Educators & Counselors

Working Together for Their Future

The University of Alabama Early College works with high school educators to develop the future leaders of our world. They depend on your advice, and guidance and your encouragement are an important part of a student’s decision to participate in Early College. We support educators in this important endeavor and provide presentations, data and advisors who can answer your questions.

Getting Ahead with UA Early College

Early College students can earn college credit from The University of Alabama while in high school and still enter UA as a first-time freshman, eligible for freshman scholarships, orientation and other freshman benefits. Freshman status is not compromised by participation in Early College, even when your students also bring in AP and IB credits. Early College students can qualify for a priority pathway to undergraduate admission when completing 12 credit hours with a UA GPA of 2.75 or higher and receive priority freshman housing when completing 17 credit hours.

Students can also take advantage of dual credit opportunities. UA Early College has dual credit agreements with over 500 high schools within the state of Alabama, along with high schools across the country. Students taking an Early College course simultaneously earn both college and high school credit for the course. This is a unique opportunity for students to get ahead without additional course work. If your school is not currently participating in our dual credit program (link to participating schools page), please email earlycollege@ua.edu (hyperlink) to get more information on a dual credit agreement.

Students begin with UAEC 200 College Readiness Course, which is offered to all students free of charge. They participate in the first UAEC 200 class session either on campus, online, or in your local area, and then complete the UAEC 200 College Readiness Course online over about five weeks following the first session. In UAEC 200, students learn the following

  • How to navigate Blackboard Learn and myBama
  • How to manage time successfully
  • How to demonstrate critical thinking in a college discussion
  • How to prepare for a college test
  • How to format college papers and works cited, using MLA 2009
  • How to conduct scholarly research, using UA Libraries online
  • How to write a college essay and avoid plagiarism, using Turnitin.com
  • How to communicate professionally with professors and college personnel
  • How to be a successful college student

Counselor Resource Folder

The Counselor Resource folder contains a variety of information about the UA Early College program for counselors or educators to disseminate to students and parents as they see fit. Videos, fliers and social media graphics are a few of the items available. If there are other resources that would be beneficial to have that are not found in the folder, please email the Early College office to request these at earlycollege@ua.edu.