News release from IPFW:
IPFW to Host Psychology Conference December 9 for Collegiate Connectionâ„¢ High School Students
(December 5, 2013) – Collegiate Connectionâ„¢ (CC), a program of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) is hosting “Inside Psychology,” a one-day conference for area high school students who are part of the CC program. The conference, which will meet at IPFW Monday, December 9, will provide an opportunity for the students to interact with psychology professors and learn more about their research while exploring career options in the field of psychology. Around 300 area students are registered to attend the event, which will meet from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Walb Union Classic Ballroom, followed by lunch and campus tours.
Conference breakout sessions will offer a variety of timely and innovative topics related to psychology. Some of the topics are S-E-X-ting in the USA, Gravity Research with Mice, Way-Finding, Gender Development in Children, and Interpersonal Violence, along with discussions related to careers in social psychology and cognitive psychology. Students will also have the opportunity to explore Psy Chi, the IPFW club for psychology majors, and tour the university’s psychology lab.
“Inside Psychology” is in its second year. The 2012 conference hosted around 200 students, and this year’s enrollment has reached its maximum capacity of 300 registrants, with additional students on a waiting list.
Psychology Professor Emeritus Josh Gerow, Ph.D., has been involved with IPFW Collegiate Connection coordinator Ann Brown and others in planning “Inside Psychology,” which he sees as a great opportunity for both the participating high school students and the university. “Even with a good classroom teacher and a good textbook, hearing about what ‘real psychologists’ are interested in and what they are doing is rather a significant change from the past,” he says. Gerow, who joined the IPFW Department of Psychology in 1969, has seen a lot of changes in the field, having taught for more than 46 years.
Gerow is co-author of the textbook that many of the students use when taking Psychology 120, an IPFW course that is part of the Collegiate Connection program, as well as being an advocate of dual-credit learning that allows area students to earn college credits while still in high school.
In addition to serving area students by increasing their access to college learning, Collegiate Connection also serves area high school teachers and schools by supporting excellence in teaching and strengthening connections between IPFW and their high schools. The program currently involves around 3,000 students enrolled in more than 4,000 credit hours through dual-credit courses taught at IPFW and in local high schools.
Collegiate Connection collaborates with area teachers and high schools to offer college-level courses at their schools, giving students a head start on their college education at a significant cost savings. Around 40 course offerings are available in a variety of subject areas at only $105 per credit hour, which is less than half the cost they would pay as an IPFW college student, based on current rates of tuition. In addition, there are a number of priority dual-credit courses approved by the State of Indiana in 14 subject areas that only cost $25 per credit hour, which translates into just $75 for a typical three-credit college course, only a fraction of the normal tuition rate.
Collegiate Connection partnered with 44 area high schools in 2012 and enrolled 3,063 high school students. Program instructors are required to attend a summer seminar at IPFW as part of their professional development.
High school students participating in IPFW Collegiate Connection must be in the top 50 percent of their class, pass an end-of-course assignment, and maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Participation in dual-credit courses allows them to have access to subject areas that may not be available at their local schools and may help them qualify for an honors diploma. In addition, because CC participants are considered IPFW students, they can participate in student activities, use campus facilities, and receive student discounts. When they graduate from high school the college credits they earn will appear on their college transcript and can be transferred to their university of choice.
Collegiate Connection is administered by the IPFW Division of Continuing Studies and the IPFW Office of Admissions in partnership with IPFW professors and area high school educators. The program, which earned accreditation by the National Alliance of Concurrence Enrollment Partnerships in 2011, has grown 400 percent since its inception in 2008.