Introduction

Post-secondary education has started to be perceived as an important educational step for every individual living in the modern world. As more people become better educated, schools and colleges have been given the responsibility of ensuring that every student gets better quality education and, as a matter of course, ensuring that all learners achieve quality post-secondary education. Therefore, the role of dual enrollment programs in the education sector towards the attainment of post-secondary education cannot be overstated.

The pressure of higher academic achievement in the modern world persists and many educational policies have been formulated to the effect of improving college success and building persistence in the completion of college degrees among students. It is on this backdrop that the dual enrollment programs were formulated. The dual enrollment programs have had an immense impact on students who undertake the enrollment process and the institutions which offer them. This paper will explore the impacts of dual enrollment programs to the institutions which are involved in the enrollment processes; high schools and colleges.

Background Dual Enrollment Programs

Dual enrollment programs are strategies which were designed for students to earn college credits as coursework during their high school studies. At first, dual enrollment projects were only limited to high achieving high school students who achieved exemplary grades in their high school courses. The popularity of dual enrollment programs has been on the rise so much so that in the recent years, the inclusion in dual enrollment programs has changed and become even more focused on the first-generation, middle achieving and by extension disadvantaged students who have met the minimum GPA requirements enough to be eligible to pursue degrees in any of the respective colleges and post-secondary institutions which offer dual enrollment courses.

To this end, state funded programs have been effective in increasing high school to college transition of students despite their social and economic backgrounds. Additionally, institutions have benefited from the dual enrollment programs because the students enrolled in dual enrollment programs usually have better grades and better college completion rates.

Critical Questions Concerning the Impacts of Dual Enrollment Programs to the Institutions

As aforementioned, the impacts of dual enrollment programs on these students who participate are unquestionable. While the dual enrollment programs enter into a period of importance and maturity in the institutions which offer them, it is critical to raise a number of questions on the impacts of the enrollment programs on the scholarly institutions. Therefore, the following questions which are worth consideration suffice;

• In what way does dual enrollment strengthen high schools, colleges and universities?
• Do the programs reduce the limited resources of learning institutions?
• Are universities and colleges better places to learn and teach when there are dual enrollment programs?
• What pay-off or benefits do learning institutions get as an effect of the dual enrollment programs which they offer?

The Contrast of the Importance of Dual Enrollment Programs

Dual enrollment programs were created for the major benefit of the student; but colleges and universities also possess a pivotal chance of benefiting from the programs. First, dual enrollment programs have been seen to increase the college retention rates of students. As such, dual enrollment programs are part of the many initiatives which most colleges have put in place in order to ensure that the great challenge of student numbers and school finances is addressed conclusively. Some scholars have highlighted the importance of dual enrollment programs by highlighting that dual enrollment has eased the transition experience of students from high school to college; assisted in the matriculation of students and as a consequence instituted persistence of students beyond their first year in college. In New York and Florida, for example, the outcomes of dual enrollment programs have been to the effect that the students who have been through dual enrollment attain relatively higher GPAs (grade-point averages) in their freshmen year, are more likely to continue to their second year and consequently better poised to have a degree as compared to those students who do not participate in dual enrollment.

The benefits of dual enrollment programs on students have received a lot of scholarly attention and documentation. On the contrary, little attention has been given to the institutions which administer dual enrollment programs. The major benefit seen across colleges that have dual enrollment partnership programs is the increase in retention rates of students who attend these institutions. This reality is compounded with the improvement of institutional performance and the increase in state funding which comes as a result. High Schools and Post-Secondary Institutions have been impacted by dual enrollment programs as much as students have. It is therefore befitting that Hunter and Wilson further state that dual enrollment programs can “kill two birds with one stone by providing dual enrollment students quality instruction and potentially assist post-secondary institutions in retaining more students, graduating them in higher numbers and with higher GPAs, and potentially provide greater return on investment to states funding such dual enrollment programs.”

Dual enrollment programs also present a number of financial benefits to institutions. Dual enrollment benefits colleges by enhancing student enrollments into the institutions. Dual enrollment programs are relatively easy to initiate to the institutions. Students find institutions which practice dual enrollment as aspirational institutions. In Georgia, for example, a number of financial programs have been put in place to fund education for students in different institutions who participate in the dual enrollment process. For example, Accel and Move on When Ready (MOWR) funds are legislated and funded by the state department to the effect of paying for the education of all students in public schools who participate in dual enrollment. This is an effective avenue of subsidizing education fees. The effect of the implementation of these programs has been immense, more so in attracting more students to colleges which have the programs and as a matter of consequence making the colleges better placed in the competition for state funds.

Conclusion

The effect of dual programs on students has been identified and highlighted by many studies. However, the impact of the program to institutions has often gone unnoticed. This paper therefore highlighted the pivotal impacts which dual enrollment programs have on institutions, more so in improving enrollment of students that are more college, especially those of low-income backgrounds. Institutions which have dual enrollment programs also have better student persistence past their freshmen year and consequently better numbers in terms of graduation. Dual enrollment programs therefore make colleges more attractive and better placed towards greater student success and outcomes.