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News Release T: 605.773.3455 |
| For Immediate Release 13 March 2000
Board of Regents to Hold Summer Advanced Placement Institutes PIERRE- The South Dakota Board of Regents will host eight College Board Advanced Placement Institutes this summer at the universities' campuses. The institutes will be offered to teachers who want to prepare high school students for College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) examinations. Administered by the College Board, the Advanced Placement Program gives high school students the opportunity to take courses that are equivalent to first-year college courses. In May of each year students can take College Board's Advanced Placement examinations to demonstrate they have obtained the knowledge and skills of comparable college courses. When they enroll in a university that accepts AP credit, they can present their AP scores to earn university credit. Credit received decreases the cost of a degree. "South Dakota public universities accept the AP score in the place of an entry level course," said Regents Executive Director Robert T. Tad Perry. "At today's tuition rate, those AP credits will save a student about $250."
High schools offering AP courses are making a commitment to teach a course that is equivalent to an entry-level college course. The College Board does not require that the high school teachers have any special training but it does encourage teachers to attend special workshops or courses intended to assist them. The institutes will provide teachers with course content, teaching methods, and information on how to prepare their students for the AP examination.
Announcements and application materials for the Advanced Placement institutes have been mailed to school board presidents, superintendents, and secondary principals. Any interested teacher should contact his or her school officials. Superintendents and principals may obtain College Board materials on the AP program from Dr. Paul Gough at the Board of Regents at (605) 773-3455 or email paulg@ris.sdbor.edu. The Regent's AP policies are available on the Internet at the Board's web site www.ris.sdbor.edu. A total of eight Advanced Placement institutes will be held this summer:
High school teachers who enroll in the AP institutes have the option of earning two hours of graduate credit. Those who do not want to earn college credit will be charged only for materials. Those seeking credit will be required to complete specific course requirements and will be charged applicable tuition rates.
This is the third year the Regents have hosted the Advanced Placement institutes. The institutes were created in response to requests from leaders in elementary and secondary education who indicated the school districts wanted assistance in preparing teachers to offer the College Board's AP courses. The universities are supporting the institutes in part with resources from the Reinvestment Through Efficiencies plan. The Reinvestment Through Efficiencies plan calls for the universities to be more efficient and innovative by redirecting financial and human resources to specific system-wide goals. One of those goals is increased collaboration with the public elementary and secondary schools. "In offering the AP institutes the universities are realizing the opportunity to increase communication with the school districts with a result that students are better prepared for college level work. School districts are given the opportunity to increase their curricular offering with AP courses. It is a win-win situation with students benefiting by earning college credit," said Perry. -End- |
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