Connect Dual Enrollment to Postsecondary Plans

Note: In some states, dual-enrollment programs that enroll high school students in college courses for college credit are called “concurrent enrollment.” In this report, we will refer to these programs as “dual enrollment.”

One of the most direct ways to accelerate learners’ journeys to college is to expand dual enrollment at two-year and four-year colleges and universities so that all high school students have access to high-quality instruction at a college level. School districts and institutions of higher education need to work together to ensure that dual-enrollment credits are transferrable to local colleges and can be used toward core requirements rather than solely counting as elective credits. Dual-enrollment courses taught on college campuses can be especially valuable for the exposure that learners get to a college environment.

During Commission listening sessions, high school students taking dual-enrollment courses at the local community college talked about how they were less intimidated by the idea of attending college after spending some time on campus. This kind of exposure demystifies the college environment, especially for first-generation college goers, and increases their likelihood of applying to college.1

A challenge many learners face when considering dual enrollment is understanding which courses align with their interests and potential program of study and whether the course credits will transfer to a local college. Informed advising either by high school counselors or advisers provided by the college is important to help avoid “random acts of dual enrollment” that do not ultimately accelerate a learner’s postsecondary education journey. Such advising can help learners avoid the common frustrations, from confusing or expensive processes for requesting transcripts to misunderstandings about how the credit may apply to a future degree, that cause a student to stop out or drop out.