High School Dual Enrollment

Director: Yelena Pirtskhalava

Dual Degree Program Description

The Dual Enrollment program at ECC allows students from partnering high schools to take college courses while simultaneously pursuing their high school diploma. Dual Enrollment courses are taught at the high school and on the Essex County College campus by ECC professors, adjunct faculty, or by high school teachers qualified to teach college courses. This program provides an opportunity for high-school students to get an early start on their college careers by enrolling in classes offered by Essex County College that count towards both their High School Diploma and an ECC Associates Degree, with the intention of their achieving simultaneous graduation.

History

ECC offered a limited number of college courses, via several unconnected initiatives, to high school students since the late 1990’s, but it was not until the Fall of 2017 that the Dual Enrollment Program began in its current form as a structured, cohesive offering. Starting with a cohort of 22 Newark East Side HS juniors, taking credit classes toward an Associates in Arts Degree in Liberal Arts. 17 successfully graduated with both a HS Diploma and Associates Degree in June 2019.

In the same period, Dean Vieira, who initiated the Early Scholar path to graduation partnership, attended a national conference, which confirmed that many colleges throughout the country were offering similar programs. She also became aware of an increasing number of peer reviewed literature and articles in the higher education publications about dual enrollment, and based upon this evidence, she made plans to grow the ECC program. To improve and maintain academic standards, she also sought membership with the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) which allows the staff to be part of the ongoing dialogue on serving students through the program.  Her area’s efforts resulted in a program that is increasing every year, that now includes high schools from many cities and towns in Essex County, and is Objective A in Goal IV of the Colleges 2024 – 2029 Strategic Plan.

Essex County High School Dual Enrollment Partners (as of January 2025)

• Belleville HS
• Bloomfield HS
• East Orange Campus HS
• Essex County Schools of Technology
  •      Donald Payne HS
  •      Newark Tech HS
  •      West Caldwell Tech HS
• Great Oaks Legacy Charter School
• James Caldwell HS
• Irvington Rita L. Owens STEAM Academy
• Montclair HS
• Newark Public Schools District
  •      American History HS
  •       Barringer HS
  •       Central HS
  •      Eagle Academy HS
  •      East Side HS
  •      Science Park HS
  •      Technology HS
  •      University HS
  •      Weequahic HS
  •      West Side HS
• Orange HS

Essex County High School Students Receiving Associates Degree by Year

Institutions Dual Enrollment Students Transferred To After Receiving Their ECC Associates Degree

• American Institute, Clifton
• Bergen Community College
• Berkeley College – Newark
• Bradford Institute
• Caldwell College
• Drew University
• Essex County College (2^nd Major)
• Fairleigh Dickinson University
• Kean University
• Montclair University
• Moravian University
• New Jersey City University
• New York University
• New Jersey Institute of Technology
• Princeton University
• Rowan University
• Rutgers University – Newark
• Smith College
• Stockton University
• The College of New Jersey
• Tufts University
• University of Albany
• University of Pittsburgh