Union Institute and University U4U! Early College Program
Designed for junior and senior high school students to get a jumpstart on college. Union offers students the ability to earn both their high school diploma and college credits simultaneously.
U4U! Early College Program
U4U! Early College Program (U4U! ECP) is a two-year “dual enrollment” program designed for qualifying junior and senior high school students in Ohio. U4U! ECP serves as a bridge to successfully and effectively educate “U!” (our student), while transitioning into post-secondary education via a combination of distance-learning tools, virtual classrooms and our team of Success Coaches. Contact us today at 844-880-1424 or admissions@myunion.edu.
The Benefits of U4U!
- U4U! is FREE for qualifying students
- U4U! students are assigned a personal Success Coach
- U4U! students save on tuition towards a four year Union Institute & University degree
- U4U! students receive official college transcripts upon completion of the program
- U4U! offers classes which are not currently available at area high schools, universities or institutions
- U4U! allows for the exploration of fields of study
Pricing
Courses are at NO COST for U4U! ECP participating high school students, and are funded by the College Credit Program and Union scholarships. After high school graduation, U4U! students who decide to remain with Union will be fast-tracked into the university, including priority registration.
Number of Possible Credit Hours
Students are allowed to take 6-9 credit hours per semester or a maximum of 36 credit hours prior to high school graduation.
When Can Courses Be Taken?
Students can take courses summer, fall and spring semesters. Summer courses for seniors must be started prior to high school graduation.
When Can "U" Apply?
We are currently registering qualifying high school students in this program. Enrollment is limited – reserve your spot today.
To ask questions or get help, please contact us at unionu4uadmissions@myunion.edu or 844-880-1424.
Your high school guidance counselor can also assist you in getting your college career started with Union Institute & University.
Required Forms & Steps to Complete Before April 1:
Step 3
After your application is approved, you will register for classes. A success coach will help guide you through the process.
Required Forms & Steps to Complete After April 1:
Step 1
Request permission from your high school principal. To get permission, you can email your principal directly or send them this form to complete. You can also email us at unionu4uadmissions@myunion.edu, and we will send the form directly to your principal.
Step 3
After your application is approved, you will register for classes. A success coach will help guide you through the process.
About our General Education Program
Our General Education program is uniquely situated within the undergraduate majors and programs. By providing classes that focus on a wide range of skills, such as writing, math and critical reading, we enable students to build a foundation for success in their disciplines and in their careers. The general education program provides breadth of education, while majors provide depth. Though other programs and majors guide students towards mastery of a particular discipline, general education helps students acquire the knowledge and habits of mind to strive for mastery in all their pursuits.
All courses in general education must adopt learning outcomes I (Communication) and II (Critical & Creative Thinking); every course must also adopt either learning outcome III (Ethical & Social Responsibility) or IV (Social & Global Perspective). That means that all courses in the program promote three of the four university learning outcomes. Students consequently receive wide exposure to these outcomes and the competencies in support of Union’s mission and values.
We recognize that our students possess knowledge, skills and life experiences not typical of most undergraduates and that they are often pursuing an undergraduate degree because of very specific personal and professional goals. For these reasons, we substitute generic, survey-style general education courses typical in higher education for topic-oriented courses that more clearly speak to our university learning outcomes. Instead of offering “Introduction to Fiction,” for example, we offer “International Crime Fiction.” Instead of “Introduction to Statistics,” we provide “Statistics for the Professional.” And instead of “Introduction to Biology,” we offer “Biological Warfare: Weaponizing the Field of Biology.”
Even though we promote the skills and knowledge typical of general education, our approach is tailored to our students' needs and interests. The general education program aligns with the Ohio Transfer Module (OTM) for general education comprised of the following areas of English Composition/Oral Communication, Mathematics, Statistics & Logic, Natural & Physical Sciences, Social & Behavioral Sciences, and Arts & Humanities.
As reported in the university catalog, undergraduate students must acquire “at least 36 credits in general education” of the minimum 120 required for graduation, which means undergraduates typically take the equivalent of 12 general education courses. The program itself is divided into six domains, and minimum requirements for taking 10 of the 12 courses are stipulated as follows:
- College Writing – Two courses (6 credits)
- Quantitative Reasoning – One course (3 credits)
- Civilization and Human Legacy – Two courses (6 credits)
- Creation and Criticism of the Arts – One course (3 credits)
- Social Systems and Behavioral Sciences – Two courses (6 credits)
- Observation & Analysis of the Natural World – Two courses (6 credits)
The remaining two general education courses are selected by students based on their particular area of interests.
Proposed Schedule
Fall 2021-2022
GWRI 101 – The Writer Within
GHIS 110 – Civil Rights in the US
GBIO 225 – Illness to Health … Vaccine to Epidemics
Spring 2022
GWRI 102 – Designing a Research Paper
This course builds on the student’s composition and critical analysis skills to further develop core writing practices while introducing elements of library and Internet research. Readings, course activities and assignments focus on writing as a process. Student will engage in topic research and source evaluation, thesis creation, organization and development of ideas, and the editing process. Students will review the APA/MLA writing process and be able to cite primary and secondary sources in their own field of study (satisfies general education credit in the College Writing domain). (Prerequisite: GWRI 101)
GHIS 205 – History of American Social Welfare
This course will examine the evolution of American public aid from its roots in Elizabethan Poor Law to 21st century welfare programs offered by churches, charities and government. Students will learn about and research the concept of “worthy poor,” reforms to institutions such as orphanages and penitentiaries, the ever-shifting response to immigrants, the influence of abolition and the civil rights movements, and benefits to veterans and their families. The course will conclude with students examining their own perceptions in light of historical trends.
GSOC 101 – Understanding Our Social World
Sociology is the scientific study of human society and social behavior. The sociological perspective is based on the ability to connect one’s personal experiences to larger social and historical forces.
This perspective helps reveal the patterns that exist in society and enables us to connect them to our lives. In this introductory course, students will apply the sociological perspective to a variety of social phenomena (e.g., family, education, neighborhoods, religion, inequality, race, and gender) and learn to think critically about aspects of society that are taken for granted.
Fall 2022-2023
GWRI 101 – The Writer Within
We write to be understood; to be understood, we must write well. To accomplish this goal, students must first discover the writer within themselves. In this introductory college composition course, students will identify subject matter by reflecting on who they are through personal experiences and observations. Students will use the writing process to discover who they are as learners and who they are as a part of a community. Additionally, they will use various genres in order to explore and write about their identity, work on developing a command of the language, and be introduced to the basics of research and documentation. (satisfies general education credit in the College Writing domain).
GECO 221 – Government and Economics
Macroeconomics examines the economy as a whole and offers a perspective on how government economic policies affect daily life. The course focuses on: inflation, unemployment, the business cycle, the market system, fiscal policy, supply and demand, the balance of trade, comparative advantage, and money and banking. It also compares Keynesian and Classical economic theories as they relate to U.S. macroeconomic policy.
GSBS 110 – Stone Tablets to Twitter
In an effort to understand the meaning and implications of the “information age,” this course will examine the significant cultural, political, and economic consequences of digital technology, with a particular focus on social media. The last few decades have brought enormous technological changes, particularly in the ways people gather information and communicate with each other. The course will investigate the origins and implications of “new” media such as the alphabet, printing press, telegraph, photograph, radio, and television, and apply these analytical tools to the Internet and Facebook (satisfies general education credit in the Social Systems and Behavioral Science domain).
GLIT 160 – Literature as an Expression of the Human Experience
This course introduces students to the major elements of literature through works of original fiction, poetry and drama. It provides a preliminary overview to the interpretative approaches to literature, and to some of the specialized terms, such as metaphor, structure, and symbol that will help students articulate their thoughts and observations about what they read. Furthermore, this course will expand students’ knowledge of the human condition and cultures, especially in relation to behavior, ideas, and values expressed in works of human imagination and thought.
Spring 2023
GWRI 102 – Designing a Research Paper
This course builds on the student’s composition and critical analysis skills to further develop core writing practices while introducing elements of library and Internet research. Readings, course activities and assignments focus on writing as a process. Student will engage in topic research and source evaluation, thesis creation, organization and development of ideas, and the editing process. Students will review the APA/MLA writing process and be able to cite primary and secondary sources in their own field of study (satisfies general education credit in the College Writing domain). (Prerequisite: GWRI 101)
GECO 222 – The Impact of Personal Choices
This course introduces microeconomics from the viewpoint of scarcity & non-price determinants, which studies how individuals make decisions and choices under conditions of scarcity. The course focuses on the concepts of individual market behavior, rational self-interest, cost- benefit analysis, the role of supply and demand in the determination of value resource allocation and similar concepts.
GENV 205 – Garbage to Greenhouse Gases
This introductory level science course covers topics in the fields of biology, ecology and physical science. The focus of this course is the changing state of the environment with regard to global climate change, natural resource depletion and exploitation, population issues, pollution sources, and waste management practices. The course also explores resource management and conservation efforts to reduce the impact of the negative forces adversely affecting various environments on Earth. Using the scientific method, students will complete analytical assignments using multiple data sources.
GHIS 215 – History/Phil. of Social Change
This course is a survey of the history, philosophies, and theories of social change. It will address the meaning, contributing factors and impact of social change in the United States.