Study: Dual Enrollment Improves Black, Hispanic, Low-Income College Completion Rates
Credit: Maskot / Getty Images- A new report shows that students who dual enroll during high school are more likely to attend college and graduate than students who don’t.
- The report also found that dual enrollment students from some underrepresented backgrounds had lower college completion rates four years after high school compared to all dual enrollment students.
- However, dual enrolled students from underrepresented groups who enrolled in college within a year after high school were more likely to earn a degree than high school graduates entering college without dual enrollment.
Dual enrollment (DE) is touted as a potential solution for colleges and universities seeking to avoid falling off the enrollment cliff, but new data also shows it may increase college completion rates for Black, Hispanic, and low-income students.
A new report from the Community College Research Center (CCRC) shows that students who participate in dual enrollment — enrolling in college or university courses prior to completing high school — are more likely to attend college and graduate than students who are not involved in dual enrollment.
The report found that dual enrollment students from low-income, Black, and Hispanic backgrounds had lower college completion rates four years after high school compared to dual enrollment students overall.
However, DE students from underrepresented groups who enrolled in college within a year after high school were still more likely to earn a degree compared to recent high school graduates entering college who didn’t participate in dual enrollment.
“Dual enrollment is a strong on-ramp to increase college enrollment and completion for all students, especially for low-income, Black, and Hispanic students, but there is a lot of room for improvement,” Tatiana Velasco, a senior research associate at CCRC and the report’s lead author, said in a press release.
Underrepresented Students More Likely to Matriculate If They’re Dual Enrolled
Using data from the National Student Clearinghouse, the CCRC tracked all students entering a community college or four-year institution for the first time in the fall of 2015 through fall 2021.
The report focuses on more than 450,000 dual enrollment high school students enrolling at a postsecondary institution for the first time, the majority of whom were in 11th or 12th grade at the beginning of data collection.
In the fall 2015 cohort, Hispanic DE students and DE students from low-income areas were underrepresented at four-year institutions. Black DE students were underrepresented at both community colleges and four-year schools. In contrast, white and female students were overrepresented among DE students.
Black dual enrollees were more likely to enroll in college right after high school than other students and were more likely to enroll at a four-year institution. Additionally, Black DE students were also more likely to attend a selective four-year institution than low-income and Hispanic DE students.
In contrast, low-income and Hispanic DE students were less likely to enroll at a postsecondary institution in the first year after high school. However, these students were more likely to have completed an associate degree within four years after graduating high school than DE students in general.
Additionally, students from underrepresented groups were more likely to have enrolled in college without graduating.
Underrepresented Dual Enrolled Students Much More Likely to Graduate
Among those who took a DE course in high school, 42% completed their postsecondary studies within four years of finishing high school, with 29% of these graduates earning a bachelor’s degree.
Dual enrollment students from the 2015 cohort who went to college within one year of high school had higher completion rates for bachelor’s and associate degrees within four years, at 36% and 12%, respectively.
In comparison, non-DE students had completion rates of 34% and 9% for bachelor’s and associate degrees, respectively.
The difference in bachelor’s degree completion rates within four years between DE and non-DE students was even more significant among low-income (28% DE vs. 20% non-DE), Black (29% vs.18%), and Hispanic (25% vs. 19%) students.
‘Programs of Privilege’
Dual enrollees overall were less likely to identify as belonging to an underrepresented group.
John Fink, senior research associate and program lead at Teachers College’s Community College Research Center, previously told BestColleges that dual enrollment is often referred to as “programs of privilege” because they tend to favor kids already on the college-bound track and leave behind those students who might benefit more from such an opportunity.
Fink explained that barriers to dual enrollment include issues such as lack of transportation, eligibility standards, cost, limited availability at under-resourced schools, and lack of awareness about dual enrollment programs.
However, when dual enrollment is expanded to include students from underrepresented groups, Fink says they can be a gateway to higher education for individuals who may have dismissed the idea of attending college.
The report advocates for expanding access to “high-quality DE opportunities” among low-income, Black, Hispanic, and other underrepresented groups and more investments from institutions to help students complete their college degree on time.
“The findings from this study [show] strong postsecondary outcomes among low-income, Black, and Hispanic students who were able to participate in DE coursework,” the report read. “… While DE students overall have stronger postsecondary award completion rates than non-dual enrollees, disparities persist for low-income, Black, and Hispanic students.”