Dr. Christopher Nellum, executive director of The Education Trust-West
Dual enrollment allows high school students to take college courses for credit, potentially improving college access. These courses can be offered at high schools, college campuses, or online, depending on the program.
“There has been a lot of attention, probably rightly so, on dual enrollment,” said Dr. Christopher Nellum, executive director of The Education Trust-West. “Evidence suggests that early exposure to college courses can be good for all students, particularly for students of color who are Black, Latinx, or Native American.”
The report, titled "Jumpstart: Setting Goals to Drive Equitable Dual Enrollment Participation in California’s Community Colleges", analyzed data from community colleges across the state. Research has shown that dual enrollment can improve high school completion rates, more seamlessly transition students into college, and help students save money once they are in college. This is because credits earned through dual enrollment can allow some students to graduate college faster, lowering the cost of their degree.
“Dual enrollment is seen as one lever to improve rates like college going and college persistence,” said Dr. Sherrie Reed, the executive director of the California Education Lab at the University of California, Davis, who has also studied dual enrollment. “We know from plenty of research that students who have some experience with the college environment are not only more academically prepared but also see themselves as more capable of managing college material.”
Reed added that this early exposure to college courses can help students develop a sense of belonging in higher education. Part of that phenomenon is students learn sooner how to navigate college bureaucracies like enrolling in courses. Those benefits can add up to a big, positive impact.
“So, anytime we see something that folks think will be the next big silver bullet in education, we become very interested,” said Nellum on why Education Trust-West decided to analyze racial equity in dual enrollment. “Because if you place something like dual enrollment in an inequitable structure, our question then becomes, but who is not being served?”