OVERVIEW

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) and Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) are partners in the Early College Program at Waddell. This magnet program is designed to provide students the opportunity to take college courses concurrently with their high school programs of study in order to have a smooth transition to college.  The Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA). The CAA is a formal agreement among the University of North Carolina system with more than twenty North Carolina private colleges, and the North Carolina Community College system.  The CAA allows students to earn a minimum of 44 hours of college credit and to transfer these credit hours to a participating college or university upon high school graduation.  However, students who earn less than 44 hours may not have all of them transfer to a particular college or university.  Due to this, and the number of credits required for graduation, the sequence of the Early College program courses in Grades 9-12 is largely predetermined.

STUDENT EXPECTATIONS

Although there are no admissions requirements to enter the Early College, students (and their parents), who desire to enter the program need to be aware of the rigor, depth, intensity, and high expectations required.  Students are required to enroll in Honors level CMS courses in Grades 9 -10, and Advanced Placement courses in Grades 11-12.

The ideal Early College student…

·         enjoys reading, learning and academic challenges;

·         has ability to do accelerated work (depth and breadth);

·         is self-motivated to learn;

·         possesses intellectual curiosity;

·         is willing to commit to college-level work expectations (for example: at least two hours of homework each night); and

·         has Reading and Math proficiency above grade level.

REQUIREMENTS

As a continuation requirement, rising juniors (and rising seniors new to Early College) will be required to take the College Board’s Accuplacer Test.  Once admitted at the junior or senior level, students are required to maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA (C average) in college courses, because college course grades below “C” will not transfer between colleges.  A student whose college course GPA falls below 2.0 for one semester will be placed on probation for the next semester in accordance with the Academic Progress procedures of Magnet Programs. A GPA of less than 2.0 in college courses for two consecutive semesters will make the student ineligible for continuation in the Early College Program.

To remain in the Early College Program, students must:

·         Grade 9 – enroll in four (4) CMS core courses per year; at least one must be at the Honors level or higher.

·         Grade 10 – enroll in four (4) CMS core courses per year, at least two must be at the Honors level or higher.

·         Take the College Board Accuplacer Test during the Spring of the 10^th Grade

·         Grades 11 & 12 – enroll in three (3) CMS core courses per year, at least two (2) of which are at the Advanced Placement level and enroll in the college course sequence for each grade level per semester.

·         Participate in the required summer readings at each grade level, which may require purchasing some are all books.

NOTE: Admission to any college/university is  not guaranteed; students must still go through normal application processes; admission requirements vary among colleges. (Click here to download a brochure about the CAA, which will explain this process in more detail). 

The Transfer Performance Data can help you in your decision making. Click here.