Concurrent Enrollment: Research and Policy

Concurrent enrollment programs like CIS are now a major component of rigorous high school curricula, coast to coast.  This page is intended to advance understanding of this rapidly growing national phenomenon.  Below you will find URLs and citations leading to major reports, published articles, and dissertations that explore the value and strengths of concurrent enrollment as well as the local and national challenges it faces.

The contents of this page are organized by general topic.  The annotations provided highlight the content pertinent to concurrent or dual enrollment.  If you are familiar with major research and policy that you believe might be valuable for this page, please contact Susan Henderson at shenders@cce.umn.edu.

Topical Menu:
Critical Developments in Concurrent Enrollment
Overviews of Accelerated Learning Programs, Issues, and Policies
Dual Enrollment and Other Accelerated Learning Research and Data
Postsecondary Success and Access
High School Reform
Federal and Minnesota Legislation
Related Articles and Reports

Critical Developments in Concurrent Enrollment

National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) develops CEP standards
NACEP was established in 1999 to foster, support, and identify high quality concurrent enrollment programs.  The national NACEP standards and accreditation process ensure that each course offered through a NACEP-accredited concurrent enrollment program is of the same quality and academic rigor as the on-campus sections of the same course.  The first concurrent enrollment programs (CEPs) were accredited in 2004.  Many of the reports below, even those published in 2006, are based on research data that was gathered before NACEP accreditation was available.  See www.nacep.org.

Minnesota Concurrent Enrollment Partnership (MnCEP)
In 2005, Minnesota CEP administrators began meeting in order to share best practices, identify areas of common concern, and to document the scope of student participation in Minnesota CEPs.

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Overviews of Accelerated Learning Programs, Issues, and Policies

Accelerated Learning Options: Moving the Needle on Access and Success
(2006. Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education)
Focused on existing state and institutional policies and practices associated with four accelerated learning programs—Advanced Placement (AP), dual/concurrent enrollment, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program, and Tech-Prep—this report notes that:

• “All states report offering AP, and only six of the 50 states indicated that they did not make special efforts to reach underserved students with AP” (p. 32).
• “All states report offering dual credit/dual enrollment, but only slightly more than half (29 states) have special efforts to reach underserved students with this option” (Page 33).  (Editor’s note:  Federal funds have been available to schools for increasing participation of students of color in AP classes, but not in concurrent enrollment classes.)
• “Students can be confident that some AP and dual/ concurrent courses will be accepted as required credit by a great majority of institutions in both the public and private higher education sectors. It is also common for postsecondary institutions to accept AP and dual/concurrent courses for elective credit” (p. 35).

Enriching the High School Curriculum Through Postsecondary Credit-Based Transition Programs
(2006. University of Indiana, Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Volume 4, No 2)
Description of trends in accelerated learning programs nationally with highlights of Indiana programs. Among its recommendations for dual enrollment is the following: “Promote expansion of dual credit programs in the state. Dual credit programs are growing nationwide, thereby increasing high school students’ options for earning college credits. This growth should be encouraged and access to these programs by all qualified students should be facilitated by state policy” (p. 9).   

Postcards from the Margin: A National Dialogue on Accelerating Learning
(2006. Jobs for the Future and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education)
A summary of issues surrounding accelerated learning, including the purpose, financing, quality, and documentation of outcomes of accelerated learning. Outlining a national agenda for further understanding and strengthening accelerated learning programs,  the authors recommend that accrediting bodies such as NACEP take the lead in developing and promoting “a cohesive set of regionally and nationally recognized quality assurance standards for all accelerated learning options” (p. 9).

Dual Enrollment: Policy Issues Confronting State Policymakers
(2006. Education Commission of the States)
Summary of the growth, benefits, controversies, and impacts of dual enrollment.  The author concludes: “Dual enrollment programs, while still in relative infancy, are a key strategy for increasing postsecondary participation in the states and policymakers should implement them with care.  Academic rigor, access and affordability are the keys to success when it comes to dual enrollment” (p. 6).

The College Ladder: Linking Secondary and Postsecondary Education for Success for All Students
(2006. American Youth Policy Forum)
 “[T]he result of a two-year effort to identify, summarize, and analyze schools, programs, and policies that link secondary and postsecondary education to help students earn college credit or take college-level courses, ” this report emphasizes the need to collect more data.  The authors recognize the value of accelerated learning options:  “Arrangements that allow high school students to participate in college classes come in many forms and designs, including dual enrollment, Advanced Placement (AP) courses, Tech Prep, and middle and early college high schools. They share important common elements of strong academics keyed to postsecondary standards, increased student engagement through interesting classes and/or attendance on a college campus, and exposure to adult expectations and milieu, and often are accompanied with supports to ensure student success. From our perspective, these programs are high value programs, because they provide many of the important elements that have been missing from high school for most students: challenge, engagement, access to the adult world, and support” [p. vii].

The Progress of Education Reform 2005: Dual Enrollment
(2005. The Progress of Education Reform, vol. 6, no. 3, Education Commission of the States)
A review of existing research about dual enrollment, an overview of state dual-enrollment policies, and their effect on dual enrollment programs. 

State Dual Enrollment Policies: Addressing Access and Quality
(2004, with  update in 2005. Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education)
An in-depth look at the scope, structure and regulation of dual enrollment programs across the nation.  Authors state that they were “continually struck by the difficult balancing act states must engage in. There is a strong desire to promote access to dual enrollment for a broad range of students. Yet, there is also a need to maintain academic standards and ensure that only students ready for college-level work participate in college courses. To some extent, these two goals conflict.”  The authors also conclude that “funding streams that provide only the minimum support for dual enrollment may inadvertently prevent programs from providing services such as counseling that can promote student success” (pp. 30 - 32). 

Add and Subtract: Dual Enrollment as a State Strategy to Increase Postsecondary Success for Underrepresented Students  (2005. Jobs for the Future)
This “policy primer” includes an overview of dual enrollment and funding models for states that want to offer dual enrollment to a wider range of students. Authors state that “dual enrollment…is a promising “next best thing” for states wishing to increase the number of underrepresented students gaining a postsecondary credential. Dual enrollment also has the potential to save money for families and taxpayers and shorten time to degree. To make dual enrollment a centerpiece of a strategy to improve college access and success, however, requires shifts in typicaldual enrollment policy and legislation and a new way of thinking about its mission. By 'adding' supports at the front end—in eleventh and twelfth grades—in order to enable young people to succeed in college-level courses in high school, states can potentially 'subtract' from the total expense of educating a young person” (Executive Summary). 

Promoting College Access and Success: A Review of Credit-based Transitions Programs
(2003. Accelerating Student Success Project, Office of Vocational and Adult Education in partnership with the Community College Research Center)
The authors of this report “reviewed 45 published and unpublished reports, articles, and books on the most common credit-based transition programs—dual enrollment, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Tech Prep, and middle college high schools (MCHS)—to examine the programs and their characteristics, and to review what is known about their ability to increase college access and success for a wide range of students” (vii).  The authors conclude that “studies offer evidence for continued support of such transition programs, but also draw attention to the need for more comprehensive and reliable information on program and student characteristics, as well as for sound research” (xi).

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Dual Enrollment and Other Accelerated Learning Research and Data

The Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion from High School through College  (2006. U.S. Department of Education)
A companion study to a previous U.S. Department of Education study, Answers in the Toolbox, published in 1999 (see below).  Both national longitudinal studies reach similar conclusions:  “The academic intensity of the student's high school curriculum still counts more than anything else in precollegiate history in providing momentum toward completing a bachelor's degree” (p. xviii).

“Less than 20 credits by the end of the first calendar year of enrollment … is a serious drag on degree completion. The original Tool Box told the same story. It is all the more reason to begin the transition process in high school with expanded dual enrollment programs offering true postsecondary course work so that students enter higher education with a minimum of 6 additive credits to help them cross that 20-credit line. Six is good, 9 is better, and 12 is a guarantee of momentum” (p. xx).

Dual Credit and Exam-Based Courses in U.S. Public High Schools: 2002-2003
(2005. US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics)
Baseline data about the scope and characteristics of dual enrollment and exam-based courses in the US.  Authors estimate that 72% of public high schools in the U.S. offered dual credit courses in the 2002-2003 school year, 67% offered AP courses, and 3% offered IB courses (p. 5)  Report also states that in 2002-03 “there were an estimated 1.2 million enrollments in courses for dual credit, 1.8 million enrollments in AP courses, and 165,000 enrollments in IB courses” (p. 4).

Dual Enrollment of High School Students at Postsecondary Institutions: 2002-2003.  (2005.U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics)
Designed to provide baseline data about participation in dual-enrollment programs, this report estimates that 680,000 high school students took college courses through dual-enrollment programs during the 2002-03 school year (p. 7).   Report also notes that 64 percent of institutions with dual enrollment programs reported that parents and students were a source for tuition for courses taken as part of the programs. . . . 37 percent said that high schools and public school districts were a source. . . .” (p. 13-14).

Answers in the Toolbox: Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor's Degree Attainment  (1999. U.S. Department of Education)
Identification of factors contributing to bachelor's degree completion.  A rigorous high school curriculum is identified as the most important factor influencing college degree completion.  Rigorous curriculum was found to be more important than socio-economic status (p. 84-86).

Education Watch Minnesota 2006: Achievement, Attainment and Opportunity from Elementary School through College  (2006. Education Trust, Inc.)
Report includes a breakdown by ethnicity of student participation in Advanced Placement (AP) and compares the success of students by ethnicity in the AP tests.  The authors state that “While AP test taking offers a picture of access to AP coursework, relative achievement on these exams is an important measure of student/teacher preparedness. Huge variability in the proportion of test takers that earn a 3 or greater should raise questions about the quality of instruction or educational resources provided in courses labeled Advanced Placement” (p. 8).

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Postsecondary Success and Access

Claiming Common Ground: State Policymaking for Improving College Readiness and Success
(2006. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education)
Four key areas are identified in which state policies can improve students’ college readiness and completion: alignment of coursework and assessments, state finance, statewide data systems, and accountability.  Report observes that “[g]aining admission to college is not the most daunting challenge facing high school graduates—although many students think that it is and most college preparation efforts focus on admissions. The more difficult challenge for students is becoming prepared academically for college coursework. Once students enter college, about half of them learn that they are not prepared for college-level courses” (p. 2).  

Measuring Up 2006: The National Report Card on Higher Education
(2006. National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education)
The national report card compares “the performance of each state along critical dimensions of college opportunity and effectiveness.”

Transforming Higher Education: National Imperative — State Responsibility (2006. National Conference of State Legislatures' Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education)
Report urges state legislative bodies to take the lead in higher education reform and concludes with 15 recommendations, including the following: “Transform the 12th grade: Dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment and early college programs can all help prepare students for college and finish faster.”

Betraying the College Dream: How Disconnected K-12 and Postsecondary Education Systems Undermine Student Aspirations 
(2003. Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research)
The final report of the Bridge Project, a research project begun in 1997 to identify the barriers that limit access and success in college. Among key recommendations is the following: “Expanding successful dual or concurrent enrollment programs between high schools and colleges so that they include all students, not just traditionally ‘college-bound’ students” (p. 03).

Trouble on the Horizon: Growing Demands and Competition, Limited Resources, & Changing Demographics in Higher Education 
(2004. Citizens League Report on Higher Education in Minnesota)
Among the recommendations: “Make better use of time spent in high school and ensure that all students are ready for higher education. This includes … improved access to higher education opportunities, e.g. advanced placement and post-secondary education options, for students who are ready, and greater remediation and access for students who are not yet prepared for higher education” (p. 3).

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High School Reform

High School Reform to Lifelong Learning:  Aligning Secondary and Postsecondary Education 
(3/5/2007.  National Governors Association)
This recent policy position from the National Governors Association encourages federal policies that “encourage—not discourage—promising state efforts in dual enrollment programs that permit students to obtain high quality college-level credits or provide the opportunity to earn an industry-recognized credential while still in secondary school. Specifically, Congress should encourage and support state dual enrollment or early college programs that provide accelerated educational opportunities and allow students to obtain both high school diplomas and significant college credit. Congress also should allow high school students participating in these programs to be eligible for federal financial aid.” (p. 3).

Aligning Postsecondary Expectations and High School Practice:  The Gap Defined
Policy Implications of the ACT National Curriculum Survey Results 2005-2006
(2007.  ACT)
The ACT National Curriculum Survey polled thousands of teachers at the middle school, high school, and post-secondary levels to identify the differences “between postsecondary expectations and high school practice” (Policy Implications Report, p. 1).  Researchers found that high schools focus on breadth of content, while colleges expect students to have a deeper understanding, but of fewer topics.  For example, high school teachers focus on “science content”; postsecondary instructors indicate that incoming freshmen need to understand “process and inquiry skills in science” (Policy Implications Report, p. 6).  According to the report, high school teachers generally believe that state standards prepare students for college; college instructors believe that standards “do a poor or very poor job of preparing students for postsecondary work” (Policy Implications Report, p. 8).  ACT postulates that the difference in focus is possibly the result of states adopting standards in too many areas to be taught and measured effectively in a single school year.  Among the recommendations, ACT suggests that states target their standards to the “essential knowledge and skills in each content area” (Policy Implications Report, p. 3).
Policy Implications Report
Full Survey Report

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty's Education Vision for Minnesota 
(11/22/06. Minnesota Department of Education News Center)
The Governor’s plan includes “academic success and system improvement indicators,” developed using input from the Governor’s Education Council members.   The system improvement indicators include growth in the following:

• “College Courses in High School:  The number and percentages of students participating in Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Post Secondary Education Options, CLEP, College in the Schools in science, math and other core subject areas.”
• “College Credit:  The number or students that receive scores or passing grades which result in dual college and high school credit.”

Report on Key Policies and Practices of Higher Performing High Schools
(2006. National High School Center, US Department of Education)
Focused on successful high schools that have set high standards for all students, this report provides state leaders with suggestions on how to support accelerated learning initiatives.

Tough Choices or Tough Times 
(2006. The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, National Center on Education and the Economy)
Calling for an overhaul of the K-12 system, this report proposes a system in which students take “state board qualifying exams” to determine their opportunities for entry into higher education.  Anyone at anytime would be able to retake board exams.  Teacher pay would be based on performance, not seniority, and teachers would actively be recruited from among the top third of high school graduates.

Redesigning the American High School--Getting It Done: 10 Steps to a State Action Agenda 
(2005. National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices)
“Getting It Done” identifies steps governors can take to jump-start high school reform.  Several  steps include strategies for expanding dual enrollment.

Advancing High School Reform in the States
(2005. National Association of Secondary School Principals)
This association encourages states to develop policies “that are targeted at increasing the rigor of the [high school] curriculum including establishing a core curriculum that is aligned with college admission standards, developing an accelerated high school curriculum, and concurrently providing incentives or financial support for students to take more rigorous courses or accelerated learning opportunities through the AP program, the International Baccalaureate program, or dual enrollment”(p. 5).

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Federal and Minnesota Legislation

No Child Left Behind:  Public Law 107-110, Sec. 1608. Quality Initiatives (Part G—Advanced Placement Programs)
The “Access to High Standards Act” of NCLB provides funding to states to “increase the number of students who participate and succeed in advanced placement programs; to provide greater access to advanced placement and pre-advanced placement courses and highly trained teachers for low-income and other disadvantaged students; and to increase the participation of low-income individuals in taking advanced placement tests through the payment or partial payment of the costs of the advanced placement test fees” (p. 182). 

Minnesota Statute 124d.09 Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) Act
This statute gives high school juniors and seniors the right to attend classes at Minnesota postsecondary institutions for both high school and college credit; it also stipulates that individual postsecondary institutions and school districts may develop contract agreements to provide college courses at the high school, taught by college faculty or by high school teachers.

Minnesota Statute 120B.13 Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate
Programs
This statute states that “The advanced placement and international baccalaureate programs are well-established academic programs for mature, academically directed high school students.” The legislation provides for the state to cover the costs of teacher training (tuition and travel) for AP and IB programs.  To the extent possible, this legislation and the funding are intended to “ensure that advanced placement and international baccalaureate courses become available in all parts of the state and that a variety of course offerings are available in school districts.” The legislation also states that “the commissioner shall pay all examination fees for all public and nonpublic students of low-income families… for an advanced placement examination, international baccalaureate examination, or both.”

Minnesota Statute 120B.132 Raised Academic Achievement; Advanced Placement Programs
Minnesota public schools can apply for funding to improve academic achievement through increased availability and access to Advanced Placement courses.  The funding available can be used to “provide teacher training and instruction” and “to better prepare students, including low-income and other disadvantaged students, for succeeding in advanced placement programs; to purchase books and supplies; to pay course or program fees; and to increase students' participation in and success with advanced placement programs.”

Minnesota Statute Chapter 123A.443 School Districts; Forms For Organizing (Grant Application Process)
This statute provides incentive grants for a group of school districts to jointly acquire additional educational facilities to provide “for more learning opportunities and course offerings, including the offering of advanced placement courses, for students than is currently available in any single member district.”

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Related Articles and Reports

Advanced Placement Grants Awarded to Outstanding Schools
(11/27/2006. Minnesota Department of Education Press Release)
Minnesota DOE awarded 14 schools “with additional funding to start or expand AP.”

Mind the Gap: Disparities and Competitiveness in the Twin Cities
(2005. Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program)
This report describes how levels of education, wealth, and economic opportunities differ between the inner city and the suburbs, between the races, and between the poor and the middle class.  The author argues that reducing the disparities, particularly the differences in education, is essential for the continued economic success of the area. “Making sure that all boats rise with the tide is one important way of working toward continued future economic success. For example, increasing college attainment rates among underrepresented groups is a strategy for building a quality future workforce—not just an effort to promote equity” (p. 6).

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