Colorado’s dual enrollment programs

Complete report

 

Colorado’s dual enrollment programs allow students to earn college - level credit while in high school. Concurrent Enrollment (CE) .Dual enrollment not only save students time and money, but also remedy the deep - rooted inequities across our state. And their popularity is soaring. Nearly 46,000 students participated in dual enrollment programs throughout the state this year, up 10 percentage points from the previous year. This represents more than a third of all juniors and seniors who attend public high school in Colorado.

The state - facilitated Concurrent Enrollment program offers extra benefits. Estab lished in 2009, CE connects local education providers, typically high schools, and higher education institutions to deliver college - level coursework in 97 percent of districts statewide. Most CE credits are guaranteed to transfer to every public college, u niversity, and technical school in the state, ensuring more students save money and time on their journey to postsecondary completion.

A recent study by CDHE funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences showed that 77 percent of Colorado CE students went on to college compared to 52 percent of students who did not participate. And 82 per cent of CE students continued in their postsecondary education — known as persistence — compared to 77 percent of non - CE students.

Even better, more students of color are taking advantage of CE. Compared to the previous year, participation in CE increased 16 percentage points among African American and black students, 17 points among Hispanic students and 18 points among Native American and American Indian students — populations that are the least likely to enroll in, persist through, and ultimately earn a credential from our state’s postsecondary institutions.

During the 201 7 - 2018 Academic Y ear, 45, 787 high school students (representing nearly 35 percent of all 11 th  and 12 th graders ) participated in Concurrent Enrollment, ASCENT or other dual enrollment programs . This number was an increase of nearly 4,000 students from 201 6 - 20 1 7 , or a nearly 10 percent jump in dual en rollment participation overall. The highest area of participation growth in 201 7 - 20 1 8 was in Concurrent Enrollment programs at two - and four - year institutions, which saw a combined increase of 9.5 percent. Four - year institutions saw the biggest percentage increase i n Concurrent Enrollment participation with a 10.2 percent increase.