Southern University News September 11, 2010 Southern, EBR Public Schools Enter Online College Credit Agreement Beginning in January, juniors and seniors in East Baton Rouge Parish Schools will be able to earn college credits online from Southern. Southern University will start providing college credit course online for juniors and seniors in the East Baton Rouge Parish Public School System. The program, which begins in January, will be funded by the state Board of Regents as part of its Early Start Program. “This will be a great opportunity for our students and teachers,” EBR School Superintendent John Dilworth said at an agreement signing ceremony on the campus earlier this week. “This is a win-win for Southern University and the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.” The program will be managed by SU’s Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. Dr. William Arp, dean of the Mandela School, said Southern has several instructors trained and plans to have a multi-week training session soon for participating high school teachers selected by the school system. The courses will be college level and earned credits will be transferable to other state colleges. Chancellor Dr. Kofi Lomotey said he is “excited” about the partnership and called the agreement “one of several important initiatives” the university will be undertaking in the coming months. In an interview with The Advocate newspaper, Arp said, teachers will tape their lessons, post them online for students to view in their free time, and answer e-mails from students between sessions, he said. Initially, Southern plans to offer some freshman-level college English and math courses, but may expand offerings over time. Arp said students can earn up to six college credit hours. Families no longer will have to drive to Southern to take these classes, he said. “You save a ton of money by not having students to be physically present on the campus to get the training these students so desperately need,” Arp told The Advocate. According to the Louisiana Board of Regents’ Early Start rules, to qualify students need to have earned either an 18 on the ACT or a 17 on the pre-ACT test, known as PLAN, which 10th graders take. The rules also require participating students to get their parents’ permission and to be in good standing with their high schools. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org www.hbculibraries.org 404.592.4820 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/meeting-form.html for the October 24-26, 2010 HBCU Library Alliance 4th Membership Meeting and the "Conference on Advocacy" pre-conference in Montgomery, AL. The Pre-Conference and Membership meeting are open to directors and other librarians.