Dr. Keith Curry, president of Compton College
A newly released report outlined how this initiative gave dual enrolled students emergency aid—and what lessons can be learned.
Dual enrolled students refer to students who take community college classes for credit while they are still in high school. But federal pandemic relief funds left out dual enrolled students.
“We believe that those students who are enrolled in Compton courses while still in high school are just as much a part of our community as any other student,” said Dr. Keith Curry, president of Compton College, in the report. “And through our work to provide them with emergency aid, we saw the ways in which getting students cash when they needed it could make a big difference.”
Studies show that high schoolers who take part in dual enrollment programs are more likely to attend and finish college. Dr. Michal Kurlaender, professor of education at the University of California, Davis’s School of Education, explained that simply exposing high school students to college courses can help them better prepare and build confidence for their next steps.
“Dual enrollment is really important, especially right now with enrollment declines, because this ensures a warmer hand-off from K-12 to college,” she said. “That is particularly key for first-generation students who may not have someone at home telling them how college works. There is no better source of information about college than to experience it.”
But research reveals a troubling pattern, added Kurlaender. Historically underrepresented students—such as students of color, low-income students, and first-generation students—are participating at disproportionately lower rates in dual enrollment programs.
