Partnerships

NACEP & NEACEP

UConn Early College Experience is an accredited member of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP). NACEP is an accreditation organization which works to ensure that college courses taught by high school teachers are as rigorous as the same courses offered on the sponsoring college campus. As the only national set of quality standards applicable to concurrent enrollment partnerships, NACEP’s standards serve as model for state and regional accrediting bodies. UConn ECE was first accredited in 2007 and then reaccredited in 2014 and 2021.

UConn ECE is a founding member of NACEP (2002) and has contributed to NACEP’s success and national standing through generous start-up support and through staff service. UConn ECE staff have supported NACEP through participating as peer reviewers on numerous accreditation teams, serving on the research committee, publishing on concurrent enrollment, and presenting at national NACEP conferences, as well as representing NACEP at other national conferences.

A day-long conference on May 29, 2013, at UConn, jointly sponsored by UConn ECE and NACEP was the main impetus for the foundation of New England Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NEACEP). The organization works to promote the value, quality, and advocacy of concurrent enrollment partnerships across New England, which support greater access to higher education. NEACEP was founded on November 5, 2013 at an organizing meeting at Manchester Community College (New Hampshire). At the meeting, 40 concurrent enrollment professionals from all six New England states, including UConn ECE's Jillian Thorne, voted to create a regional chapter of NACEP with the expressed interest in supporting the professional and accreditation goals for both secondary and post-secondary professionals in concurrent enrollment. Offering annual professional development and serving as a platform for mutual improvement, NEACEP was officially recognized by NACEP on July 1, 2015 and is the first regional chapter in NACEP. UConn ECE staff members have served on NEACEP’s Executive Committee since its founding.