2010 Reports

Dual Enrollment: A Strategy for Educational Advancement of All Students

Barnett, Elisabeth; Stamm, Liesa

Dual enrollment is widely seen as a strategy to help advanced high school students begin college early. More recently, interest is growing in using dual enrollment as a way to smooth the transition to college for students traditionally underrepresented in higher education.1 Many scholars and practitioners are coming to believe that high school students who have the opportunity to participate in college courses are more likely to enroll in college and succeed once there. But a number of questions surround this proposition:
• Can traditionally underrepresented students succeed in dual enrollment courses?
• What can be done to help them to succeed?
• What are the costs and benefits associated with dual enrollment for students, families, institutions, and taxpayers?
• What do we know about effective practices in online dual enrollment?
To address these important issues associated with dual enrollment, we draw on the existing research.