Eight in 10 U.S. high schools reported that students were enrolled ...]]> In a first-ever convening of New England dual-credit programs, UConn Early College Experience and National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) will host a one-day conference on Wednesday, May 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Storrs, Conn.  For more information, please click here.

Eight in 10 U.S. high schools reported that students were enrolled in “dual-credit” courses in 2010-11, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Defined as courses where high school students can earn both high school and postsecondary credits for the same course, dual-credit course offerings vary in content, structure and funding.

Dual-credit courses include those focused on academic subjects as well as career and technical subjects. In some cases, these courses are offered solely at high schools, taught by high school faculty; in others, these courses are offered at a college campus to both high school and college students. Dual-credit courses, as defined by the U.S. Education Department study, have also been referred to as "dual-enrollment," "concurrent-enrollment," and "early college" courses.

Whether academically focused or career-focused, concurrent enrollment or early college, many of these dual-credit programs have been connected with higher student postsecondary enrollment and success rates.

Carolyn Lynch, CEO of the Lynch Foundation ...]]> University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst and Connecticut's State Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz will be among 14 speakers to address UConn graduates on Sunday, May 6. Herbst, will speak at 12:30 p.m., and Katz at 5 p.m. in UConn's Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.

Carolyn Lynch, CEO of the Lynch Foundation established by she and her husband Peter in 1987, and Amy Lind Corbett, the New England Regional Administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration, will deliver Regis College's commencement addresses on Saturday, May 12, at 10 a.m., in the Tower Gardens.

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Eileen M. Collins, the first female commander of a NASA space shuttle mission, will speak at Bunker Hill Community College’s 38th commencement exercises on Saturday, June 2, when the college expects to graduate its largest class to date.

For more, see: Happens Every Spring: More NE Commencement Speakers Announced; Gov. Malloy, Sen. Kerry, Victoria Reggie Kennedy Among Newly Announced NE Commencement Speakers; NE Colleges Announce Spring Commencement Speakers Even Before Winter Arrives (smtms in 140 chars max).

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University ...]]> Former University of Connecticut President Michael Hogan resigned as president of the University of Illinois less than two years after he was hired to repair damage done by an admissions scandal. He will be succeeded by longtime university administrator Robert Easter, who reportedly agreed to do the job for two years.

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University of Vermont trustees selected E. Thomas Sullivan, currently senior vice president for academic affairs and former provost of the University of Minnesota, to be the next UVM president, effective July 15.

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The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) named Bruce Chaloux as its new executive director and CEO, succeeding John Bourne, who is retiring from the online learning association in March. The consortium also named Chief Knowledge Officer Janet Moore editor-in-chief of its Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks. Chaloux joins Sloan-C from the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) where he served as director of student access programs and services and founded the Electronic Campus, a 16-state consortia of  300 colleges and universities in the South, that make available more than 40,000 online courses and 2,000 degree programs.

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The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education confirmed the appointment of John L. Cox as the next president of Cape Cod Community College, succeeding Kathleen Schatzberg upon her retirement at the end of June. Cox currently serves as vice president for finance, operations, and government relations at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Md.