Part 2: Graduating from an Early College High School and Matriculating into CUNY

Educational Goals

The overall goal is for EC students to complete degrees in an accelerated time frame, if possible, and continue the same academic momentum they started in high school.

CUNY Admissions

Early college high school students apply for admission to CUNY using the same CUNY application, FAFSA, and financial forms as other college students. However, there are special processes and considerations for EC students applying to CUNY as fully matriculated students.

Consideration 1: How EC/advisors work with CUNY admissions offices

There is one main admissions person at the CUNY Central Admissions Office designated to assist all early college high schools and students during the college application process. However, schools still need to develop relationships with specific college campus representatives, usually aligned by borough.

Consideration 2: Students apply as freshmen rather than transfer students

However, effective September 2018 and in conjunction with the rollout of a new CUNY Admissions application, all early college students will apply to CUNY using the freshmen application regardless of how many college credits they have earned. Applications and academic coursework will now be contained in CUNYFirst, the colleges will be able to review freshmen applicants and include their college coursework in the review.

Once admitted as freshmen, the colleges will still transfer all eligible CUNY credits, and students will be able to receive the benefits of freshmen advising, orientation, and other programming. This new process is essentially designed to give EC alumni the best of both worlds and the opportunity to be reviewed in both the freshmen and transfer pool, if applicable. The intended benefit of being reviewed in both pools is that students now have two reviews of their application and thus two ways under which they can enter a college, all while being able to keep all the college credits they have .

Counselors and/or staff working with students applying to CUNY colleges should still have students review the appropriate CUNY admission profiles for both freshmen and transfer students. In addition, to prepare early college students for applying to CUNY, students should know their: CUNYfirst ID (if they have taken college courses and interacted with the system) and password College GPA Amount of college credits earned College classes they plan to take during high school SAT scores (if applicable)

Consideration 3: Applying to Special CUNY Programs

CUNY’s Macaulay Honors College

EC students can apply and be considered for Macaulay but must:

• Choose the Macaulay application (instead of the regular freshmen application)

• Adhere to their special application requirements and deadlines

• Understand some of their college credits may be forfeited at certain colleges

Macaulay applicants will be reviewed for general admissions first, then for the first two ranked choices they select on the application for the Honors program. If they don’t meet the general Macaulay guidelines, the student can still be admitted to and attend the college for general admission.

In the past if an EC student applied and got into a Macaulay Honors College it meant he/she often had to forfeit many of their college credits because on average Macaulay Colleges only accepted about 12-16 college credits. However, in 2018 CUNY Central Admissions informed all the campus admissions offices that “It is CUNY policy that “all courses taken for credit at an undergraduate CUNY college [shall] be accepted for credit at every other CUNY undergraduate college,…[.] (BTM,2011,06-27,005,_M).”

So technically Macaulay and the partner colleges should accept most CUNY college credits from EC students. However, EC understands that this may not be playing out like that at all campuses and depending on a student's major.

For instance, Hunter has said that any students earning college credits in high school (through EC, Bard Early College Students, AP, etc.) and are accepted into Hunter’s Macaulay Honors College will only get 30 credits max because the curriculum does not allow for them to have more and they make this clear in the interviews. However, we still think this may be disenfranchising students. So, please flag for EC if you have students get into Macaulay but are not getting all their credits accepted so we can advocate for them.

Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP)

Students who have attended a CUNY early college school and are matriculating to college, are welcome to apply to ASAP (if they plan on pursuing the designated ASAP majors) as matriculated students. EC students may have up to 30 credits at the time of joining ASAP if the credits were earned during or connected to the high school years. Students with more than 30 earned credits may not be eligible for ASAP.

New York State Opportunity Programs

In April 2020 EC was pleased to have received a memo from the NYS Education Department (who funds the opportunity programs across the state - CUNY SEEK/CD, SUNY EOP, and HEOP) and they agree that EC students shouldn't be shut out of opportunity programs solely because of their college credits. Although this memo may be distributed and interpreted differently by each college campus or program, students and staff should feel empowered to use this memo if they come across a campus or program that is looking to deny a student access to their opportunity program based on college credits when the student would otherwise be eligible.

Consideration 4: Submitting admissions documents and deciphering messages after accepted into a CUNY

NYCPS schools provide high school transcripts to all CUNY campuses. However, students may still receive general mass messages after being accepted into CUNY about submitting other documents such as immunization records, etc. Therefore students may still need an advisor to help determine and confirm what information is applicable to them and what information may not apply to them.

CUNY Eligibility:

Demonstration Proficiency through the CUNY Proficiency Index

Students can still demonstrate that they meet the university’s proficiency requirements in English and Math based on their SAT, ACT, or NY State Regents test scores. However, starting in the spring semester of 2019, in addition to using Regents and SAT scores to determine student proficiency, CUNY began using a newly developed Proficiency Index Score.

The proficiency index scores are used to determine whether the student is eligible to begin in college level English and math or if remedial intervention is necessary.

This new index will use the following factors to determine whether a student has a greater than 65% likelihood of passing a credit bearing course:

• High School GPA

• Regents Scores

• SAT Scores

This index relies on the first three years of high school data in order to make a recommendation. The proficiency index is available when a student applies to matriculate at CUNY. The proficiency index uses information that is already part of the application for freshman admissions: student’s overall high school GPA at the time of application, SAT scores, and Regents scores. If an applicant has both SAT scores and Regents scores, the formula will use both scores, but if they have only Regents or only SAT, it will use whichever is available. The formula places more weight on high school grades than test scores, but higher test scores can help offset lower grades and vice versa.

You can find out the latest and most detailed information about CUNY proficiency requirements here.

Testing and Placement

EC students who apply and get accepted into a CUNY college may still be asked to take a placement test even though they have met CUNY proficiency. The results of this test will be used to place students in the appropriate mathematics course at their college. Knowing the difference between a test for proficiency vs. placement helps students understand the reason for testing.

If a student is asked to take a placement test after meeting proficiency, students should: Confirm that they indeed need to take the test Communicate with the testing office at the appropriate college about when to take the test Prepare for the test as necessary Test preparation resources are included in the following link: http://www2.cuny.edu/academics/testing/test-preparation-resources/

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees for early college alumni matriculating into CUNY are the same as any other CUNY student. However, on average, EC students save one year of tuition and fees by earning approximately 24-30 credits in high school.

Financial Aid

EC students never have to use financial aid while they are taking college classes in high school because the NYCPS and CUNY fully fund all expenses. However, once early college students are about to graduate from our high schools and become fully matriculated, degree-pursuing students, they will be responsible for the cost of tuition and applying for financial aid.

EC credits also shouldn't prevent students from getting the full federal and state financial aid (For example Pell and TAP) that they would be entitled to if they hadn't gone to an EC high school and are otherwise eligible. However, there are still implications beyond that because EC credits are CUNY credits and as such follow the same rules when it comes to financial aid like in the case of

• CUNY Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP); and

• TAP Major/degree eligibility requirements (see below)

Further, it has come to EC’s attention that some CUNY financial aid offices notify EC alumni that they are not starting off as "first-time freshmen," which then limits their NY State’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) awards and the timeframe and awards they have to complete their degrees. EC believes that students are entitled to all of the federal, state and other financial aid they are eligible for just as if they had attended a traditional high school. However, EC also recognizes all students receiving full time TAP funds must still declare a major by the time they reach 60 college credits and must take at least 12 credits that are applicable to their matriculated major/degree which may complicate things.

1. Document and inform EC about the issues. EC can continue to track and flag for central leadership, advocate for students, and educate the college financial aid or registrar’s offices. 2. Ask the student or financial aid office to see if they qualify for a Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) - an extra federal grant for undergraduate students with exceptional financial need that is more flexible than TAP. FSEOG is administered directly by the financial aid office at each participating school and not always advertised. Not all schools participate. 3. Ask the student to work with an advisor at their matriculating college to forecast how the issue might affect future financial aid packages. In some cases, declaring a different major or adding a minor may be an option.

Also, where possible Early College Liaisons should try to forge relationships with financial aid offices on their partner campuses, because even though our students don’t use financial aid in high school, the financial aid offices might need more understanding about the EC model. Inviting financial aid staff to events or asking them to be a featured speaker at senior events increase their understanding of the model.

Excelsior Scholarship Administered by NY State High Education Services Corporation (HESC)

The Excelsior Scholarship is a last-dollar grant; in combination with other student financial aid programs like Pell and TAP, the scholarship allows students to attend a SUNY or CUNY college tuition-free. A recipient of an Excelsior Scholarship may receive up to $5,500.

For Excelsior Scholarship eligibility, students must:

• Be a resident of NYS and have resided in NYS for 12 continuous months prior to the beginning of the term

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen

• Have either graduated from high school in the United States or earned a high school equivalency diploma

• Have a combined federal adjusted gross income of $125,000 or less

• Be pursuing an undergraduate degree at a SUNY or CUNY college, including community colleges and the statutory colleges at Cornell University and Alfred University

• Be enrolled in at least 12 credits per term and complete at least 30 credits each year (successively), applicable toward his or her degree program

• Have earned at least 30 credits each year (successively), applicable toward his or her degree program prior to applying for an Excelsior Scholarship (if student attended college prior to the 2018-19 academic year)

• Be in a non-default status on a student loan made under any NYS or federal education loan program or on the repayment of any NYS award

• Be in compliance with the terms of the service condition(s) imposed by a NYS award that has been previously received

• Execute a Contract agreeing to reside in NYS for the length of time the award was received, and if employed during such time, be employed in NYS

The Excelsior Scholarship requirement of earning 30 credits prior to applying does not apply to early college alumni during their first year matriculating into a college. However, since Excelsior is still so new, there may be some hiccups in how the college credits are evaluated. If students are rejected on the basis of high school credits, they should fight it because HESC may not be able to tell that the college credits students earner were earned in High School when they do a review of students academic records. So student or counselor advocacy with HESC may be needed. Prior advocacy, has resulted in early college students/alumni getting decisions overturned by appealing to HESC after first being rejected.

While the HESC info page about the Excelsior Scholarship doesn't refer to early college students specifically, the HESC FAQ page provides useful information about how the college credits a student earns in high school can be used in the future once they are fully matriculated.The “Credits from AP Courses” section states that “college credits earned while a student in high school can be applied in any manner that results in 30 cumulative credits per year.”

Another informative resource is a 2017 article from Politico New York, Agency Releases Rules for Excelsior Scholarships.Specifically, there is a paragraph that states: “College credits earned during high school, or as a non-matriculated status, count towards the 30 credits, but don’t necessarily have to be used in the first semester, HESC officials said. A student may, for example, choose to use their incoming credits in their junior and senior year, but they must notify the school that they are doing so. Transfer credits, if accepted by the institution, also count towards the 30.”

If your students know they are financially eligible for Excelsior, but their application is rejected on the basis of something related to their college credits from high school, they should appeal the decision! Contact the CUNY/SUNY financial aid office the student is enrolling in and/or HESC to have the decision reviewed. Please get EC involved if necessary.

Other Excelsior Tips

• Some awards were as small as $5 or $10, but if a student gets this small award they should still accept it. If they decline an Excelsior award, they cannot re-apply into the program, and it is always possible that financial circumstances or the program rules can change.

• If students plan to go into the military or grad school out of state and are concerned about having to pay Excelsior back as a 0% interest loan, they should note that if they/their parents (if they are being claimed as dependents) don’t change their NY State residency, they should be ok

• HESC will be handling situations involving residency changes on a case-by-case basis.

• HESC has been mostly favorable to appeals, so it is worth pursuing one if a student’s application is initially rejected.

Campus Scholarships/Honors

EC alumni may be automatically accepted into honors programs as freshmen. However, a separate application to CUNY honors programs may be required, such as for Hunter’s Freshmen Scholars Program and John Jay’s Honors Programs.

Registration

Students pick and register for classes on their own once they graduate from an EC high school, so liaisons and high schools should prepare students for this experience. Some colleges do not have the staff capacity to review a student’s class choices to ensure that the courses chosen will contribute to a student’s degree and enable them to continue receiving financial aid if they’re eligible. However, CUNY EC has established some special relationships with the following CUNY Advisement Offices to give our students direct support for registration and advising:

• Baruch

• John Jay

• Lehman

• Queens College

• Hunter

For specific contacts at these CUNY Advisement Offices, please contact EC.

When students interact with these offices, they should be very specific in identifying that they are alumni from an early college high school so that these offices can differentiate and serve our students better.

Teach students how to register for classes on their own by their senior year of high school The College Liaison and school staff should consider having students engage in mock registrations to prepare for college registration independently.

Declaring a Major

Depending on the number of credits students have earned, they may need to declare a major sooner rather than later for both degree and financial aid purposes. Generally, a student must declare a major by the time they have reached 60 credits at a four-year College or 30 credits at a community college. Therefore, major exploration should happen at our high schools and before students matriculate into CUNY.

Some majors have higher GPA requirements such as Nursing, Radiologic Technology, Business, and Engineering. Students should refer to each CUNY college website for more specific information about GPA requirements for majors that are of interest.

It is also important to note that in most cases a student’s college credits and GPA will continue with them if they enroll at the CUNY college that their early college high school is partnered with. However, if they enroll at a different CUNY college, their credits will transfer, but their college GPA will reset.

Exploration for careers should begin in 10th grade. Studies show that when this happens, students are more likely to matriculate to college. There are several career assessment websites such as www.mynextmove.org that schools can use to discuss career options. Discuss different careers and majors, and give students insights about the implications of changing majors. Schools can also partner with their college’s Career Services Office to expose students to various ways of exploring careers. There are also specific college resources, such as SUNY Oswego’s Career Services Website “What can I do with a major in ...Connecting Your Major to a Career Path”, so students should also reference the websites of colleges they are interested in.

General Education Degree Requirements

Degree requirements for EC alumni are the same as any other CUNY student, but hopefully because of their early college experience, students have a head start on fulfilling or completing their general education requirements that lead to a college degree.

Students who have completed some or most of their general education requirements should take full advantage of advising support at the college and plan their semester loads with degree requirements in mind.

CUNYfirst CUNYfirst (Fully Integrated Resources & Services Tool) is the name of CUNY’s Enterprise Resource Planning project. For students, this student management system means more coordinated service and quicker, easier access to information about all areas of their CUNY academic life, from admissions through academic progress/graduation. All EC students who take CUNY classes in high school should have a CUNYfirst account, know how to access it and look up key information.

There are several other recommended tools students should be familiar with before leaving EC schools: DegreeWorks EC students should be familiar with DegreeWorks and its What If feature while they are in high school, even though it will appear slightly different in high school from when they are matriculated in college. Using Degree Works: See CUNY's Online Degree Audit Tool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkB212EQTqk College Websites Another good resource is the website of a college that a student plans to attend, such as Hunter’s advising website, which includes “What’s Your 120?”and Degree Maps that can be reviewed before arriving at Hunter. Evaluate My Transfer Credit This can be a useful tool when a student is planning to transfer to a different CUNY college. They will be able to see how the college they are interested in transferring to might evaluate their credit after they have been admitted. It is important to note that the evaluation they will see is considered unofficial and preliminary. After applying and being admitted, an official evaluation will be conducted. Evaluate My Transfer Credit is accessible by: Logging into CUNYfirst and navigate to Student Center. Click the drop down menu in the center of the screen and choose ‘Evaluate My Transfer Credit.’ Follow the prompts to complete an unofficial evaluation of student credits. For a more detailed explanation, see the Student Guide. Transfer Explorer Tool (TREX) In 2020 a new, public and more transparent data tool that anyone can use called the Transfer Explorer (TREX) was released. Here are highlights of a few of the features: View Course Equivalencies: Follow the prompts to see how courses will transfer, in all directions. Use the search bar to quickly filter to find what you are looking for. The search feature works when typing a word, subject, or catalog number. Bookmark this equivalency: Anyone can “bookmark” a given equivalency so that it can be easily shared. You can use this to share ePermit possibilities with students. When you visit the bookmark page, you can generate a unique link and/or an email. You can remove the bookmarks to clear the way if you wish to share a different set with a different person. CUNY Course Catalog: You can easily search all courses across the University, for course descriptions, credit hours, etc. Review and Validate Equivalencies: This component will enable faculty to log in to the system and “suggest” equivalencies. This will then be routed through a workflow, and if the suggestion is agreed upon, the rule will be updated in CUNYfirst. EC staff and students can particularly take advantage of this tool for Revisiting your school's scope & sequence; and The course history found in TREX which may prove useful for students who need to advocate for themselves with colleges where they want to matriculate.

CONCLUSION

Our goal with this handbook was to help provide a resource which summarizes most of the standing policy and for this handbook to serve as a primary tool for a variety of stakeholders within the network. We plan on updating policies and guidelines any time there are significant changes that affect our EC Partnerships.We look forward to continuing to work with each partnership to help reach our shared goals.

If you have any questions regarding any of the policy, guidelines, or recommendations in this document, please reach out to EC and we will be happy to help clarify.

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APPENDIX Important Policies and Procedures/Forms

EC will distribute documents throughout the year to each EC Partnership, in a future update we will provide links to a number of templates you may use in your own work and additional policies which may be school model-specific.

• EC Program, student exit letter

• Scope & sequence

• Budget forms

Acknowledgements

We’d like to thank our colleagues at the Office of Student Pathways for helping provide feedback and updated policies that are especially important to our schools. Thank you for helping make this document a more comprehensive resource for the network. Similarly, we would also like to thank the EC liaisons who also provided us with feedback and suggestions on how to improve the document.