How Dual Enrollment Can Rescue Colleges From the Enrollment Cliff
Mark J. Drozdowski, Ed.D.
September 13, 2024
Salvation lies in fueling the pipeline with students for whom dual enrollment will spur college attendance — not just those already headed that way.
New data shows that almost 2.5 million high school students took dual enrollment courses in 2022-23.
Dual enrollment figures have spiked over the past decade thanks to public investments.
Participation in these programs is lower among underrepresented minority students.
Students who take dual enrollment courses are more apt to attend and graduate from college
New data from the Education Department shows that dual enrollment — high school students taking college classes — has grown substantially in recent years. Nationwide, more than 1 in 5 community college students attends high school.
Meanwhile, higher education enrollment numbers, while rebounding slowly, still fall well below figures from a dozen years ago, especially among community colleges. Today, about 61% of high school graduates attend college, down from nearly 70% in 2016.
And then there’s the really bad news: a demographic downturn in the number of traditional college-age youths beginning in 2025 and potentially extending for 15 years.
Could dual enrollment programs provide a solution for colleges and universities seeking to avoid tumbling down the enrollment cliff?
