Introduction

This is a paper on how dual enrollment programs and partnerships can increase education equality in high schools and help provide access to post-secondary education and future goals and motivation to students of low income and minority backgrounds. Dual enrollment programs became more popular in the 90’s owing to the unique opportunity of educational success and advancement which it offered high-school students. Dual enrollment programs were unique at the time because they provided students with rigorous coursework with the immense ability to prepare them for the actual college courses offered in post-secondary institutions. In the two decades in which dual-enrollment programs have been in existence, there has been an increase in the number of students which can enroll in the programs in addition to diversification of the socio-cultural and financial background of students enrolling in the programs. Initially, dual enrollment programs were reserved to advanced high-school students. More recently, the number of students enrolled in the dual programs has been diversified to include a broader demographic of high-school students.

Dual enrollment programs give high school students the ability to start college courses before they complete their high school education. The students get first-hand experience in regards to what they are expected to learn through exposure to college-level work. They also benefit from college credit and high school credit simultaneously. In the state of New York, for example, colleges allow students to take up to six credits of college level work in a single high school semester. Therefore, dual enrollment programs expand the curricular choice of students, more so in vocational subjects. To this end, dual enrollment programs can be seen as collaborative efforts between colleges and high-school students in which the students are given a challenging educational experience which enables students to become integrated in the regular college classes.

In the words of CCRC’s Davis Jenkins; “dual enrollment program is the largest free college program by far.” In the United States of America today, dual enrollment programs include two million students or more annually. The performance of students who have undergone the programs are seen to have better and improved collegiate performances. Students who have participated in the dual enrollment also showcase the following; they meet most college readiness standards; they do not need any remedial Math or English classes; they get a high GPA in the first semester in college; they rarely drop out; and they have a higher completion rate which is roughly a third (33.2%).

Equality in Dual Enrollment Programs

Dual enrollment programs are therefore critical programs which integrate high school students into college levels of education. On the basis of the importance to students, dual enrollment programs should be available to all despite their racial, social or financial backgrounds. The education system in the United States of America has been critiqued by many scholars since it appears to uphold racial, social and financial injustices. Students from underrepresented groups such as racial and ethnical minorities, as well as students from low-income backgrounds, do not always have equal access to dual enrollment programs. Students from underrepresented backgrounds are more likely to attend segregated K-12 schools which do not prepare them adequately for college education. This disadvantage has been reflected in the numbers of enrollment into colleges. On average, 12% of white students participate in dual enrollment programs. This is contrasted by a lower 8% of Hispanic students who enroll in similar programs and a lower 7% of black students enroll in dual enrollment partnerships. The United States of America is committed towards eradicating all systems of injustice, and the education sector is one of the critical areas in which equitable practices are taking center stage. As such, high schools and colleges collaborate in order to close all the equity gaps in existence for the purpose of advancing equality in high-quality enrollment. If not well designed to be equitable, dual enrollment can exaggerate disadvantage and increase the substantial variation of enrollees by income or race just as other acceleration programs like International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) have.

Improving Equity and Access in Dual Programs

Major players have come together and organized teams and developed relationships with the aim of maximizing the potential of equality in dual enrollment. Dual enrollment programs have been found to increase the college completion rates of minority and low-income students who, in most states, are under-represented in the enrollment programs. For dual enrollment programs to increase education equality in high schools, help provide access to post-secondary education and increase motivation in future goals to students of low income and minority backgrounds, various stakeholders need to come up with intentional designs which will increase success of all students through thoughtful visions and strategies which place equity as the core mandate. In this effort, the Aim Higher Act proposes the investment of 250 million dollars in order to expand the dual enrollment of students with the main focus being underrepresented students from minority societies and low income students. In addition to this, the PROSPER Act has been formulated in effort to support the underrepresented minorities in higher education by expanding their access to early college enrollment programs.

The following policy changes can therefore be used to the effect of increasing the access which students have to dual enrollment programs;

• All Eligible Students Participating

State policies should be formulated to ensure that they do not prohibit any post-secondary institution from participating in the enrollment program. In essence, state policies should allow both four-year and two-year public institutions to participate in the process. Additionally, there can be an extension of dual programs to well accredited private institutions and by extension tribal colleges in order to ensure that all the eligible students have access to the enrollment programs.

• Commitment to Equity

For dual enrollment to be successful, senior leaders should have a clear vision for the equity which they aim at achieving., As such, the commitment which the leaders have towards underrepresented students is seen in the intentional investments in resources to enable an equitable system. To this end, there is a shift of mindsets and cultures; structures and policies in the effort of working around the disadvantages which underrepresented students face in the dual enrollment program.

• Information

Students with more informed and better connected parents are more likely to be aware of the options of dual enrollment and the benefits which the program offers. This usually refers to parents who are more educated or more affluent who have access to knowledge of the potential benefits of dual enrollment. Parents from underrepresented communities are less likely to be aware of the dual enrollment program opportunities and by extension the potential benefits of the project. All high schools should therefore provide sufficient information about the program, the costs of the program and the eligibility criteria to all students and families. This will therefore ensure that the information which lower income families have about dual enrollment is increased for the benefit of the less privileged students.

• Finances

Some dual enrollment programs require parents to pay their tuition fees prior to the students starting their education. This has been seen to limit the participation of lower income families. Alternative modes of financing the education should be considered. For example, states may provide scholarships and tuition waivers in order to cover the course costs of students while in some instances the colleges can offer to cover the course fees of low income students fully.

Conclusion

The dual enrollment programs are critical in the education of students. Dual enrollment programs and partnerships can increase education equality in high schools and help provide access to post-secondary education and future goals and motivation to students of low income and minority backgrounds. In order to ensure the success of dual enrollment programs, policy makers should consider articulating the proposed policy changes in order to ensure that all students are motivated to participate in dual enrollment programs and make it out of college with ease.

¹Bailey, T. R., Hughes, K. L., & Karp, M. M. (2002). What Role Can Dual Enrollment Programs Play in Easing the Transition between High School and Postsecondary Education?

²Karp, M. M., & Hughes, K. L. (2008). Study: Dual Enrollment Can Benefit a Broad Range of Students. Techniques: Connecting Education and Careers (J1), 83(7), 14-17.

³Mehl, G., Wyner, J., Barnett, E. A., Fink, J., & Jenkins, D. (2020). The Dual Enrollment Playbook: A Guide to Equitable Acceleration for Students. Ccrc.Tc.Columbia.Edu.

⁴Dingess, E. G. (2018). The Impact of the Number of Dual Enrollment Credits on Racial Minority Students’ Completion Time at Five Virginia Community Colleges.

⁵Mehl, G., Wyner, J., Barnett, E. A., Fink, J., & Jenkins, D. (2020). The Dual Enrollment Playbook: A Guide to Equitable Acceleration for Students. Ccrc.Tc.Columbia.Edu.

⁶Zinth, J. D. (2014). Increasing Student Access and Success in Dual Enrollment Programs: 13 Model State-Level Policy Components. Education Commission of the States.

⁷https://www.rand.org/blog/2019/06/dual-enrollment-for-high-schoolers-can-expand-access.html