Dual Enrollment of High School Students at Postsecondary Institutions

Summary
Background
This report provides data from a nationally representative survey of Title IV degree-granting
postsecondary institutions on the topic of dual enrollment of high school students. Dual enrollment, also
known as “dual credit,” “concurrent enrollment,” and “joint enrollment,” refers to the participation in
college-level courses and the earning of college credits by high school students. Dual enrollment is
viewed as providing high school students benefits such as greater access to a wider range of rigorous
academic and technical courses, savings in time and money on a college degree, promoting efficiency of
learning, and enhancing admission to and retention in college. By providing a pathway for students to
move seamlessly between K–12 and postsecondary systems, dual enrollment is thought to promote
greater support for students’ college aspirations and greater collaboration between high schools and
colleges (Bailey and Karp 2003; Clark 2001). In an effort to prepare high school students for college, 38
states have enacted dual enrollment policies that support the development of programs that promote a
smoother transition between high school and postsecondary education (Karp et al. 2004). However, at
present, there is no existing national source of information on dual enrollment of high school students at
postsecondary institutions. The “Dual Enrollment Programs and Courses for High School Students”
survey, undertaken by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute of Education
Sciences, was designed to provide policymakers, researchers, educators, and administrators with baseline
information on the prevalence and characteristics of dual enrollment programs. While the majority of the
survey’s questions focused on dual enrollment programs, several key questions also revealed the
prevalence of college coursetaking outside of dual enrollment programs by high school students. The
survey was requested by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education.
The front page of the survey included a definition and description of dual enrollment (see
appendix B). For this study, dual enrollment was defined as high school students who earn college credits
for courses taken through a postsecondary institution. The definition specified that courses could be part
of a dual enrollment program, or courses could be taken outside of a dual enrollment program. A dual
enrollment program was defined as an organized system with special guidelines that allows high school
students to take college-level courses. The guidelines might delineate entrance or eligibility requirements,
funding, limits on coursetaking, and so on. High school students who simply enrolled in college courses
and were treated as regular college students were not considered to be participating in a dual enrollment
program. Credit for courses could be earned at both the high school and college level simultaneously or
1