Early College Experience

Since 1955, the University has offered some of its courses to high school students through the Early College Experience (ECE) Program (before 2005, the program was known as the High-School Cooperative Program). The ECE, part of the Office of Early College Programs, certifies both instructors and courses in 35 disciplines. Currently available at more than 208 Connecticut high schools with over 12,000 students enrolled, the program offers a wide range of lower-division courses to students who have exhibited the talent and dedication to study university-level material while still in high school.

As of 2021, there are 42 Connecticut high schools and 53 certified teachers actively participating in the ECE Mathematics Program serving around 1,000 students taking 94 ECE Mathematics classes across the state; the vast majority of these students are taking Calculus.

For further information, see the following:

Getting Started

Currently the mathematics courses available through the ECE program are:

  • Math 1030Q, Discrete Mathematics.
  • Math 1131Q and  Math 1132Q, Calculus I&II.

Math 1131Q-1132Q correspond roughly to the Calculus BC courses of the Advanced Placement Program with some additional topics.

The Calculus sequence corresponds roughly to the Advanced Placement Program’s Calculus BC, while Math 1131Q (Calculus I) alone will need extra material added to cover the Advanced Placement Program’s Calculus AB curriculum. Math 1131Q and 1132Q carry 4 credits each.
Note: students may not receive credit for Math 1030Q after completing any calculus course. Students cannot take Math 1131Q if they have credit for either Math 1125Q or 1126Q, two courses which are no longer offered since Fall 2013. Students who have completed Math 1126Q in the past and wish to continue with calculus should take Math 1132Q to complete the freshman year calculus curriculum.

Instructor Certification Requirements

Prospective ECE calculus teachers should have:

  • a Master’s degree in Mathematics; or
  • a strong undergraduate mathematics major plus a Master’s degree in a closely related field, such as Mathematics Education.

Among the courses showing a strong mathematics undergraduate background, the transcript must include at least a theoretical proof-oriented course on the theory of calculus (i.e., Real Analysis or Theoretical Advanced Calculus) with a grade of B or better. Just to clarify, this requirement of a B or better in a proof-oriented theory of calculus course is only part of a strong undergraduate mathematics major. Exceptions to this requirement are highly unusual, and occur only in very special circumstances. Certification standards for Math 1030Q are somewhat less rigorous. For further information, contact the ECE Program Office Manager.

 Certification Procedure

A nominee’s principal and department head (or teaching supervisor) submit to the Manager letters of nomination with the Program’s Instructor Certification Application form. The letters should discuss the nominee’s teaching qualifications in detail and include evidence of the teacher’s skill, based on first-hand evaluation and the record of student achievement. The teacher’s professional résumé and a complete set of original transcripts (or certified copies from the school’s files) should accompany the application. Favorable review of those materials leads to a certification interview at Storrs with the Departmental coordinator:

Dr. Anthony Rizzie
Associate Professor-in-Residence
ECE Mathematics Coordinator

The interview explores the instructor’s background and experience in more detail, as well as course content, student performance standards and mechanics of the program’s operation. Following the interview, the Manager makes the final certification decision. The certification process normally requires several weeks, plus attendance at an ECE Program Orientation Workshop, which the interview with the Departmental Coordinator may accompany. For students to earn University credit in an ECE course, it must be taught by an instructor who certification is complete prior to the start of the course.

To maintain certification, teachers must participate in an annual re-certification workshop at the University at least once every two years.

Student Enrollment

Once a school is part of the program, each year it determines which of its students qualify for ECE courses. The individual students are responsible for returning enrollment forms prior to the registration deadline established by the ECE Office.

An ECE course must:

  • follow the current UConn course outline
  • give examinations equivalent to the corresponding University course’s
  • assign grades that fully reflect University standards.

Core final exam questions for calculus are provided by the University’s Department of Mathematics and are to be included in the high school’s final exam.

Ordinarily, the high school version of each course uses the same text and outline in use at Storrs, although the pace may be slower. Copies of recent midterm examinations in Math 1030Q, Math 1131Q and Math 1132Q are available to ECE instructors online through HuskyCT; final exams for Math 1030Q are also available. Accessing those documents is explained as part of the certification process. Current outlines and other course materials are freely available at the Mathematics Department’s web site.

For example, the course page for Math 1131Q contains the current list of content, weekly schedule, and grade breakdown.

Approved Textbooks

To assure full equivalence between corresponding ECE and UConn courses, any text other than those below and the accompanying outline from it must have the Departmental Coordinator’s explicit written approval. To allow a thorough review, please submit any such text and outline well in advance of ordering deadlines.

Note: In all cases, the college/university edition of the text must be used, and in all cases the edition must be current (that is, must be in print). No text that is out of print as of May 2017, remains on this current list of acceptable texts. When a text goes off the list, a school must replace it by a text on the current list within at most four years.

Math 1131Q-1132Q. Only the following books are eligible for adoption for the ECE versions of Calculus I (Math 1131Q) and Calculus II (Math 1132Q).

  • J. Stewart, Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals, 8th Ed., Cengage, 2016, ISBN 9781305270336
  • J. Stewart, Calculus, Early Transcendentals, 8th Ed., Cengage Brooks/Cole, 2016, ISBN 9781285741550
  • W. Briggs, L. Cochran, B. Gillett & E Schulz, Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals, 3rd Ed., Pearson, 2019, ISBN-13: 9780134766850
  • D. Hughes-Hallett, A. M. Gleason, W. G. McCallum et al., Calculus: Single Variable, 7th Ed., John Wiley Publishers, 2017, ISBN-13: 9781119374268.
  • R. Smith & R. Minton, Calculus, Single Variable: Early Transcendental Functions, 4th Ed., 2012, McGraw-Hill, ISBN-13: 9780073532325.
  • G. Thomas, M. Weir, & J. Hass, Thomas’ Calculus, Early Transcendentals, Single Variable, 14th Ed., Pearson/Addison-Wesley, 2018, ISBN 9780134439419.
  • J. Stewart, Single Variable Calculus, Concepts and Contexts, 4th Ed., Cengage Brooks/Cole, 2010, ISBN 0495559725.
  • R. Larson, B. Edwards, Calculus of a Single Variable, Early Transcendental Functions, 7th Ed., Cengage, 2019, ISBN-13: 9780618149162.
  • J. Haas, M. Weir, G. Thomas, University Calculus: Early Transcendentals, Single Variable, 3rd Ed., Pearson Publishing, 2016, ISBN-13: 9780321999634
  • J. Haas, M. Weir, G. Thomas, University Calculus: Early Transcendentals, 3rd Ed., Pearson Publishing, 2016, ISBN-13: 9780321999580
  • M. Sullivan, K. Miranda, Calculus for the AP Course, 3rd Ed., Bedford, Freeman & Worth, 2020, ISBN-13: 9781319244316

Math 1030Q. There are currently three options for the textbook for the class.

  • George T. Gilbert & Rhonda L. Hatcher, Mathematics Beyond the Numbers, Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2012. ISBN-13: 978-1-4652-0486-8.
  • George T. Gilbert & Rhonda L. Hatcher, Mathematics Beyond the Numbers, 2nd edition, revised printing, Kendal Hunt Publishing, 2014, ISBN-13: 9781465250377
  • Edward Burger & Michael Starbird, The Heart of Mathematics: An Invitation to Effective Thinking, 4th edition, Wiley Publishing, 2012, ISBN-13: 978-1118156599

Recently moved off the textbook list.

  • J. Stewart, Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals, 7th Ed., Cengage Brooks/Cole, 2012, ISBN 0538498676
  • J. Stewart, Calculus, Early Transcendentals, 7th Ed., Cengage Brooks/Cole, 2012, ISBN 0538497904
  • J. Stewart, Single Variable Calculus, Concepts and Contexts, 4th Ed., Cengage Brooks/Cole, 2010, ISBN 0495559725.
  • W. Briggs & L. Cochran, Single Variable Calculus, Early Transcendentals, 2nd Ed., Pearson, 2015, ISBN-10: 9780321965141
  • R. Smith & R. Minton, Calulus: Early Transcendental Functions, 3rd Ed., McGraw-Hill, 2007, ISBN, 0072869534 (withMathZone, ISBN 0073229733)
  • R. Smith & R. Minton, Calculus, Single Variable: Early Transcendental Functions, 3rd Ed., 2007, McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0073309435.
  • D. Hughes-Hallett, A. M. Gleason, W. G. McCallum et al., Calculus: Single Variable, 6th Ed., John Wiley Publishers, 2013, ISBN-13: 9780470888643.
  • G. Thomas, M. Weir, & J. Hass, Thomas’ Calculus, Early Transcendentals, 13th Ed., Pearson/Addison-Wesley, 2015. ISBN 9780321953087.
  • J. Haas, M. Weir, G. Thomas, University Calculus, Early Transcendentals, 2nd Ed., Pearson Publishing, 2012, ISBN-13: 9780321717399
  • R. Larson, B. Edwards, Calculus of a Single Variable, Early Transcendental Functions, 6th Ed., Cengage, 2015, ISBN-13: 9781285774794.
  • For Math 1030Q: George T. Gilbert & Rhonda L. Hatcher, Mathematics Beyond the Numbers, Wiley Custom Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-471-44962-8.