News and Announcements
on February 12,2025, Dr. Nina Arshavsky gave a presentation on Increasing the Number of Students Prepared for College Level Courses for the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) Webinar. View the presentation.
New National Rural Higher Education Research Center
The federal Institute of Education Sciences has announced a five-year award to MDRC to develop the National Rural Higher Education Research Center, and the Early College Research Center is excited to be an official partner of the center. Dr. Julie Edmunds will serve as Co-Principal Investigator for the project.
The new center will assess strategies for improving rates of postsecondary enrollment and success for students from rural communities across the United States, as college-going and college completion rates are far lower in rural communities than in other geographical settings.
The center has also partnered with state-level higher education agencies and intends to conduct research activities in 10 states, including 25 colleges and universities, along with practitioner and researcher advisors representing a total of 21 states.
In addition to its research activities, the center will engage with national and regional higher education associations to disseminate the results of its research broadly, build the capacity of researchers and rural-serving institutions to conduct research, and support practitioners and early career researchers seeking to improve postsecondary outcomes for rural students.
Early Colleges As A Model for Schooling: Creating New Pathways for Access to Higher Education
This new book uses early college research to argue that all students should have access to a combined high school and college experience.
Read the Washington Post article. Book available at: Harvard Education Press and Amazon
Q&A – Research reveals the strengths and challenges of the early college model.
EdNC interviewed Dr. Julie Edmunds (Executive Director with the Early College Research Center at UNC Greensboro, Dr. Nina Arshavsky (Senior Research Specialist with the Early College Research Center at UNC Greensboro), and Dr. Beth Glennie (Senior Research Education Analyst, RTI International) about the early college high school model. Read the interview.
“North Carolina has a comprehensive vision of how the early college high school should be implemented, which creates a positive experience for students and contributes to a broad-based commitment to the model within the community.”
Dr. Julie Edmunds
Listen to the 3-part podcast series featuring Dr. Julie Edmunds, Executive Director of the Early College Research Center at UNC Greensboro, and Mr. Matt Bristow-Smith, Principal at Edgecombe Early College High School. The episodes broach the topic of Early College High Schools giving insight into the rights of all students to have an equal choice and voice to excel in an Early College High School environment. All three episodes provide a rare opportunity for two experts, a researcher, and a practitioner, to offer insight into the topic of Early College High School. Listen to the podcasts.