Dual enrollment and early college aren’t new, but they continue to gain momentum because they are proven strategies for improving educational outcomes in both high school and college. These positive outcomes are greatest for student populations that are underrepresented in higher education, positioning dual enrollment as a core strategy in the design of equitable education-to-career pathways systems. Of great interest to us right now is the fact that, while overall community college enrollments have declined every year since 2010, the number of students under 18 has grown every year. At many community colleges, dually enrolled students now make up a third or more of all students. In 2023, legislators in all 50 states introduced a collective total of 527 bills related to dual enrollment, with a focus on increasing access, affordability, and portability. Dual enrollment is a critical element in the integration of secondary and postsecondary education, a key lever in JFF’s Pathways to Prosperity framework. Read on to learn more about the research that guides our work, the innovations that are accelerating the success of this proven model, and the resources you can tap into to advance your efforts to scale career-aligned dual enrollment.
Cheers,
Charlotte Cahill, Kyle Hartung, and the Pathways to Prosperity Team
Improve Today, Invent Tomorrow
Dual enrollment and early college increase the number of high schoolers who succeed in college. Over the past two decades, they’ve grown from boutique opportunities to widespread college success strategies with an extensive body of research that confirms their effectiveness. This 20-year history charts innovations in dual enrollment leading to today’s urgent equity priority. What bold action is needed now to remove implementation barriers and evolve new educational institutions to make the 2020s the equity decade?
Dual enrollment works. It’s a proven and powerful strategy for improving educational outcomes in both high school and college, driven by years of rigorous research and evaluation. A What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report identifies five studies meeting the highest research design standards that validate its positive effects: dual enrollment increases high school graduation rates, college access and enrollment, credit accumulation, and college degree attainment. These positive outcomes are greatest for student populations that are underrepresented in higher education. Evidence also suggests that the monetary benefits to students and the public of dual enrollment models, like early college high school, outweigh the costs, signaling a positive return on investment that is critical for families experiencing poverty and people of color.
We know there are gaps in access, quality, and applicability of dual enrollment credit toward degrees. Dual enrollment participation varies greatly across the country and within states, while geographic distance between high schools and colleges creates dual enrollment deserts—pockets with little to no dual enrollment participation. Racial equity gaps are prominent as well, with Black students participating at less than half the rate of their white peers.
A recent report from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University finds that students with prior dual enrollment experience have better transfer outcomes than first-time-ever-in-college students, signaling that dual enrollment can help address the sobering statistics about community college transfer rates and bachelor’s degree attainment.
We want more students participating in dual enrollment, but we also want to ensure students are taking strategic dual enrollment courses—courses that are proven to open doors to the highest number of postsecondary credentials and accelerate students toward degrees that are valuable. Take a look at the state of Illinois’ cybersecurity program of study, one of the statewide Model Programs of Study developed by Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University, that links coursework to labor market information in an effort eliminate random acts of dual enrollment.
JFF and the Tennessee Department of Education are supporting twelve high school, college, and employer partnerships that are creating dual enrollment work-based courses, a novel strategy that complements the state’s vision of innovative school models. These courses are taught through applied learning that uses the workplace as a “learning lab,” enabling students to simultaneously experience college-level courses, gain credit, and practice workplace skills that prepare them for STEM and computer science programs and careers. Instructors and employers co-plan and co-teach course content, which creates a seamless learning environment between the classroom and the workplace.
Throughout the state of Minnesota, we are working with our partners at the Greater Twin Cities United Way and The Learning Accelerator to increase authentic learning in online dual enrollment courses while reimagining what online learning spaces can be. Students across fifty high schools are enrolling in online English and mathematics dual enrollment courses that center social-emotional learning strategies in the classroom environment. By reinforcing key skills such as critical thinking, self-management, responsible decision-making, and problem-solving, we can combat the often challenging nature of online learning and create opportunities for those students who would otherwise have limited access to dual enrollment course offerings either because of geography or school schedules.
Rural schools have unique advantages and face distinct challenges in creating effective dual enrollment opportunities for students. This case study examines how three schools in Texas addressed three common rural challenges in scaling dual enrollment: overcoming distance to higher education partners, supporting students in navigating the college environment, and building staff capacity to support dual enrollment.
College in High School Alliance Digital Resource Center
The College in High School Alliance (CHSA) Digital Resource Center offers helpful tools and guides to establish and advance dual enrollment policies and systems.
Career-Connected Systems: From Federal to Regional
June 18, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET
As the national pathways movement continues to gather momentum, leaders are working across systems at the federal, state, regional, and local levels to ensure that young people's access to and success in education-to-career pathways is not left to chance. To level the playing field, we must change our systems to make them nimbler and more responsive to the growing and evolving demands of our economy. JFF partners with leaders at national, regional, and local levels across the country to support these efforts, including with the U.S. Department of Education’sUnlocking Career Success (UCS)initiative.
Join us for a deep-dive conversation with UCS leaders and regional representatives who have received funding through the UCS Career-Connected High Schools grant program about their work in these areas, the resources required to support regional-level implementation, and lessons learned about the complexity of system change at scale.
Effectively Engaging Employers: Improving Lines of Communication
July 16, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Employers are key stakeholders in developing and implementing high-quality pathways, yet leaders in the education-to-career ecosystem struggle to meaningfully and authentically engage them in the process. A recent report by the Harvard Business School’s Project on Managing the Future of Work found that only one in four employers are transparent in communicating their hiring needs to educators.
Join us to discuss strategies and approaches for opening and improving the lines of communication between pathways leaders and employers by adopting language and terms that are applicable across all stakeholder groups and leading with a dual-client mindset that centers the needs of both students and employers.
There is still time to register! Join Jobs for the Future in Washington, DC on July 22-23 for Horizons: The Power Of Us to connect with and learn from learners, workers, educators, employers, and other leaders in the education-to-workforce ecosystem.
As always, please feel free to reach out to our team atPtoPNetwork@jff.orgwith any questions or ideas or to learn more about how we can support your work. To learn more about PtoP, please visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter here.
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