreditation by the National Alliance for Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships, the program’s rich offerings and fertile enrollment numbers give Director Michael Giazzoni ample room for optimism.
“It seems to be on the rise,” he said. “We won’t be finished with fall enrollment for another week, and then we’ll have a spring enrollment, but we may crack 5,000 students for the first time ever this year.”
Considered a concurrent enrollment partnership, College in High School, based in the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, allows participating students to earn academic credit from both their high school and Pitt by completing “rigorous” college-level coursework.
Through classes taught by high school teachers certified by Pitt faculty members, students can get a college-level experience at lower than 10 percent of Pitt’s in-state tuition cost, Giazzoni said.
In its mission statement, College in High School says the program:
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Creates collaborative partnerships among high school teachers and University of Pittsburgh faculty.
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Offers a broad range of college courses within high school classrooms.
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Ensures course integrity.
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Provides financial support for students in need.
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Provides high quality support to university faculty, high school teachers, and students.
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Advances knowledge in the field of concurrent enrollment to uphold and elevate nationally recognized standards.
“Our most popular single course is STAT 0200,” noted Giazzoni, who has directed the program for 11 years. “We’re always adding new courses to our catalog of over 45 current courses.”
The May 2022 accreditation validated that Pitt’s College in High School follows “the best-practice, research-based national standards to ensure quality and maximum transferability of credits,” he added. “We were already an excellent program when I started, but two issues slowed us down in obtaining accreditation: The pandemic and building an extensive system of high school visits to ensure curriculum alignment.”
When it began, the program was more the province of advanced placement-level students, but it has grown increasingly inclusive as its benefits become more evident.
“Within our program and nationally, CHS programs are moving away from the ‘honors’ model, because most high school students can benefit from a program like this,” Giazzoni said. “We continue to offer courses that have AP equivalents, but we now also offer courses in professions like IT, social work and education, which are interesting for a broader range of students.”
That said, high school students who take part are held to similar standards as their counterparts on Pitt’s campuses.
“Grades, test scores, general interest, and enthusiasm are all very important,” Giazzoni clarified. “Courses offered through CHS are University of Pittsburgh courses, so students must be prepared to be graded under those same standards. They are just being taught the material by their Pitt-approved high school teachers.”
In addition to accreditation, Giazzoni is encouraged by Pitt College in High School’s ongoing partnership with Pitt’s Justice Scholars Institute, a college preparation and academic enrichment program for high school students in Pittsburgh Public Schools, and intends to “continue to deepen that partnership in the coming years,” he said. “Our work in several Pittsburgh Public Schools would have been impossible without them.”
Still hoping to see more from the legislature in terms of standards and funding, Giazzoni said he’s excited that Pennsylvania is “seriously considering some legislation to support this field of education. Most states have quality standards and funding for these programs, but our state has lagged behind others in this arena.”
Pennsylvania House Bill 1642, which passed in early 2022, mandates that high schools make college credits accessible to students. However, Giazzoni noted, it’s an unfunded mandate “in a field that’s woefully inequitable already.”
Acknowledging he was “honored” to serve on a task force with Pitt’s Institute of Politics to develop state policy recommendations for programs like College in High School, Giazzoni testified on Oct. 19, at a Pennsylvania House Education Committee hearing on the topic.
Among the things he advocated is “some funding for families who can’t afford it — otherwise it just reproduces the inequities already present in our school funding system,” he said. “Our office has intentionally focused on quality, equity and scholarship funding, but other programs have no incentive to do so and underserved schools lag in participation because of it.”
Although there’s always room for improvement in terms of quality standards, funding and equity/inclusion, the well-established College in High School program at Pitt is setting an example for others to follow — domestically as well as overseas.
“We have also been approached by high schools in Asia that want to bring these opportunities to their students,” Giazzoni said, “and we are carefully examining those possibilities.”
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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