Exposure to college courses at a high school level through programs such as Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment are helping students to increase their chance of enrolling in and maintaining their postsecondary education. Here, we explore the details of both types of advanced coursework and how schools can effectively implement them.

What is Dual Enrollment?

Simply put, Dual Enrollment (DE) programs allow high school students to take college courses for college credit at little to no cost to the student. Students take a class through a local college or university, and upon successful completion of the course, receive credit on their college transcripts. Partnering schools must also agree upon the terms of a DE program, such as class selection, fees, and class location.

Dual Enrollment (also known as Dual Credit) programs have significantly increased their reach over the last decade. In a 2013 report from the National Center for Education Statistics, 82% of U.S. high schools reported offering DE programs, with about 2 million students enrolled across the country.

When adding a DE program, high schools typically choose between these four basic structures:

1. High school campus: A high school instructor, who is also an adjunct faculty member at a local college, teaches a college level course on the high school campus.
2. College campus: A cohort of students travels to a college campus for a class taught by a college professor.
3. Independent enrollment: Students individually enroll in college courses and attend classes on campus.
4. Online: The DE class is taught online, which provides the flexibility for both college professor and high school students.

The high school campus structure proves to be the easiest to implement as it requires almost no change to the standard school day. Nevertheless, it’s wise to consider the needs of your school, students, and teachers before deciding which to implement.

DE programs open the doors to a large number of course offerings. While general education courses like first year languages, maths, and sciences are most common, there is also room for exploring classes that are not typically offered in high schools at all. These include vocational training courses and unconventional electives such as Women in Video Games or Intro to Animation. Seventy-six percent of high schools in the U.S. reported that students took dual credit with an academic focus, and about 50% said students took courses with a career or trade focus.

The fees associated with Dual Enrollment can be the largest issue for students. According to Student Loan Hero, the average price of a single college credit in the U.S. is $600. Costs can add up quickly when considering a standard 3-credit course along with additional costs of textbooks, transportation, and enrollment fees. Luckily, most high schools, colleges, or states provide some funding for DE programs to make them more accessible to students. For students enrolled in academic-based DE courses, high schools report that the school or district paid for full or partial tuition (43%), fees (33%) and books (44%) (Cassidy, 2010).

Source: StudentLoanHero.com

In the end, Dual Enrollment programs give students a great opportunity when it comes to earning credits. In two examples from New York and Florida, students entered college with an average of 15 credits more than their peers (see table 2) (Karp et al., 20017). To illustrate, consider a student who enrolls in 3 DE courses in the first semester of her Junior year. Provided she completes them with a passing score, she will earn at least 9 college credits. If she continues taking DE’s throughout her next semester and senior year, she could end up with 36 credits. That’s enough credit to begin college as a sophomore.

What is Advanced Placement?

Advance Placement (AP) classes are another way for students to get ahead in college. The APs are a set of 38 courses offered by the College Board and cover STEM, humanities, languages, and arts. They are like any other high school class. However, their difficulty is on par with that of introductory college courses. AP® classes are offered in fewer high schools than DE programs are, yet more students are enrolling in APs overall. About 74% of high schools offer AP® classes (compared to 82% for DE), and about 2.5 million students enroll in them (compared to 2 million for DE) (College Board Program Summary, 2016). A school or district implements classes , and students may choose to enroll provided they meet the minimum standards set by their high school.

These standards include a minimum GPA, teacher approval, and/or prerequisite classes. Each class ends in an optional 2-3 hour exam administered by the College Board. The cost of each test in 2017 was $93. Students are not required to take the test, but if they pass, they will have the possibility of earning college credit. The tests are scored on a 5-point scale with 1 as the lowest score and 5 as the highest. The minimum to pass is a 3, which signifies that a student has grasped the curriculum.

Though AP® and DE programs accomplish their goals differently, at their roots, they both offer the opportunity for students to earn credits before they enter college. When choosing between the two, it comes down to which is a better fit for your school.

Which is Right for You?

While both AP® and DE programs provide a high level of rigor and an early alternative to earn college credit, they can vastly differ in student results and implementation requirements.

First, DE credit is guaranteed at the partnering institution, provided students pass the class. Credits can be transferred to other colleges, but could be difficult depending on the school’s policies and is not as predictable as AP® scores in terms of acceptance.

Say a student earned DE credit from a local 2-year college. The credits will certainly apply to that college, but the student may have a harder time applying them to a four-year institution out of state, especially if they’re electives. Each college determines the type and amount of credits accepted. One way to know if your credits will apply is by looking at your state’s policies on DE. Twenty-five states require public postsecondary institutions to accept DE credit in some fashion.

For an overview of your state’s policies, you can check out the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Another useful tool comes from Transferology. Their database can tell you if and how much of a student’s classes will transfer from one college to another.

AP® credit, on the other hand, is given by each college based on the student’s score. Most colleges lay out AP® acceptance policies. Students can determine the scores they need and corresponding credits awarded by going to that institution’s website directly.

For students, it boils down to knowing which college they want to attend. If they have their eyes on a specific school, then they can plan for their DE credit or AP® scores to apply. If they are unsure where they will go for postsecondary education, then they may have better luck applying AP® scores for credit as they are more widely accepted. It is important to note, however, that DE courses provide a student with the ability to earn more college credits overall.

Next, the biggest difference between the two programs is their design. While they both offer college level classes to high school students, we have seen that DE programs offer a wider variety of arrangements and courses. AP® classes are taught in high schools exclusively, whereas DE programs depend on the agreement between the college and high school. And since DE programs operate through colleges, all teachers must have a minimum of a master’s degree. This includes any high school instructors teaching in the program.

Implementing DE programs involves quite a bit of work for schools. The partnering institutions must sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU), a legally binding document covering all agreements related to the program. High schools then delegate DE coordinators to ensure students are accessing the opportunities. From the college side, there is a DE liaison who helps to coordinate and manage the overall program. The most successful programs were close in proximity to the college, had flexibility on policy and procedures, and had a dedicated and engaged college liaison.

One of the most important terms in negotiations is the cost. In Kentucky for example, several new DE programs utilize the state’s fixed price rate structure for DE. If a course is taught by a high school teacher at a high school, students only pay a $50 administrative fee to the partnering college. If a college professor teaches the class, students pay 50% of the tuition cost.

By studying the Kentucky programs, 4 exemplary ways of managing DE costs arose:

1. Students pay for tuition but the college reduces the cost of a three-credit course. In one example the price dropped from $1,210 to $210.
2. Students avoid tuition entirely, and pay the state mandated $50 admin fee, provided the class takes place in the high school.
3. The district pays $60 for each student to enroll. Those students are not required to pay any tuition or fees.
4. The district pays a base fee for each course offered to high schoolers every semester for an unlimited amount of students.

Between and within the six districts, there are many variations of DE programs. (Piontek, 2016) Step one in determining implementation costs in your state is to check out the ECS where you’ll find information on funding and policies. Step two is to contact your local colleges.

The College Board makes it easy for schools to initiate their AP® programs with a simple explanation of steps. Briefly, these include attaining your College Board School Code, selecting your AP® Coordinator and completing an AP® Participation Form. Despite the simple process, administrators should still consider costs such as books, equipment, and pre-AP® professional development for teachers.

Now let’s review the costs involved with AP® program implementation across all subject areas ¹:

Source: College Board

[content_container max_width=’100%’ align=’left’]¹ All prices are a reflection of the lowest and highest average for all courses in each respective subject category.
² Professional development costs are determined from the lowest and highest average non-College Board member costs for an AP® Summer Institute (APSI) in the US – excluding travel costs. Note that costs will vary by APSI location.
³ Student and teacher computers are not included in the calculation for this cost.[/content_container]

At a glance, launching a single AP® course could cost anywhere from about $2,350 to $11,650, with English at the lowest end of the spectrum and the sciences at the very top with the additional equipment costs that account for most of the budget. The good news is that schools typically already have many of the supplies needed to run these courses, which reduces costs significantly.

Both DE and APs will have their positives and negatives. For students, the most important things to focus on will cost as well as credit and course opportunities. On the other hand, schools should focus on the possibility of implementation, cost, results, and benefits for students. Next, we will walk through the challenges schools are facing and how AP® and Dual Enrollment can overcome them.

How to Improve Student Outcomes

High schools all face similar challenges in preparing students for the future. Some of the biggest concerns include boosting graduation rates, college enrollment rates, and college retention rates. With advanced course offerings, schools may see improvements in each of these respective areas. Many administrators share the goal of providing students a clear path to success beyond their high school careers.

Graduation Rates

According to NPR, for the 2014-2015 school year, the U.S. graduation rate reached an all-time high of 83%. Even so, this means that 1 out of 5 high school students are not graduating. One way we can raise these numbers is through these higher level AP® and DE classes.

The figure below illustrates that participation in AP® classes correlates to increased graduation rates; we also see that students who took DE classes were 4.3% more likely to earn a high school diploma (Karp et al., 2007). While we cannot credit these programs with the entirety of the rate increases, they are reflective of base causes.

The Pygmalion effect can explain one factor we see behind the AP® and DE increase. A report by Boser in 2014, states that “high school students whose teachers have higher expectations about their future success are far more likely to graduate from college.” The idea is that adequately challenged students  will work harder.

Almost 25% of high school graduates said high school did not challenge them, and 82% of college students claimed they would have worked harder if their high schools demanded more and had higher academic expectations (Karp et al.). Overall, AP® and DE programs provide the academic appeal that many high school students seem to crave. As graduation rates rise, the natural next step is to encourage students to continue to postsecondary education.

Source: Civic Enterprises

College Enrollment Rates

College enrollment rates are one key indicator of high school success. With the option of Dual Enrollment and APs, students are challenged and therefore build the confidence they need for college. This is the perfect example of the Pygmalion effect at work:

“Research shows that students who succeed in rigorous course work such as Advanced Placement are developing college-level knowledge and skills while still in high school. These students are more likely than their peers to earn college degrees on time, providing an opportunity to save significant amounts of money.” (Packer, Trevor, 2014)

Similarly, students who participated in Dual Enrollment were 31% more likely to enroll in college and 12% more likely to enroll full-time compared to their peers who did not take DE classes (see table 2) (Karp et al., 2007). A DE program, in particular, is important for building awareness for low-income and underrepresented students who may not have previously considered college as an option. When offered as part of a vocational or technical program, DE prepares students for the workforce, as well as enables them to experience future career and educational options.

College Retention

College retention is dependent on several factors, but it comes down to preparedness. The average college freshman may not be ready for the level of difficulty, the expectations of professors, or the college environment in general. In fact, 60% of students in 2‐year institutions, and 30% of those in 4‐year institutions needed academic support. In a 2007 study by Kirst, 39% of college students reported lacking skills and abilities expected of them in college; comparatively, instructors estimated 42% of their students were not adequately prepared. As the demands of colleges change, incoming freshmen are not able to adapt as quickly.

At the same time, college students who participated in DE had higher persistence, retention, and even grade point average – not to mention the higher amount of credits earned before beginning college. (Karp et al., 2007) The National Research Center for Career and Technical Education looks at the state of Florida to summarize the impact of DE on postsecondary student performance:

Source: National Research Center for Career and Technical Education

[content_container max_width=’100%’ align=’left’]⁴ Data is representative of the state of Florida exclusively and is representative of differences between DE and non-DE outcomes.
⁵ DE students are all individuals who took at least one DE course while enrolled in high schools[/content_container]

Across all variables, students who had participated in DE programs in secondary school significantly outperformed those who did not.

AP® programs also have a high positive impact on educational experiences. In 2015, the College Board reported on the effects of AP® classes on college performance (See Table 3). The better students performed on AP® tests, the high their enrollment, GPA, and persistence.

Source: College Board

[content_container max_width=’100%’ align=’left’]⁶ Students are all individuals who took at least one AP® course while enrolled in high schools[/content_container]

Student Anxiety

Mental preparedness is another reason behind low retention rates. Vicki Nelson from College Parent Central explains her take on student anxiety:

“Fear of abilities – Many college students feel, at some point or another, as though the college has probably made a mistake by admitting them and that they will not be able to do the work. Students have heard the message for years that college work is different from high school work, and that college is hard. Your student may worry that he or she will not be able to succeed academically…”

It is a common scenario; a big fish in a little pond goes to a larger pond and is no longer the big fish. This is a tough adjustment for many students. AP® and DE help to ease the transition as these programs provide insight on college expectations. In fact, several studies concluded that high school students who take college courses perform better in college than those with no history of DE (Cassidy, 2010). Similarly 80% of AP® takers felt more confident about doing well in college and 90% thought they were prepared skill-wise. (College Board, 2016)

Moving Forward

It has been established that Dual Enrollment and AP® classes can be essential in improving students’ chances of success in college. They provide the opportunity to save money and earn credits while in high school as well as gain valuable experience on the most notable college challenges.

As an educator, your next step should be to increase the accessibility of both programs. Currently, Dual Enrollment is in 82% of high school and APs are in 74%. Not only do we want to increase the reach of the programs, but also the number of students enrolled within each.

As you contemplate the benefits of AP® and DE, consider these suggestions:

1. Require exposure to AP® or DE programs. This can be done through graded, ungraded, or shadowing programs where students sit in on an advanced class on a regular basis. The idea is to ensure all students get a glimpse into to college level classes in order to broaden horizons, ease transition, and improve student performance.
2. Offer other college preparatory classes. In one example from the City Universities of New York, classes include traditional dual enrollment courses as well as remedial or developmental courses. Students who do not meet the eligibility criteria for college courses may enroll in other college-esque courses to prepare them.
3. Provide financial support. Many high schools have financial programs in place, but for those who don’t, price can be a major deterrent. Colleges may be willing to reduce or eliminate fees and tuition if you negotiate the terms.

Ultimately, when choosing the program that is right for your school, the benefits of both Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement outweigh their cost in terms of improving student retention, graduation, and college readiness.

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