Maryland College Offer: High School Upperclassmen May Attend ‘Middle College,’ Graduate with High School, Associate’s Degree

HAGERSTOWN, MD. – Dr. Peter Mora, Atlantic Cape Community College president, arrived in western Maryland in April as chair of a team of educators whose mission as part of Middle States Accreditation was to evaluate Hagerstown Community College.
What he discovered, as part of that higher education community, was an educational concept that could benefit highly-motivated high school juniors and seniors: STEMM Technical Middle College. In May, its first nine students graduated from high school not clutching a diploma, but also an associate degree.
Its concept, in part, is already being utilized in Cape May County for upperclassmen in high schools who desire to take a college course or two while still in high school. At the Maryland campus, the middle college is where they spend their last two years of high school, apart from older college students, yet still able to participate in their home high school activities.
Atlantic Cape offers dual enrollment to those high-performing students, as do most community colleges. Mora noted that some students attend classes at the local campus while other may take college courses at their high school. It is on a “course by course” basis, he added. That is “How we move students up to the college level.”
“What this college (Hagerstown) has done is very advanced,” Mora said. He said that college president, Dr. Guy Altieri is a “very well-known college leader” and that the middle college took shape under his leadership.
About seven years ago, he said, there was collaboration between the high schools, including their technical school, and Washington County, from which it gets part of its funding.
The middle college is strictly for students who wish to pursue science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine, hence the abbreviation STEMM.
According to its website, “Each student will be given an opportunity to earn at least 30 college credits, and many will be able to complete requirements for certificates and associate’s degrees by the time they graduate from high school. Students in ninth and tenth grade are enrolled in the (middle college). As recruits, and must take significant math and science coursework at their home high schools to prepare them for their junior and senior years as students in the middle college on the HCC campus.”
It further notes that “During the middle school years, students should begin to think about whether the (middle college) is a good fit for them. It is designed for students who are high-academic achievers, capable of rigorous coursework, and interested in STEMM careers.” Benefits for those students: enhanced learning, starting and finishing college early, saving money on a college degree.
Program areas that the college offers include: alternative energy technology, biology, biotechnology, chemistry, computer science, cybersecurity, dental hygiene, digital instrumentation and process control, engineering, mathematics, mechanical engineering technology, nursing, physics, pre-medical, pre-pharmacy, radiology, simulation and digital entertainment.
Mora noted that the middle college accepts 60 to 70 students a year, roughly equally divided in junior and senior years. Hagerstown Community College is that county’s only college, Mora said. He described the college as “comparable to us.” Because of the college’s location, Mora noted its student body draws many from Pennsylvania. The closest senior college is in West Virginia, he added.
The middle college is well supported in the community, Mora said. It is acknowledged in the media as well as being advertised in local restaurants and in other unique ways.
Would such a middle college be possible in Cape May County?
“We would have to get the pieces on it, build it up; we would have to build into it. It would require a lot of money, and there are legal issues,” said Mora.
“We would have to have a discussion group with high school groups. We could do a program for students to get an associate’s degree. The process could technically work. It would require a lot of cooperation,” said Mora.
“It is one of those best practices that seem to have worked,” he added.
As chair of the accreditation team, Mora did not personally inspect the middle college; other members of the team were responsible for that task.
Mora explained the college accreditation, peer review process that occurs once a decade.
Middle States is one region of seven in the nation of higher educational institutions. All two and four-year colleges, public and private, undergo the process, which is granted by a commission.
For schools that receive Title IV federal funding, the process is a must. Loss of accreditation means exclusion from those federal funds. It also means possibly closure.
Inspection teams scrutinize every facet of a college, interview many individuals, tour the facilities and observe students. Mora has been a member of five such inspection teams.
To chair a seven-member team, a college president must be invited, and does not apply. Each team member is an expert in a certain area. None can be from the state of the institution they are inspecting.
Members are required to sign a document that they have no conflicts of interest inspecting a college, have never worked there, and that there is no working relationship between the team member and the institution. “They are very careful who they select,” said Mora.
“Hagerstown was in compliance,” said Mora. Such accreditation “Gives the public a sense of trust that someone is watching,” he said.