Learning Opportunities
College in the Schools (CITS)
UMD CITS Program Benefits and Services
Student Benefits
- Participation in college courses, with UMD transcript upon successful completion of course(s)
- Credit transferability rate of 95% to other higher education institutions (based on responses to annual CITS surveys)
- UMD undergraduate student status, with the following services included free of charge for the full academic year:
- UCard (photo ID card used for discounts, including parking, photocopying and reduced-price tickets to UMD events)
- Library card and services
- DTA bus pass (if registered for six or more credits)
- University of Minnesota Duluth email account
- Tutoring center access
- Computer lab basic access, including the Internet
- Access to download of UMD licensed software at reduced cost
- Customized campus visits for CITS classes, including training in using:
- ePortfolio, with 100 megabytes of free storage
- Library electronic databases for research projects/papers
- Interlibrary Loan services
- Library Reference services
- UMD website featuring grades, transcripts, the CITS handbook, and the UMD Calendar of Events with access to international/national presenters
- Eight weeks at the beginning of each semester to drop college credit without penalty
- CITS program staff assistance with credit transfer issues
CITS Teacher Benefits
- Status as UMD faculty with Teaching Specialist rank
- Collaboration with discipline-specific UMD faculty liaisons
- Opportunity to provide input on improving the CITS experience for students and teachers
- Professional development opportunities at no charge, including:
- Orientation and seminars led by faculty liaisons
- Access to UMD Instructional Design Services (IDS) workshops and resources
- Opportunities for in-person discussions with peers from other schools regarding best practices, challenges and teaching strategies
- Coaching on using college syllabi, rubrics and examinations
- Training in online resources
- Access to UMD faculty resources, including:
- Computer lab basic access and Internet
- UMD licensed software
- Faculty library privileges, including training in using:
- ePortfolio, with 100 megabytes of free storages
- Library electronic databases for research projects/papers
- Interlibrary Loan services
- Library References services
- UMD websites, the CITS website, and the UMD Calendar of Events with access to international/national presenters
- UCard (Photo ID card used for discounts, including parking, photocopying and reduced-price tickets to UMD events)
- Ongoing assistances from CITS program staff (see below)
Services Provided by UMD Faculty Liaisons
- Collaboration with teachers to maintain the critical communication link between the high school and UMD
- Review of teachers applications
- Design and delivery of orientations and professional development workshops for first-time and continuing CITS teachers
- Work with teachers regarding CITS course curricula, text selection, and syllabi, and assessments
- Facilitation of CITS subject-specific online and in-person discussions of new research findings, explorations of content, evaluation of new classroom resources, and the sharing of best practices among the peer group
- As requested by CITS teachers, presentations to students during site visits
Services Coordinated by CITS Program Staff
- Teacher and course approval processes
- Assistance with posting grading, class rosters, petitions, securing transcripts, and assisting students/teachers with successful recognition of UMD CITS credit at receiving colleges/universities
- Visits by faculty liaisons to high school classrooms
- Communication with teachers, students, faculty liaisons, academic departments and school administrators regarding UMD policies, deadlines and processes
- Creation of professional development opportunities for high school teachers, including workshops facilitated by faculty liaisons
- Problem-solving with stakeholders
- CITS advocacy on- and off-campus
- Campus visits by high school classes, including coordination of UCard process, library and ePortfolio training, observation of classes, and to attend special events
- Distribution, collection and analysis of end-of-course, one-year-out and four-year-out surveys regarding effectiveness of CITS experiences
University of Minnesota Campuses