Equitable Dual Enrollment

    
The number of high schoolers participating in dual enrollment—taking college classes and earning credit toward diplomas and degrees simultaneously—has doubled in eight years. But most of these programs haven’t served students equitably: Four of five U.S. school districts report equity gaps in dual enrollment for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. Aspen supports K-12 and community college leaders in expanding this pathway to a college degree or workforce credential to the many students who are missing out.

The Dual Enrollment Playbook

Aspen and the Community College Research Center studied nine dual enrollment programs across three states—Florida, Ohio, and Washington—that have narrowed or closed equity gaps in dual enrollment for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Pacific Islander students. Based on this research, The Dual Enrollment Playbook describes the five principles that college and K-12 leaders can follow to design equitable dual enrollment programs.

Tools for Leaders

A Guide to Getting Started
A step-by-step guide, with discussion questions and data analysis templates, that institutional leaders can use to strengthen the equity impact of dual enrollment programs
Assessing Equitable Practices at Community Colleges
Questions college leaders can answer to assess equity in their dual enrollment practices
Assessing Equitable Practices at High Schools
Questions school and district leaders can answer to use to assess equity in their dual enrollment practices

Resources

Insider Higher Ed: Dispatch From the Achieving the Dream Convening Touches on Dual Enrollment
Education Dive: How to build a dual-enrollment program that works for all students
Our work on dual enrollment is made possible by generous support
from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Contact us for more information.
Millicent Bender, Director