New York City Public Schools is working on launching an early college program with Delaware State University for the 2025-2026 school year.
The early college program, called HBCU Early College Prep High School, will be the first such collaboration between a historically Black college or university and a school district that’s located in a state without an HBCU, according to Chyann Tull, a New York City Public Schools spokesperson.
Early college programs are jointly run by high schools and colleges and allow high schoolers to take college courses for credits toward an associate or bachelor’s degree. These programs can help make college more attainable for low-income, first-generation and racial minority students — and lead to better educational outcomes.
Since 2002, when the Gates Foundation launched an early college initiative, the number of such programs have grown to more than 1,000 throughout the U.S., according to the nonprofit American Institutes for Research.
In the New York City school, students will take college courses starting in 9th grade — allowing them to earn an associate degree for free with their high school diploma. They will also be automatically accepted to Delaware State when they graduate, Tull said in December.
Administrators at Delaware State declined to comment in December on the program since “the formal agreement has not been finalized by the two institutions,” said Carlos Holmes, a university spokesperson. As of Feb. 4, the agreement was not yet finalized but the two parties were close to completing it, Holmes said in an email.
School districts and colleges need to consider several factors when building early college partnerships, experts say.
In general, early college programs can “really inspire students” to move on to two- or four-year colleges after graduating high school, said Russell Olwell, dean of education and educational partnerships at Middlesex Community College and an expert on early college and dual-enrollment programs.
Many students don’t realize the extent to which early college can move them ahead or how much money credits earned in high school can save them down the road, Olwell said.
First-generation students and students of color “have been less involved in early college and dual enrollment historically, and programs like this could help turn this situation around,” Olwell said. “This program could be impactful on its own, and could inspire other efforts from HBCUs across the country.”
The HBCU Early College Prep
NYC Public Schools offers other early college programs, including through a partnership with Bard College, a private liberal arts college in New York, Tull said.
But the system has been aiming to open “accelerated schools” for students in underserved areas, such as the South Bronx, East New York in Brooklyn, and South Queens. That includes one that exposes students to “the HBCU experience,” Tull said.
Why did officials select Delaware State for the program? Asya Johnson, the program’s founder and interim acting principal is a Delaware State graduate herself. Moreover, 30% of Delaware State’s students come from New York City, Tull said.
The program’s initial 9th grade class, starting in the fall, will include 100 students accepted through an application and assessment process that factors in GPA, writing prompts and a video interview, Tull said. The program is prioritizing students living in certain neighborhoods within the Queens borough of New York. Offers will be sent to students in March.
Through the program, NYC Public School teachers trained by Delaware State will deliver a college-level curriculum to students in grades 9-11. Then, during the second semester of their junior years, students will receive online instruction by Delaware State professors, Tull said. In total, they will earn 64 college credits upon graduation.
The partnership could have long-term benefits for the students, especially since New York City has a critical mass of students from racially marginalized groups, said Felecia Commodore, an education policy professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Such a collaboration would expose underrepresented students, including those who are Black or Latino, to HBCUs — despite the New York City area lacking one, said Commodore.
Some research has linked graduating from HBCUs to better mental health outcomes and well-being for Black students. That’s because those institutions are “culturally affirming” for students, while preparing them to be highly competitive in both the workforce and the graduate school marketplace, Commodore said.
“From a demographics standpoint, it seems like a really good match,” said Commodore.
The benefits of early college programs
Guaranteeing acceptance to a university like Delaware State, as the HBCU Early College Prep program is planning to do, can make the college admissions process “feel less daunting,” Tull said.
And getting an associate degree for free can alleviate some of the financial burden that comes with higher education, she added.
Those students will enter college at a sophomore or even junior-level status, Commodore said.
“It’s not just that you are academically prepared for college, but actually can, for some students, save money or save on the cost of college because you will not be paying tuition for as many years,” said Commodore.
Some evidence also suggests that early college programs can make higher education more attainable for many students.
A study from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2022 found that early college students were three times as likely to earn an associate degree than other students. And economically disadvantaged students in early college programs were also more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree. Those students also earned those degrees more quickly.
Students in early college programs also outperformed their peers in the same school district both on state assessments and in high school graduation rates, according to a June 2024 report from AIR.
Implementing a successful program
Olwell said he hopes the New York City program could be replicated at other HBCUs and minority-serving institutions — such as Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges and universities.
Early college programs are also resource-intensive, Commodore said. School districts and colleges collaborating on these programs need to ensure they have the financial resources in place to sustain them, she said.
“You want to make sure that there is an investment of resources to ensure that the program can sustain over years,” said Commodore.
According to Tull, the HBCU Early College Prep program is a permanent new school, costing the district more than $2.2 million over the first four years — roughly $500,000 per year.
Commodore also cautioned that such partnerships shouldn’t siphon money from other public schools in the district that are not participating in the program.
And it’s important that students taking classes in those programs receive credit that multiple institutions will accept, Commodore said. Students in the New York City program, for instance, may want to attend a college other than Delaware State.
Lastly, when partnering with college on an early program, school districts should consider whether their students could actually afford to enroll there to earn their bachelor’s degree after graduating high school.
“It’s great for students to accumulate the credits, to have access to these wonderful institutions like Delaware State University,” said Commodore. “But if students can’t afford those final two to three years at the institution, then it kind of seems for naught.”
