A Fifth of Students at Community College Are Still in High School

Among those who entered 9th grade in 2009, About one-third Fink said high school students took some dual enrollment courses, adding, “This is a big penetration of the high school market.”

The trend is catching on among policymakers and educators, who are looking for ways to increase college enrollment while mitigating high tuition costs.

“Everyone is concerned about the cost of higher education: state legislators, governors, families and students,” said Josh Weiner, founder and executive director of the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program. “The idea of ​​earning college credits while still in high school is appealing as a way to reduce the cost of college.”

Brookdale Community College He cited dual enrollment as a priority.New Jersey aims to double the number of high school students enrolled in at least one dual enrollment course by 2028, ensure that all high schools offer dual enrollment options, and eliminate disparities in access to these programs for different groups of students.

That effort is evident at Brookdale College: Between 2018 and 2023, the college saw a 39 percent increase in Monmouth County high school students taking college-level courses, and the college hopes to increase high school student enrollment by 50 percent by 2028.

“We try to reach every high school student in some way,” McElroy said.

But Brookdale and other community colleges and their K-12 school partners face challenges to ensure dual enrollment “fulfills its potential as a tool for college and career access and equity,” Fink said.

What’s good for everyone?

Dual enrollment comes in many forms and goes by many names. Some programs operate through well-organized, early college-preparation high schools and help students earn an associate’s degree by graduation. Other programs are more free-form, allowing students to take one or two courses as they please. Some observers have criticized this style as “random dual enrollment.” Brookdale offers several different models through its partnerships with high schools.

In all its various forms, dual enrollment is popular because it benefits everyone involved, education experts say.

Fink said it’s a good thing for students. 20 years of research That translates into higher high school and college completion rates. For community colleges, that’s good for furthering their mission of serving the communities they serve, and it could also mean “a larger pool of students who come back” to take additional classes after high school, he adds.

In fact, dual enrollment “has been the most consistent driver of community college enrollment growth over the past decade,” says Nick Mathern, director of K-12 partnerships at Achieving the Dream, a nonprofit that supports community college networks. “Depending on how you break down the age groups, you could look at it as the only driver of community college enrollment growth over the past decade.”

Particularly in states that provide additional public funding to support dual enrollment, advocates argue those programs are beneficial to school districts and public schools because they can be used as a selling point to attract families and students who might otherwise turn to private schools or other public schools.

Weiner said these dual enrollment programs are not meant to replace Advanced Placement courses, which have dominated high schools for decades and remain popular. Offer advanced coursesAbout 78 percent of colleges offer dual enrollment, compared with 76 percent that offer AP classes. But one advantage dual enrollment has over AP programs is that they offer a much broader range of options, including vocational and technical courses that appeal to a broader demographic of students.

“For many students who aren’t interested in taking purely academic courses, taking exams or writing papers, this is a great opportunity to develop an interest in higher education through a field of study not offered in high school,” Weiner says.

Some of the high schools serving Brookdale offer dual enrollment, AP courses and advanced International Baccalaureate curriculum all at the same time, McElroy said, so “we’re finding that students have a menu of options to choose from.”

One advantage she sees with dual enrollment courses is that students know they can get college credit for taking the course, whereas with AP classes they can only get college credit if they score high enough on a standardized test.

“The transfer of credits is widespread. Four-year colleges and universities are also accepting them,” McElroy said. “That’s led to an increase in dual enrollment across the state.”

Tackling inequality

However, data on dual enrollment reveals that not all student groups participate at the same rates.

Racial minorities, men and students who are the first in their family to attend college are underrepresented in these programs: In the county that serves Brookdale Community College, for example, “black and Hispanic students are not graduating at the same rates as white students,” McElroy said.

Fink said there are several factors that contribute to this inequality, including the fact that some schools use standardized test scores to determine which students are eligible to attend. Some groups of students consistently perform worse than others.Many dual enrollment courses are taught by high school teachers who have the necessary credentials to teach at the community college level (usually a master’s degree in a related field), but some high schools have a shortage of qualified teachers. Also, some states have arrangements to provide dual enrollment courses at no charge to students, while in others families must pay a fee.

“If students have to pay extra to take college classes while they’re in high school, it’s going to be wealthy white families that benefit,” Fink said.

Additionally, we need to address the outdated mindset that sees dual enrollment as an option primarily for students who excel academically and are looking for additional enrichment.

It’s true that some students choose dual enrollment through Brookdale to improve their chances of being accepted into a selective four-year college, McElroy said.

“We know from research that dual enrollment courses are more rigorous than standard high school courses,” Weiner said, “so for many parents and students who are eager for a challenge, we see dual enrollment as an opportunity to get exposure to college-level learning and be challenged with their coursework.”

But some educators and researchers hope that dual enrollment will be an opportunity to broaden access to higher education for “students who are on the brink of college,” Fink says — by boosting their confidence and introducing them to topics they didn’t learn in high school that might encourage them to consider college, kickstarting the possibilities of higher education.

“We’re not going to skimp on middle-class students or college-bound students taking classes in high school,” Mathern said, “but if we’re not intentional about how we deploy these programs, it’s not going to really change the number of students in a given community who are going to earn a college credential.”

That’s why Brookdale offers high school students who participate in its dual enrollment program college prep courses that teach them the skills they need to succeed in advanced classes.

“It shows students that they can do it,” McElroy said. “College might be the place for them.”

For more high school students to be successful in dual enrollment, experts stress, schools and colleges need to pay special attention to them and guide them through the process.

“We believe that universities should establish a shared vision with their local school districts about what they want to accomplish with dual enrollment,” Mathern said. “As you open the doors wider, you can’t just give more students access to college classes and be satisfied with that.”

Ultimately, if a student tries a dual enrollment class and is not successful, the experience may end up being worse than if they had never tried at all, with wasted tuition money, low grades on their transcripts, and discouragement from pursuing further higher education.

“It would be unethical to offer no support or advice at all,” Fink says, “and if you don’t do all of those things, it could be harmful and have the opposite effect to the intended effect.”

That’s why Brookdale has a team of dedicated support staff for its dual enrollment program, and McElroy explains, “We want to provide the best services we can for our students.”

While many dual enrollment programs still have flaws, Fink is optimistic that with tweaks, they could become a promising path to better college and job-training options for more young people.

“There are lots of reasons to want to change the way we do things in the transition from college to work, primarily because it produces poor and inequitable outcomes,” he says. “What do we do with the final year of high school? Students are losing interest. Bringing more vocational training and higher education into high school blurs the lines, and that’s good for students.”