Growing Relationships
Story: Amy Crawford
Photos: Courtesy of Dr. Beth Pester CO '96 GR '04 and Jan (Cummings) Tonjes '74
Concordia offers unique dual credit classes through partnerships with more than 30 high schools.
Dual credit college classes give students the opportunity to obtain university credits while still in high school, but these classes also have many other benefits. Not just an enhanced education opportunity for high schoolers, dual credit classes expose students to a level of enrichment and a scope of concepts and ideas that they may not experience in a traditional high school classroom. Taking advantage of dual credit classes can also provide students extra time during their college years to explore other areas of interest or invest more fully in classes related to their major or minor.
For Concordia University, Nebraska, partnering with high schools across the globe to offer dual credit classes is about more than high school students knocking out college credit early. It is about building meaningful relationships with schools that align in educational mission and ministry, especially with Lutheran and Christian high schools worldwide, as well as with regional public high schools. Concordia’s dual credit program currently serves 34 schools in 12 states and three countries.
The dual credit program began as a partnership with Saint Paul Lutheran High School in Concordia, Missouri, in the 1970s and developed significantly under the vision and leadership of Dr. Bernie Tonjes ’74 in the early 2000s. During his tenure, Tonjes coordinated the university’s dual credit partnerships, taught classes in the education department, and also directed student teacher field experience opportunities for Concordia’s education students. Tonjes understood the value of dual credit as both outreach and service to Lutheran high schools across the country, and the program has bloomed ever since.
Following Tonjes’ retirement from the program in 2018, Dr. Ben Stellwagen stepped in as the University’s Director of Dual Credit.
“Dual credit, historically, has been about making college more accessible to students, both in delivery and affordability,” explained Stellwagen. “As a university, we look for ways to reach out to other schools and form partnerships that meet their students’ needs. High schools are trying to find areas of distinction. Partnering with a Christian university for dual credit is one such area.”
Following Tonjes’ exit from the program, Stellwagen said the dual credit director position was split from the field experience position. With the opportunity to focus full time on developing partnerships, Stellwagen said the program has doubled in size in the last four years.
“We are growing partnerships…growing relationships,” he said. “We are up to 34 partner schools. We offer wonderful benefits for our school partners. We have an amazing opportunity to partner with schools that align with us in mission. This isn’t just growth for growth’s sake. We’re offering a service to these schools, but we’re also offering them support and aiding them in training up students for their future vocations.”
Most of Concordia University, Nebraska’s dual credit classes offer in-person instruction using a high school’s own qualified faculty. This model differs from many other dual credit opportunities, some of which feature online classes only or require students to travel to a local college campus for in-person classes with unknown faculty and unknown course content.
We want to use dual credit to contribute to the training of future church workers and Christians who use their many vocations to serve not only the church but their neighbor and the world.
“Face-to-face is our primary modality,” explained Stellwagen. “And it’s more than that. One of our four promises here at Concordia is community. We are part of a church that focuses on presence. Having a physical teacher in the classroom with you who knows you has a dramatic impact on student success rate. Our program is truly distinct in that we not only offer face-to-face instruction, but we also serve very geographically broad schools.”
Concordia Nebraska does offer a few asynchronous, online classes as a supplement to the dual credit program, but this format is not the primary focus of the program.
“As an institution of higher learning, if we’re not student-focused, we’re not doing it right,” said Stellwagen. “We talk about being Christ-centered and student-focused. In terms of dual credit, when we are student-focused, we understand the benefits intuitively. This isn’t just about discounted tuition. It’s about experiencing courses in high school that open up new opportunities for students. This isn’t about graduating from college early. This is learning for its own sake. Students who take dual credit classes often take on second majors or minors, and they study abroad. They have the luxury of taking a lighter load during sports season or taking a lighter load in order to work. They are able to get into the field they want to study quicker because they have already taken some of their gen ed classes. And they tend to be well-rounded students.”
And the benefit for dual credit classes isn’t just realized with the students, he said. It also benefits partner high school instructors.
“I think this is a nice way to lift up our high school instructors,” he said. “They are vetted and university-qualified. They are teaching students who are very capable. We recognize them as adjunct members of our faculty.”
The Concordia University, Nebraska dual credit program currently serves 34 schools in 12 states and three countries. In 2019 alone, the program helped more than 800 students obtain more than 4,500 cumulative hours of college credit.
“Here at Concordia Nebraska, we are such huge advocates for Lutheran education,” said Stellwagen. “We want to use dual credit to contribute to the training of future church workers and Christians who use their many vocations to serve not only the church but their neighbor and the world.”
Stellwagen left his post as Director of Dual Credit & School Partnerships early this summer, taking a call to serve as a Lutheran school principal. He has been replaced by Dr. Beth Pester CO ’96 GR ’04, who previously served as the university’s Director of Middle Level Education and Director of Student Teaching. Pester has experienced Concordia’s dual credit classes personally, having graduated from Saint Paul Lutheran High School in Concordia, Missouri in the early days of dual credit offerings.
“I was among the first recipients of dual credit in high school from Concordia Nebraska,” she said. “I came to Concordia Nebraska with 21 hours and was able to get two bachelor’s degrees. I am a huge proponent of dual credit because I have a history that speaks to it. And I’ve also taught dual credit classes. And now all of that has led me to this.”
Pester has always worked in education. Whether teaching at the middle school, high school or college level she has always loved her job.
“I wasn’t necessarily looking for a change,” she explained. “But the Holy Spirit nudged me. Student teaching and dual credit work deal with many of the same partnerships. There is a lot that is natural about this transition.”
Pester hopes to be able to send Concordia University, Nebraska professors to visit partner high school campuses, bringing more of the college experience to classrooms across the globe. These visits will foster and strengthen relationships between Concordia Nebraska and partner high schools and allow for priceless connections with both partner school dual credit faculty and students.
“It has less to do with making our dual enrollment bigger and more to do with benefitting our Lutheran high schools and matriculating students from dual credit courses onto our campus as experienced undergrad students. We have some really cool opportunities to engage with our dual credit students.”
Concordia Nebraska staff at all levels are incredibly supportive of this program, she added. From university president Dr. Bernard Bull to the administrative staff in the dual credit office, everyone works hard to make this program work.
“Our Lutheran school system is very important and valuable to Concordia University,” she said. “This is really about serving our neighbor…both those who are geographically close to us, and also those across the globe who are missionally-minded with us. We’re helping to train up the next generation of students who love Jesus.”