Schooling Options
Concurrent Enrolment (Student is enrolled at two educational institutions)
Concurrent Enrolment occurs when a gifted or high potential student is enrolled at two learning institutions in the same year and attends classes (or lectures and tutorials) in two physically different locations.
The majority of the student’s academic subjects are taught at one institution, and perhaps one or two subjects, are taught at the second institution. This allows a student who has clearly advanced knowledge and skills to access a curriculum at least one year in advance of their year-for-age level
Example
- A primary student with significantly well established and demonstrated mathematics skills may go to a nearby high school for instruction in maths.
- A high school student may enrol and perhaps attend university for one (or two) subjects.
How Concurrent Enrolment works
As physical travelling between the two educational institutions may be involved, a primary school or junior secondary school student will require an adult to supervise travelling. In the case of older students, parental permission for travelling alone is required and the student should either be independent or have access to supervised travel arrangements. The student must also be motivated and self-directed in their learning. As was the case with Single Subject Acceleration, the student should generally be of above average ability.
Beside the practical aspects of travel arrangements, it is possible that there may be timetabling clashes as well as excursions at one institution, conflicting with tuition at the second.
Key elements in the research
Concurrent Enrolment is most widely used in Victoria in the case of VCE students who may have completed one or two unit 3 and 4 subjects prior to their final year of secondary schooling and who then undertake VCE extension studies.
Programs are offered through the following institutions:
- University of Melbourne
- Monash University
- La Trobe University
- Ballarat University
- Deakin University
- RMIT University
- Victoria University .
Students in remote areas can access university subjects through the Monash University Distance Education Program.
Data collected and analysed by the Melbourne University Program for High Achieving Students (MUPHAS) indicates that 80 per cent of extension students are achieving a 90–95 ENTER score, and that once they enter first year, they achieve consistently higher results than other first year students. (DE&T 1999, p 34)
International research suggests that the academic gains of Concurrent Enrolment are small but positive; however, ‘the effect on emotional status was very positive, with the greatest gains being exhibited in overall self-esteem, behavioural conduct, and views of themselves as critical thinkers.’ (Rogers 2002, p 127)
More information about VCE extension studies