SPRINGFIELD — American International College has become the only private college west of Worcester to be designated as a Massachusetts Early College Program by the state’s joint Early College Committee.
The designation, one of 18 across the state that was recently announced by the Healey-Driscoll administration, essentially bolsters the college’s partnership with Duggan Academy on a “wall-to-wall” early college program model for every student to participate in.
The program and partnership, which started three years ago, allows Duggan students to earn up to 60 college credits at no cost by the time they graduate.
“Now that we have [the designation], us and AIC, it gives us a little more credibility and stability to get [this program] to our kids,” said Duggan Principal Mike Calvanese. “It opens us up to some grant funding, which we can then use to help fund positions or whatever needs we have to get the Early College Program continuing or to excel more.”
The partnership with AIC provides three pathways for Duggan students to earn college credits by the time they graduate: health sciences, education and criminal justice. Calvanese said the program started three years ago, when the current participating juniors were freshmen.
Duggan eases students into the program by starting them with a college prep course and a writing course in their freshman year. According to Calvanese, students will then take a few more courses and participate in a built-in structured advisory period as a sophomore.
Now juniors, Calvanese said the program’s first group of students are “off and running” after securing some credits under their belt.
“Some kids go at a faster pace, some kids go at a very slow pace,” Calvanese said. “It’s all depending on where they’re at, and we just monitor that at the school level to make sure that’s going fine.”
With the help of the Springfield Empowerment Zone, Duggan applied for the program’s designation through the state before this upcoming school year. Healey’s office announced in a June press release that 18 Early College partnerships were designated after a vote by the Early College Joint Committee of the Boards of Higher Education and Elementary and Secondary Education.
According to the release, new Early College programs bring the statewide total to 73 and allow 1,400 additional Massachusetts high school programs to enroll in these programs.
“Early college is an important and effective tool for making higher education more accessible and affordable for every Massachusetts student,” said Healey. “These new partnerships give more young people the opportunity to earn college credit at no cost while still in high school, setting them on a path to success and helping to close opportunity gaps.”
In another press release from AIC, the school shared that the Early College Program is part of the state’s “Reimagining High School Initiative.” The release said this type of program is designed to prepare students for postsecondary education or careers, with a focus on those historically underrepresented in higher education.
“We’re proud to partner with Duggan Academy and the Springfield Empowerment Zone on this Early College initiative,” said Michael Dodge, executive vice president for academic affairs and student life at AIC. “This designation reflects our shared belief that all students deserve opportunities to succeed. Early College is about more than earning credits — it’s about building the skills, confidence and support networks students need for college and life.”
Calvanese said the instructors in Duggan’s program have master’s degrees in the respective fields, and the school typically encourages them to apply for an adjunct professor position at AIC.
The goal, according to Calvanese, is to have students prepared by their senior year so they can visit the actual AIC campus to take classes with their professors.
Every student that attends Duggan has access to the early college pathway, Calvanese said. Eventually, the school hopes to have a fifth-year option for students to pursue their associate’s degree at AIC, but that is still in the works.
“Our identification is that we’re an early college high school, so we want to have kids that want to partake [in the program], but we don’t want to push it on too hard either,” Calvanese said. “So, we just try to monitor that, but it’s access for everybody. It’s access for everyone, and we try to get everyone enrolled into at least what it takes to be a college student type of a class.”
Calvanese said whatever early college credits students earn at Duggan can be transferred to most state schools throughout Massachusetts.
He called the program “essential,” especially because it supports regional workforce development goals outlined in the Pioneer Valley Labor Market Blueprint.
“I think it’s essential that kids have at least exposure to the college piece, especially when you’re looking at education, criminal justice and allied health,” Calvanese said. “Those are industries across the country that are huge industries that we need employment in.”
