AIC Early College Partnership Makes Higher Education More Accessible

When Michael Dodge thinks about the 227 students from Duggan Academy in Springfield currently taking classes at American International College (AIC), he understands who benefits the most — and it’s not necessarily the academic high achievers who already have their eyes on college.

“We’re reaching the ones saying, ‘college isn’t for me,’ or ‘I’m not smart enough,’ or ‘no one in my family has gone to college.’ And we’re saying, ‘this program is for you.’ We’re helping students that might not have thought of college as an option — helping it become an option for them.”

Dodge, AIC’s provost, was describing the college’s relationship with Duggan, which began three years ago with high-schoolers taking classes for college credit, and has now become much more robust with AIC being designated as a Massachusetts Early College Program by the state’s joint Early College Committee.

AIC, in partnership with the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership (SEZP), is one of 18 new Early College programs announced this year by the Healey-Driscoll administration, and the only private college west of Worcester to receive this designation.

“Those students are taking a total of 900 credits,” Dodge said. “Given our successful pass rates with Duggan, that’s bringing in a significant number of students who are picking up a lot of college coursework that they now have under their belts as they think about where they want to go after high school.”

Notably, the program is a ‘wall-to-wall’ model in which every Duggan student participates. Students have the opportunity to earn up to 60 college credits — at no cost — before graduating from high school. Courses focus on high-growth, high-wage fields including allied health, education, and criminal justice.

“We’re reaching the ones saying, ‘college isn’t for me,’ or ‘I’m not smart enough,’ or ‘no one in my family has gone to college.’ And we’re saying, ‘this program is for you.’”

“We wanted to focus on fields that are in demand and lead to well-paying jobs,” Dodge said. “This puts them on a path to pursue an associate degree either at AIC or a community college or another four-year institution.”

The model ramps up the college coursework as they advance, he explained. Freshman year orients them to the expectations of a college class, and what follows is coursework in general education classes that are easily transferable, regardless of institution.

“Those include things like English composition, analytical writing — things that can help them be better writers and critical thinkers, which sets them up for success when they get to their junior year and senior year,” Dodge noted.

In those final two years of high school, students are blending college-credit courses at Duggan with classes they actually take on the AIC campus, he explained. “We want you to come to AIC, but regardless of where you go, you’re setting up a strong foundation to help you be able to keep pace with the academic rigor that exists at a college.”

While Duggan students have already been earning AIC college credits, the new designation is designed to build on that success and help even more students access college by removing common barriers.

Key program features include personalized support, including small cohorts, academic coaching, and dedicated advisors for multilingual and exceptional learners; advising to promote college readiness; culturally responsive teaching and staffing to reflect and support the student population; and universal access, with 100% of Duggan students participating regardless of prior academic performance.

“All students deserve opportunities to succeed,” Dodge said. “Early College is about more than earning credits — it’s about building the skills, confidence, and support networks students need for college and life.”

Opportunity Knocks

Gov. Maura Healey has called Early College programs a central element of her administration’s Reimagining High School initiative to prepare students for college or careers and expand access for those historically underrepresented in higher education — at a time when higher education is already facing demographic headwinds in the form of fewer high school graduates.

“Early college is an important and effective tool for making higher education more accessible and affordable for every Massachusetts student,” she said earlier this year. “These new partnerships give more young people the opportunity to earn college credit at no cost while still in high school, setting them on a path to success and helping to close opportunity gaps.”

Dodge sees such efforts as steps in the right direction, and considers the college campus immersion element an important part of the process.

“The intent, in senior year, is to have students be on our campus taking college-level courses, similar to the models for dual enrollment in the past,” he explained. “Students can take 12 to 15 credits over the course of senior year — typically four to five classes — develop some affiliation with the institution, and be able to take some independent coursework and things very specific to their planned major, so it’s not just, ‘oh, I come to campus for one class and then leave. Instead, they’re thinking about being on campus most of the day for Tuesday and Thursday, or Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”

He also appreciates the Healey administration’s focus on equity and helping close performance gaps.

“That’s one of the reasons why we applied for this designation with SEZP and the Department of Higher Education. We’re really centering equity efforts. We don’t always want to polish just the shiniest of apples, but we’re making sure we’re reaching out to that student who may not have thought of college as an option — but help them do it in ways that make sense. That’s why we start small, one or two courses freshman year, then building up intentionally and bringing them into the fold in college.

“We’re really thankful for the support from SEZP and the Department of Higher Education, and we value the partnership we have with Duggan and the Springfield Public Schools,” Dodge went on. “We think it’s a partnership that makes sense in this current environment, this academic cliff where fewer 18-year-olds are going to college. It seems like what the future of higher education needs to be.”

This article by Joseph Bednar is reprinted with permission from BusinessWest.

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AIC and SEZP launch groundbreaking Early College Program for Duggan Academy students (22News)
Partnerships Like Early College Make Higher Education More Accessible (BusinessWest)
In Focus – AIC Provost Michael Dodge (WWLP)
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