Overview
We offer courses ranging from general-education mainstays (English composition, precalculus, elementary physics) to career-directed courses such as accounting and oceanic science and education to specific interest offerings such as Foundations of Entrepreneurship and Introduction to Engineering.
Programming and Partnerships
We have recently been responding to rapidly-growing interest in our business courses, such as Foundations of Entrepreneurship and Business Law and Esports. Our Health Sciences offerings (Fundamentals of Medical Lab Sciences, Dental Hygiene) also correlate with UB’s standing reputation in this field.
UB has maintained ongoing and positive relationships with a number of school districts in the southwest quarter of the state including New Haven, Seymour, Stamford, and Bridgeport itself, in addition to welcoming new partnerships with Coventry schools and Bacon Academy in Colchester.
Student Eligibility
We certify and sanction the course as a whole instead of considering individual students for eligibility. If the student is permitted to be enrolled in that high school course, they are considered eligible for dual credit status.
Instructor Credentials for Concurrent Enrollment Courses
When considering a new teacher, our basic approach is to ask whether we would hire this person as an adjunct instructor for UB’s campus courses. We review a prospective teacher’s background and experience and require the submission of transcripts. The principal must approve the application, which we consider to be a meaningful endorsement.
Registration and Fees
The necessary first step is for each student to submit a parent/guardian consent form. Together with that the student completes an online registration form, including demographic information and course selection. After the two parts are matched and registration is completed, the student is issued a UB identification number which can be used to process the course fee (where applicable). Our posted deadline for application is October 1st and deadline for payment is October 15th.
UB is a fully accredited institution (NECHE and COHE, plus appropriate professional accreditations). We believe that our credits will be recognized by essentially all comparable schools in Connecticut. We have standing reciprocal credit transfer agreements in place with a number of schools in the region and this extends to DE/ECC credits. Student transcripts are subject to a University-standard $7.50 fee.
The cost is $50 per course credit. This usually translates to $150 per course although some math courses in particular count for four credits and therefore $200 per course. We consider eligibility for free or reduced-price meals to be adequate grounds to waive the program fee. Students note their eligibility on the application form, and we confirm that status with the high school.
Supports for Multilingual Families
As the program is essentially an accreditation of courses taught through the partner schools, we do not normally have reason to engage directly with student families. That said, we do host a large number of international students at UB and are capable of handling inquiries and requests in numerous languages.
Contact Information
Patrick Frawley
Assistant Professor, Director of General Education Mathematics, DE/ECC Program Coordinator
pfrawley@bridgeport.edu
475-319-0339
Julie F. Demers
Director of Instruction Based and Sponsored Research
jdemers@bridgeport.edu
203-576-4974