Archived Information

What Role Can Dual Enrollment Programs Play

in Easing the Transition Between High School and

Postsecondary Education?

Thomas R. Bailey

Katherine L. Hughes

Melinda Mechur Karp

Community College Research Center and Institute on Education and the
Economy

Teachers College/Columbia University

April 2002

This paper was prepared for the Office of Vocational and Adult
Education, U.S. Department of Education pursuant to contract no.
ED-99-CO-0160. The findings and opinions expressed in this paper do not
necessarily reflect the position or policies of the U.S. Department of
Education.

The authors are grateful to Davis Jenkins, of the University of Illinois
at Chicago Great Cities Institute; Mary Margaret Kerns, of the College
Board; and Margaret Terry Orr and Vanessa Smith Morest, both of the
Community College Research Center, Teachers College for their valuable
insights. We thank Lisa Rothman of the Institute on Education and the
Economy for editorial assistance

.

What Role Can Dual Enrollment Programs Play

in Easing the Transition Between High School and

Postsecondary Education?

Thomas R. Bailey

Katherine L. Hughes

Melinda Mechur Karp

*Introduction*

Research demonstrates clear economic benefits from continuing education
beyond high school (NCES, 2001). Earning an associate or particularly a
bachelor's degree has large economic returns (Grubb, 1999). As one
policy organization concisely put it in terms that young people can
understand: "More ed, more bread" (Kleiman, 2001). And today's youth do
understand. Thus college aspirations have risen dramatically in the last
two decades (NCES, 2001). This rise in ambitions is not limited to upper
income families (Schneider & Stevenson, 1999); a majority of twelfth
graders say that they "definitely" plan to earn a bachelor's degree
(NCES, 2001).

However, far fewer young people graduate from postsecondary school than
state that they intend to do so. Almost two-thirds of high school
graduates enter postsecondary schools immediately after high school
(NCES, 2001). Yet of those who entered postsecondary education for the
first time in the 1995-1996 school year, 37 percent had left two years
later without having earned a degree or certificate. In 2000, 66 percent
of high school graduates aged 25 to 29 had completed some college but
only 33 percent of graduates held a bachelor's degree (NCES, 2001).

Thus the transition from high school to college is an unsuccessful one
for many. This slippage results from a variety of causes. Students may
be unsure of how to apply for college or how to pay for it; they could
be academically unprepared for higher education; or they may face what
can be a frustrating task of balancing school and work while searching
for a course of study that will place them in a meaningful career path.
One longitudinal and in-depth study of American youth summarizes the
problem by finding that most high school students now "have high
ambitions but no clear life plans for reaching them" (Schneider &
Stevenson, 1999). This issue has recently been given new attention by
organizations and groups such as the American Youth Policy Forum

\(2000\) and the National Commission on the High School Senior Year
(2001), both of which issued reports that call for, among other things,
a re-thinking of how students move from secondary to postsecondary
education.

What should policymakers' focus be in improving this transition for
young Americans? Research does give some direction. Through analysis of
the High School & Beyond national longitudinal data set, Adelman (1999)
found that the strongest predictor of bachelor's degree completion was
the intensity and quality of students' high school curriculum. The
efforts of the last few years towards raising academic standards have
included requiring the completion of more rigorous coursework for
graduation, as well as defining the levels of academic content students
should be learning from that coursework. And there has been progress. In
1982, only 14 percent of high school students took the minimum
coursework recommended by the 1983 *Nation At Risk* report, which is
four years of English and three each of science, math, and social
studies. In 1994, 51 percent of students did so (Jennings & Rentner,
1998). Enrollments in advanced math, science, and AP classes are higher
than they were a decade ago (ibid.).

Thus, while there is still a great deal of progress to be made, more
high school graduates are better prepared for further education than
previously. Many believe that a continuation of the standards movement,
supported by increased teacher training, will bring about further
improvement (Jennings & Rentner, 1998). Yet even with an upgraded high
school curriculum, school district requirements for graduation still
often fall short of those for college entry and success (The Education
Trust, 1999). The National Commission on the High School Senior Year
(2001) reported that only ten states have aligned their high school
graduation and college admissions requirements in English, and only two
have done so in math. That report also gives examples of how high school
exit and college entrance examinations often use different formats and
emphasize different content (ibid.).

Some analysts argue that the open door policy at community colleges, and
even at many four-year schools, gives confusing signals to high school
students. According to Rosenbaum (1998), students correctly perceive
that they can attend college somewhere, even though they may not
completely understand that they may have to take remedial courses before
they can actually start college-level studies. But while a student's
record in high school does little to influence his or her ability to
attend *some* college, that record is strongly related to success once
the student is in college. Thus one problem is that students fail to
understand what will be expected of them in postsecondary education.

What many argue is needed is much stronger communication and
collaboration between secondary and postsecondary systems (Orr, 1998;
1999); communication that will help students understand what they need
to know and be able to do to achieve the ambitions that so many have. In
many cases, this may motivate students to take their studies more
seriously. Our education system currently creates a significant break
between high school and college. But as some postsecondary education
becomes increasingly necessary to gain access to most reasonably
well-paid jobs, this sharp division is becoming more problematic. One
solution to this problem involves creating a so-called K-14 system, that
shifts this divide back two years. More ambitious proposals call for a
smooth transition all the way from pre-kindergarten through college -- a
"P-16 movement" (Kleiman, 2001).

While interest in links between high school and a broad range of
colleges has grown in recent years, efforts are building on some
pre-existing relationships. We will briefly review two of those
relationships---the coordination of high school exit and college entry
standards, and Tech Prep. The bulk of this paper will then be devoted to
a discussion of one rapidly growing and promising initiative, dual
enrollment.

## ***Coordinating High School Exit and College Entry Standards***

As noted above, the high school standards movement has had some success
in bringing about a more challenging high school curriculum and
higher-level graduation requirements. Yet, as a recent report on the
relationship between high school graduation and college entrance asked:
"will the students who meet the state's new requirements for high school
graduation be prepared to enter college without remediation, should they
choose to do so?" (The Education Trust, 1999, p.3).

One state in particular has moved towards this goal. Over the past few
years, New York State has made the once-optional Regents examinations
mandatory for a high school diploma. At the same time, the City
University of New York (CUNY) system was engaged in a self-evaluation,
one result of which was the ending of remediation courses at all of its
four-year colleges. According to an analysis of these events by Kleiman
(2001), the CUNY Vice Chancellor saw the potential for coordination
between the new tougher policies of the state and of CUNY. An outside
assessment of the Regents was conducted and it was determined that a
score of 75 on either the math or English exams would exempt any
entering CUNY student from taking remedial classes. As Kleiman (2001)
states, "New York City is among the few places making college readiness
the benchmark for high school graduation" (p.12). This initiative allows
students to actually take fewer tests, while understanding better what
is expected of them for college-level work.

Similar, though not as far-reaching efforts can be found elsewhere. Some
colleges are now reporting applicants' scores on placement examinations
to their high schools. Orr (1999) found evidence of this in her research
at four community colleges, and notes that the high school teachers were
surprised to learn how poorly their students had performed on the tests.
The National Commission on the High School Senior Year (2001) recommends
that college placement examinations be given to high school students as
early as the 10^th^ grade, to help students and their parents (and, we
would add, their teachers) begin to gauge their readiness for
college-level work.

## ***Tech Prep***

Tech Prep is frequently mentioned as a program that is making some
progress in formalizing articulation between secondary and postsecondary
education (c.f. Orr, 1998; 1999; Bailey & Morest, 1998). Originally
conceived in the early 1980s by Dale Parnell (1985) with the goal of
improving the transition between high schools and community colleges,
Tech Prep offers students planned career pathways that link high school
classes to advanced technical education at the colleges. These programs
usually begin during the last two years of high school and continue into
the first two years of college.

Tech Prep began receiving federal funding in 1990 and has grown
considerably. At the local level, Tech Prep is organized by consortia of
businesses and secondary and postsecondary educational institutions, and
according to a 1993 survey carried out by Mathematica Policy Research,
69 percent of all school districts reported membership in a consortium
(Silverberg, Hulsey, & Hershey, 1997). The number of community college
and postsecondary school consortia members has grown considerably during
the mid-1990s (ibid.). However, while a 1995 survey found that Tech Prep
is potentially available to 88 percent of secondary school students,
only 8.4 percent (740,000) were actually participating in these programs
(ibid.).

A longitudinal study of thousands of Tech Prep and non-Tech Prep
participants is currently underway (see Bragg, 2001). Researchers
engaged in this study have identified different models of Tech Prep and
are tracking the two groups of subjects. Findings so far are that at
least 65 percent of Tech Prep participants enrolled in some form of
postsecondary education within one to three years of high school
graduation, a figure comparable to national data. Findings on
persistence in postsecondary education are not yet available.

A great deal of attention has been paid to Tech Prep in the literature,
because of its promise in strengthening collaboration between secondary
and postsecondary schools. However, the initiative is hampered because
it is often perceived as a high school vocational program, while the
emphasis of secondary education is increasingly on academics. Bragg
(2001) found that Tech Prep students often are not aware that the
courses taken in high school generate college credit, and Hershey et al.
(1998) found widespread implementation of a model that targeted
vocational students and was not recognized by them as a course of study
leading to postsecondary education. It seems that Tech Prep's goal of
creating sequences of linked high school and community college
coursework has proven challenging. In our own research at community
colleges, administrators and faculty have shown a mixed reaction to
Tech-Prep. In the last few years, dual enrollment, another program to
link high school and college, has attracted much more enthusiastic
attention.[^1]

## ***Dual Enrollment***

Dual enrollment programs, currently being implemented in many states and
localities, are another example of a way to link high school and
college. Though such programs, often called "concurrent enrollment" or
"dual-credit" programs, have existed for over thirty years, their
enrollments have increased rapidly recently. They are often seen as a
way to offer high school students access to coursework not available at
the high school as well as a means of exposing them to the academic
demands of college. As dual enrollment requires formal linkages between
high schools and colleges, they are also a mechanism for promoting
partnerships between the two education sectors.

***Why Dual Enrollment?***

Dual enrollment programs allow high school students to enroll in a
college course prior to high school graduation, giving them first-hand
exposure to the requirements of college-level work while gaining high
school and college credit simultaneously. Traditionally, these programs
have been reserved for high-achieving students. Dual enrollment in this
sense has been seen as offering gifted students an academically
challenging alternative to remaining in their regular, age-graded high
school programs (Rogers and Kimpston, 1992).[^2] All but the most
advanced students are usually excluded from this model of dual
enrollment. Proponents of this view believe that less advanced students
might not be academically prepared for college-level work, and that
offering "easy" access to college will reduce their motivation to
achieve at high levels in high school (Greenberg, 1988).

Recently, however, some educators have argued that middle and even
low-achieving students can benefit from dual enrollment programs. Policy
reports issued by such groups as the National Commission on the High
School Senior Year (2001) have emphasized the frequency with which young
people opt out of challenging coursework in the final year of high
school. They note that the senior-year high school curriculum can have
little meaning for students' post-high school experience, as students
have frequently already completed graduation and college-entry
requirements. Thus, dual enrollment, with its college-credit-bearing
component, is seen as a way to encourage students who might otherwise
"slack off" to engage in demanding coursework during the final year of
high school.

In addition, some believe that under-achieving students can actually
perform at a much higher level; these students are just not motivated to
do so because they are bored in class or see little relationship between
their achievement in high school and their future success (Lords, 2000).
Offering these students dual enrollment opportunities---academically
rigorous and engaging courses---might promote hard work and high
achievement. Thus the presumed challenge of dual enrollment courses is
viewed as a way to motivate students to work harder than they would in a
regular high school class. This is consistent with the popular view that
a wide range of students respond well to high expectations.

The relationship found between a rigorous high school course-load and
success in postsecondary education (c.f. Adelman, 1999) serves to
encourage the spread of dual enrollment for middle and low-achieving
high school students. Dual enrollment is seen as a way to increase
students' exposure to high-level, challenging courses prior to college
enrollment. In short, it is a way to increase the intensity and rigor of
the high school curriculum. And, as it is this intensity that is most
closely connected to students' future success in college, it is
hypothesized that challenging students through dual enrollment programs
will lead to high levels of college success.

In connection with the emphasis on increasing the rigor of the high
school curriculum is a third rationale for opening dual enrollment
programs to a wider range of students: the ability to offer students a
wider array of curricular choices. In the face of budgetary pressures,
high schools must often limit the courses that they offer; science and
technical courses, which require expensive lab equipment, and upper
level courses, which usually have small enrollments, are often
eliminated from the high school curriculum in favor of less expensive
(and less rigorous) courses (Robertson, Chapman and Gaskin, 2001).
"Extras," such as music and drama programs, are also frequently
eliminated. Dual enrollment programs enable students to take advantage
of such courses at the college level, thus exposing them to the rigors
of lab science or advanced foreign language even if the high school
itself is unable to provide such instruction (Adelman, 1999). Therefore,
using dual enrollment to supplement the high school curriculum can
potentially increase student motivation (by expanding the selection of
interesting and challenging courses) and student success in college (by
exposing them to advanced coursework).

These benefits are particularly important for vocational students. The
increased emphasis on academics and standards has led to a de-emphasis
on vocational coursework in the high school. Such courses, particularly
those that are lab-intensive and in need of regular updating, such as
automotive technology, printing, or welding, are being phased out in
many high schools in favor of academic coursework (Rafn, 2002). The
presence of well-developed vocational courses and labs at community and
technical colleges means that dual enrollment can provide such options
for students who may not have access to vocational education in their
high school. The community college's traditional role as a provider of
technical education makes such a partnership with high schools an ideal
endeavor---students are able to take vocational courses, high schools
can focus on creating curricula that enable all students to meet high
academic standards, and two-year institutions are able to fill their
technical classes and create a "pipeline" of future students.

In addition to facilitating the academic transition to college, dual
enrollment can help students make the psychological transition.
Frequently, students who do not persist in college cite non-academic
factors as reasons for dropping out: they are overwhelmed by the new
institution, they are unfocused, or they had unrealistic expectations of
the college experience (Noel, Levitz, and Saluri, 1985). Because many
(though not all) dual enrollment programs include time on campus and
exposure to the non-academic side of college, it can serve as a
demystifying experience for students, allowing them to acclimate to the
college environment earlier. Many programs offer their high school
students access to on-campus activities and support centers, allowing
students to learn about these services before they need them. Young
people can begin to understand what will be expected of them as college
students, potentially increasing their confidence and helping them to
navigate the transition. Giving students a realistic expectation of what
college is like enables them to adjust more easily to full-time college
life upon high school graduation. Alternatively, expensive false starts
in college can be avoided, as a dual enrollment experience may show some
students that college, at least at this time, is not for them.

The spread of dual enrollment programs is, to some degree, the result of
the rising cost of college. As many dual enrollment programs are free to
participating students, they serve as an inexpensive way for young
people to earn college credit, thus lowering the long-term cost of a
college degree (Orr, 2002). The ability of students to accumulate
college credit, in some cases up to almost a full year's worth, prior to
entering college allows them to both shorten the time it takes to earn
their degree and save significantly on the overall cost of their
education. Some states have sought to encourage this, partly for fiscal
reasons. In Utah, 75 percent of junior and senior year tuition at state
universities is waived for students who earn an associate degree, with
the help of dual enrollment, by the summer after their graduation from
high school. Although this program is quite new, the large number of
courses offered through the state's concurrent enrollment programs,
particularly in Salt Lake City, give reason to believe that some
proportion of high school graduates will be able to take advantage of
this option. Given the potential financial advantages of such programs,
some advocates for their expansion have argued that limiting them to
only the most academically able limits access to educational opportunity
and is thereby contrary to the mission of public education (Greenberg,
1988).

Community colleges may also benefit financially from dual enrollment
programs. In particular, where dual enrollment courses are taught in the
high school, using high school teachers (who are certified as eligible)
who are paid at an adjunct rate, the costs to the college are extremely
low. If state policy is to reimburse the colleges at a full FTE rate for
dual enrollment students, then colleges could generate net revenues from
these programs, even if they forgo tuition. In cases in which the high
school or the individual students pay tuition, then the college could
benefit even more. However, it should be pointed out that in many
states, community college financing, especially where local property
taxes are particularly important, is less sensitive to enrollments; and
in these cases, individual colleges may have no direct financial
incentive to expand dual enrollment. On the other hand, even when there
is no financial incentive, college administrators may see political and
recruitment benefits of these types of relationships with high schools
and local communities (Bailey and Morest, forthcoming).

***What do dual enrollment programs look like?***

The above arguments in favor of the spread of dual enrollment have
proved compelling. Though no exact count of the number of such programs
or enrolled students is available, most evidence indicates that
participation is growing rapidly. A 2001 report by the Education
Commission of the States reported that all but three states have some
sort of dual enrollment program, though the comprehensiveness and
institutional arrangements promoting the programs vary widely (ECS,
2001). In Virginia, there were 6,700 high school students in dual
enrollment programs in 1997, as compared to only 2,000 in 1991 (Andrews,
2001). In New York City, where a concentrated effort to increase dual
enrollment is underway, the number of colleges offering dual enrollment
grew from six to 17 between 2000 and 2001; nearly 12,000 New York City
high school students enrolled in a credit-bearing college course during
the 2000-2001 school year (Kleiman, 2001). In our own fieldwork through
the Community College Research Center, we have noted a significant
increase in the awareness and enthusiasm about dual enrollment in just
the last two or three years.

The strong growth in dual enrollment programs masks variation among
state policies and institutional arrangements. While, by definition,
dual enrollment programs allow high school students to take college
courses and earn credit at the high school and college levels
simultaneously, the funding streams, academic requirements or
prerequisites, and structure of the programs range widely. Funding, in
particular, has been a difficult issue for states to address, and
funding streams for dual enrollment programs vary (Orr, 2002; Boswell,
2001). Some states' legislation requires the state or local school
district to pay students' tuition at the college they are enrolled in,
while others compel students to pay their own tuition and fees, and
still others allow funding decisions to be made at the local level.
Likewise, some states allow both the high school and the college to
count dual enrollment students as part of their full time equivalent
(FTE) when calculating state financial support, while others allow
colleges to charge fractional FTEs for dual enrollment students. Policy
addressing dual enrollment is so new that these funding mechanisms are
still evolving, and are thus difficult to categorize.

The determination of which high school students are eligible for dual
enrollment programs also varies (Boswell, 2001). As noted earlier, the
trend is to open access to dual enrollment to a wide range of students,
with the hope that less-motivated high school students will benefit from
the challenge of a college course. However, concerns about quality,
rigor, and the maintenance of college-level standards within dual
enrollment courses have led many states and educational institutions to
require that dual enrollment students meet at least minimum academic
requirements. Some are quite rigorous, requiring high levels of academic
achievement and/or high scores on standardized tests, while others
stipulate that students be able to pass the proficiency tests given to
all incoming college freshmen. Some states and colleges allow local high
schools to determine which students are qualified for dual enrollment
programs. In general, it appears that dual enrollment is still targeted
to highly motivated and academically proficient students, although
participation has spread from the most academically gifted to a slightly
broader population of students. However, national data are not available
to confirm this perception.

A wide range of courses is offered to students through dual enrollment.
Unlike with Tech Prep, dual enrollment options may include advanced
liberal arts coursework, though in some areas the program is used to
provide vocational education. In Wisconsin, for example, students can
take any course not offered at their high school, while other programs,
such as in Salt Lake City, limit high school students to courses offered
specifically for dual enrollment purposes. Again compared with Tech
Prep, course offerings are simplified because the program does not aim
for linked sequences of courses but just offers a menu of single
choices. Estimates of how many students are enrolled in various course
types---advanced math and science, liberal arts, or vocational
courses---are inconclusive.

In addition to financing and admissions differences, dual enrollment
programs can be distinguished by a number of implementation
characteristics. One researcher currently studying dual enrollment in
community colleges, Margaret Terry Orr of Teachers College, Columbia
University, has categorized the differences as occurring along these
features (Orr, 2002):

> *Course Content:* While many dual enrollment courses use the identical
> course content as traditional college courses, often requiring
> students to take the same exams and complete the same assignments as
> their college-aged counterparts, some programs use a modified format,
> whereby the course is specially designed for high school students.
>
> *Location:* Dual enrollment courses can be offered on a college campus
> or at the high school of enrolled students. At the high school, the
> course may either be delivered in a traditional classroom format, or
> may be delivered via video or television. A small but growing portion
> of dual enrollment courses are also delivered via the Internet.
>
> *Instructors:* Dual enrollment courses can be taught by regular
> college faculty or by specially certified high school teachers. When
> high school teachers teach the courses, a lengthy certification
> process is often required; the question of who certifies teachers as
> suitable dual enrollment instructors is not easily solved, however,
> and is a thorny issue for policymakers.
>
> *Student Mix:* Some dual enrollment programs teach high school
> students separately, in their own classes, while others combine high
> school students and college students in the same course.
>
> *Credits Earned:* Some dual enrollment programs offer students their
> college credit immediately upon completing the college course. Others,
> however, offer students "credit in escrow," meaning that they must
> enroll in postsecondary education in order to receive the credit. An
> additional issue in this area is the transferability of dual
> enrollment credits; the ability of students to transfer the credits
> earned through dual enrollment to public and private four-year
> institutions is not clear.

## ***Two Models---College Now in New York City and Youth Options in Wisconsin***

Though not the first dual enrollment program in the country, the College
Now program, initiated at Kingsborough Community College (KCC) in
Brooklyn, New York, is one of the largest. Started in 1984, the program
allows seniors from select New York City high schools to take
college-level courses at their high school (Greenberg, 1988). The
program has expanded rapidly since its inception. During the 2000-2001
school year, nearly 5,000 students enrolled in credit-bearing courses at
KCC, and the Kingsborough campus of College Now became the flagship dual
enrollment campus for the entire City University of New York (CUNY)
system, spearheading a movement to expand and institutionalize dual
enrollment programs in New York City (Kleiman, 2001).

Students who wish to enter the College Now program must take a battery
of college entrance tests during the spring of their junior year
(Kleiman, 2001). Performance on these tests, which are the same as the
tests used for freshmen entering the CUNY system, is used to place high
school students in appropriate college courses. Those who receive
passing grades on the tests are able to enter credit-bearing courses
offered through the college. Those who do not pass are directed to
remedial courses, also offered through the college, enabling them to
complete remediation prior to entering college. Thus, the College Now
program serves dual purposes---it gives students a realistic sense of
their preparation to do college level work and offers those who need it
remedial help while simultaneously offering academically prepared
students a chance to earn college credit.

The College Now curriculum is a modified college curriculum; the college
faculty designed the courses specifically for high school students
(Kleiman, 2001). Courses are delivered to high school students at their
school, either before or after the regular school day, though a few
courses are offered on weekends (College Now program materials, 2000;
2002). Coursework primarily focuses on the humanities, business, and
applied sciences. Students in specialized high school programs are also
sometimes able to take coursework in their area of study, such as
hospitality for those students enrolled in high school academies of
travel and tourism.

High school teachers, who are considered adjunct members of the KCC
faculty, teach the courses. As such, these teachers undergo evaluation
by college staff prior to teaching and are monitored by KCC staff
throughout their tenure as an adjunct professor (Kleiman, 2001). Because
the courses are primarily taught at the high school, dual enrollment
students are not integrated with regular college students for their
courses. However, KCC College Now students are given college ID cards
upon registering for the program, which gives them access to the
school's campus, facilities, resources, and events (Shulman, 2000).

The College Now program is free to students, and seniors can take up to
six credits per semester. Thus, at least in theory, academically
prepared high school seniors can earn 12 credits, or the equivalent of a
college semester, during their senior year at no charge. Institutional
research conducted for KCC found that graduates of College Now earn more
college credit than other CUNY freshmen and are more likely to graduate
from college on time (in Kleiman, 2001). This is encouraging, but may
simply be a reflection of the types of students who choose to enter
College Now, rather than any effect of the program itself.

While the College Now program tends to focus on academic subjects and
preparing students for college-level work, the Youth Options program in
Wisconsin focuses on providing young people with expanded curricular
choice, particularly in vocational subjects. Instituted in 1998 as the
result of a state statute, the Youth Options program allows high school
juniors and seniors in Wisconsin to enroll in technical colleges and
public and private universities to take courses that are not available
in their high schools (Rafn, 2002). One site in particular, the Youth
Options program at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC),
addresses the needs of students to take courses outside the traditional
high school curriculum.

The NWTC Youth Options program provides college courses to students in a
wide geographic area, including many very rural parts of the state. The
college has three campuses and five regional centers; students can take
courses on one of the campuses or via Interaction Television (ITV). A
very small percentage of students take courses on-line via distance
education programs. Course options include anything not offered at
individual high schools; the most common courses taken by Youth Options
students are in the applied social sciences, such as psychology or
criminal justice, and vocational courses, such as machine tooling or
agricultural science (Rafn, 2002).

Like the College Now program in New York City, the Youth Options program
is free to students, with tuition paid by the local school district.
Unlike the College Now program, determination of which high school
students are eligible is made by individual high schools. Also in
contrast to College Now, students in Youth Options do not take specially
designed courses. Rather, they take the same college courses as other
students at NWTC, though the ITV courses tend to be made up of only high
school students. Courses offered on campus often integrate the high
school students with college students. College faculty, not high school
instructors, teach all courses.

During the first three years of the Youth Options program, enrollment
increased substantially. Approximately 150 students entered Youth
Options during the 1998-1999 school year; that figure had doubled by the
2000-2001 school year, with slightly over 300 students enrolling in the
program (Rafn, 2002). The program is quite new, and so postsecondary
outcomes for Youth Options students are not available. Youth Options
students matriculate at NWTC at about the same rate as other high school
students in the area; however, data for Youth Options' students overall
college enrollment are unavailable.

One area in which Youth Options has had a discernible impact, however,
is in providing a wide array of curricular options to high school
students, particularly students attending small, rural high schools. As
noted earlier, the cost of providing a wide range of courses,
particularly vocational courses, combined with the states' focus on
academic standards and testing, has led many schools, particularly
smaller ones, to eliminate elective and vocational coursework (Rafn,
2002). Allowing the technical college to provide instruction in these
areas has helped to ensure that students are able to access such courses
without placing the burden on high schools to provide expensive lab
classes. In fact, a number of high schools in the NWTC's region have
deliberately delayed expanding vocational course offerings or modifying
lab facilities, with the understanding that these courses are better
located within the technical college system. Thus, Youth Options has
served as a cost effective way to provide vocational education to high
school students, while simultaneously encouraging students to earn
college credit prior to high school graduation.

### **A Developing Backlash?**

Although community college and high school faculty and administrators
are enthusiastic about dual enrollment, some state- and district-level
officials and legislators are more skeptical. Much of the concern is
focused around financing. In states in which both colleges and high
schools receive some funding based on enrollments, it appears that the
state is paying twice for the same dual enrolled students. Thus, some
state legislators have accused the programs of "double dipping" into
limited financial resources (Orr, 2002). For example, the governor of
Arizona recently proposed cutting the FTE reimbursement rate for dual
enrollments from 100 percent to 20 percent of the community college
rate. Likewise, the superintendent of the Chicago public schools has
proposed capping the number of students permitted to enroll in the
city's dual enrollment programs.

As dual enrollment programs spread, state legislators will have to
clearly address the question of how to fund them most equitably.
Decisions as to the most appropriate funding mechanisms should reflect
states' goals for the programs and take into account unintended
consequences. For example, reducing or eliminating state payments to the
colleges could lead to the colleges charging students tuition, which
would eliminate the financial benefit to families and risk that
lower-income students would be unable to participate. Reducing funding
to the high schools for the students attending college courses could
discourage the high schools from offering the programs. Continuing to
fund students twice, however, is likely to remain a politically and
fiscally unpopular solution. Thus, legislators will have to study the
impact of various funding formulas and adjust their program
administration accordingly.

Critics also worry about the quality of dual enrollment courses (Clark,
2001). Some fear that the rigor of the curriculum is compromised by
virtue of the fact that it is high school students who are enrolled in
the course. Others fear that some models of dual enrollment,
particularly those models that do not involve courses on a college
campus, differ little from traditional high school coursework. Thus, the
Colorado Commission on Higher Education has begun to enforce a
regulation according to which dual enrollment courses taking place in
high schools, taught by high school teachers, do not meet the state
definition of a college course. The Commission has also begun to limit
the number of credits earned by an individual high school student for
which the college can receive state reimbursement.

Likewise, the New Century Scholarship offered in Utah, which encourages
students to complete their associate degree, by way of dual enrollment
credits, by the fall of the year they graduate from high school, may
give some cause for concern. Under this program (which is quite new and
thus has not been evaluated), eighteen year-olds who may have spent
little or no time on a college campus are considered "community college
graduates." The ramifications of this acceleration are not clear, thus
such a policy and its impact should be explored in greater detail.

## ***Outcomes and research findings***

The literature regarding the academic and postsecondary transition
outcomes of participants in dual enrollment programs is unfortunately
sparse (Orr, 2002). Much of the research that is available has been
conducted by the programs themselves, and therefore has a tendency to be
"cheerleading," emphasizing positive outcomes rather than objectively
reporting student impacts. Other research has focused on student
perceptions of the program, the ways in which they use dual enrollment,
or credit accumulation (Orr, 2002). Less research has been conducted on
longer-term outcomes, such as the time it takes for participants to earn
their college degree, as compared to other students.

The most serious methodological problem involves selection. Many
programs require students to be academically successful prior to
admission. In such cases, it is hardly surprising that dual enrollment
students enroll in postsecondary education and have greater success
there than a more typical group of students.

There is evidence that students enjoy their participation in dual
enrollment programs, find it useful and motivating, and are generally
satisfied with their experience (Orr, 2002; see also Robertson, Chapman
and Gaskin, 2001). For example, one follow-up study of dual enrollment
completers from Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) found that the
majority of respondents believed that their participation in dual
enrollment encouraged them to attend college (Peterson, Anjewierden, and
Corser, 2001). The limited evidence also suggests that dual enrollment
students are successful once they enter postsecondary education. A study
conducted by the University of Washington found that students enrolled
in Washington state's dual enrollment program, Running Start, performed
comparably in the two-year institutions to similar other two-year
college students, and those who transferred to the University of
Washington continued with "solid" academic performance (Washington State
Board for Community and Technical Colleges, 2001). But this study did
not control for students' pre-existing characteristics.

Studies of dual enrollment students in Arizona also show positive
postsecondary outcomes for participants, though again it is not clear
that the research controlled for students' likely outcomes without the
dual enrollment experience. Still, over 90 percent of dual enrollment
students who received their college instruction on a college campus
graduated from high school, as compared to the average of 49 percent for
the seven high schools from the Maricopa Community College District
(Finch, 1997, in Puyear, Thor, and Mills, 2001). A survey of dual
enrollment students from another Arizona program found that students'
first semester grades were higher than those of a typical community
college transfer student (Finch, 1997, in Puyear, Thor, and Mills,
2001). A third study, conducted by the University of Arizona (in Puyear,
Thor, and Mills, 2001), found that dual enrollment participants had
lower drops in GPA upon entering the university than did other students,
even when prior academic achievement was controlled for. Variation in
unmeasured characteristics may still account for these different
outcomes, nevertheless, this study does suggest that dual enrollment may
indeed ease students' transition to postsecondary education; students'
ability to maintain their grades during the first year of college may be
a result of better academic or emotional preparedness, due to their
participation in dual enrollment courses.

As noted earlier, studies of Kingsborough Community College's College
Now program have indicated high levels of success for program
participants. Though students earning college credit through College Now
must be academically proficient, students with low levels of academic
achievement can participate by taking remedial coursework offered
through the college. As a group, College Now participants have a high
level of postsecondary success (Kleiman, 2001). When compared to CUNY
freshmen who did not participate, College Now students who enrolled in
the CUNY system were twice as likely to graduate from college on time
and less likely to need remedial coursework (Kleiman, 2001).

We are only beginning to get a sense of the impact of dual enrollment
programs on students. The minimal research available certainly indicates
that participants and educators, both in high schools and community
colleges, are enthusiastic about the strategy. Students do proceed on to
college and have more success there than the typical high school
student, although this may reflect the characteristics of the dual
enrollment students rather than the effects of the program. The very
small number of studies that control for high school grades at least
begin to take account of selection effects, and such studies still show
positive effects. In any case, what we know so far is positive enough to
warrant further experimentation and assessment.

***Conclusion and Federal Policy Role***

Although dual enrollment is not a new strategy, it has grown rapidly in
the last five years. It therefore has the potential to shift from a
program focused on a relatively small number of higher achieving
students to a much larger strategy with the potential to facilitate the
high-school-to-college transition for a broad range of students. The
enthusiasm of the participants and some preliminary evidence suggest
that the strategy has great potential. Nevertheless, any positive
conclusions can only be considered tentative and many of the
policymakers and legislators responsible for funding both high school
and community college enrollments have questioned whether these
expenditures are really the most effective use of their dollars.

Analysis so far has suggested that dual enrollment may have the
potential to improve preparation for college: it may motivate students
to take a more rigorous high school curriculum; it shifts the focus of
occupational education to postsecondary institutions, while keeping such
coursework available for high school students; it can provide an early
warning mechanism to signal whether students are prepared for college;
and it can acclimate students to a college environment while they are
still in high school. If dual enrollment does have these effects, then
it is likely that it can increase college enrollment rates, but perhaps
more important, improve the success of students once they enter college.
Conversely it may help some students decide earlier that college, at
least at this point, is not for them, and that they might spend their
time more productively working or enrolling in more focused occupational
education such as apprenticeships or training for industry based
certifications. Dual enrollment can also fit with other federal goals,
such as improved career guidance in high school and the more effective
assessments sought by the No Child Left Behind strategy.

Given all of this potential, should the federal government, through the
legislative and funding tools that it has available, encourage and
promote the spread of the dual enrollment strategy? In our judgment, it
is too early to answer this question definitively. We have emphasized
throughout this report, though, that early evidence does indicate
potential; therefore this is one case in which the federal government
can play a crucial role in promoting and coordinating experimentation
and assessment.

Despite the growing enthusiasm and popularity of the strategy, a
surprising number of straightforward descriptive questions remain
unanswered. Exactly how many students are participating and how many
courses do they take? What is the mix between courses taken in high
schools, on college campuses, or through some form of distance education
media? Similarly, how much of this program involves mixing high school
and college students? It is also important to know whether
high-school-based dual enrollment courses are taught at a college level,
or whether the content of community college courses with large high
school enrollments is downgraded.

It is particularly important to understand the extent to which the
program is confined primarily to more advanced and academically
successful students and whether more typical high school students can
perform adequately in college courses that are in fact taught at the
college level. The federal government may have an interest in promoting
a program focused on the top students, perhaps in order to strengthen
the education of advanced scientific personnel. But dual enrollment
would be much more relevant to the Perkins Act and to the Office of
Vocational and Adult Education if it serves a broad range of students.

In the end, educators and policymakers need to know whether
well-designed dual enrollment programs live up to their potential. Do
these students attend college at higher rates, do they have stronger
college records, and are they able to make plans and decisions more
effectively? Is dual enrollment more effective for particular types of
students? Vocationally oriented students may benefit from enrollment in
higher-level occupational courses. It is possible that students from the
middle of the achievement distribution have a great deal to gain from
dual enrollment, while it could be counterproductive for students with
more serious problems.

Dual enrollment has the potential to alter the relationship between high
school and college. At one extreme, it could fundamentally change the
content of the high school junior and senior years and at the same time
promote a more focused and perhaps coherent role for postsecondary
institutions, particularly community colleges. At the other extreme, it
could reduce the amount of effective education received by students if
they emerge from high school having learned exactly the same things that
they would have in a regular high school program, but now having
accumulated some college credit for that high school education.

At this time, the federal government, through a coherent and
well-designed program of innovation and assessment, has an unusual
opportunity to shape and

guide a movement that is growing rapidly yet so far lacks a solid basis
on which educators and legislators can make decisions about design,
size, and targeting. Given the enthusiasm for the program and its
apparent potential, a federal focus on this strategy seems well worth
the effort.

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[^1]: In the last five years, Community College Research Center teams
    have conducted fieldwork at over 30 community colleges around the
    country. While we have not yet compiled the data collected that are
    specific to Tech Prep, our impression is that Tech Prep is usually a
    small effort aimed towards vocational students and does not tend to
    be viewed as a college transition program for a broad population of
    students. In contrast, dual enrollment appears to have more
    widespread support as a program that is potentially far-reaching.

[^2]: This type of dual enrollment can also occur prior to high school;
    for example, gifted junior high school students may enroll in a high
    school for part of their instruction and the junior high school for
    the remainder. As such implementations of dual enrollment do not
    address the transition from secondary to postsecondary education and
    are limited to the most advanced students, they are outside of the
    scope of this paper.