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Contact: Carmon Cunningham 617.728.4446 ccunningham@jff.org Contact: Nick Lorenzen 781.348.4239 nlorenzen@nmefdn.org REGION EXPLORING STRATEGY TO IMPROVE COLLEGE ACCESS FOR LOW-INCOME AND MINORITY YOUTH Nineteen New England Programs Cited as Excellent Models Boston, MA, June 28, 2005 A new report, Head Start on College, released today by Jobs for the Future (JFF) as part of its Double the Numbers initiative and commissioned by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, explores the potential of dual enrollment programs as a way of expanding the pipeline of traditionally underserved students who enter higher education institutions in New England. Each year, more and more high school students reduce their college costs and get a head start on college through programs that enable them to earn up to two year’s worth of tuition-free college credit. But while New England high schools lead the nation in providing advanced placement, an option that benefits students headed for selective colleges, they lag behind schools from other regions in implementing an approach that is more likely to serve lower-income and minority students. “Dual enrollment—when a student takes high school and college courses simultaneously—has long been a means of providing a competitive advantage to the most advanced high school students,” according to Blenda J. Wilson, President and CEO of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. “The Foundation commissioned this report because dual enrollment is receiving increased interest as an approach to increasing motivation and success in higher education for underserved populations.” In looking at the degree to which secondary and postsecondary institutions in the six New England states are implementing dual enrollment, Head Start on College profiles 19 dual enrollment partnerships that have achieved various measures of success. “Policymakers and educators concerned with improving the access of underrepresented students to postsecondary education are beginning to consider dual enrollment as a strategy to introduce higher education to a ‘second population’: young people who may not consider themselves college bound,” explains JFF’s Nancy Hoffman, who coauthored the report with Amy Robins. “Dual enrollment, if structured properly, can be a successful way to accustom these students to the demands of college while supporting them to meet those demands within their more familiar high school environments.” Challenges for Implementation While JFF found promising and innovative programs, the absence of supporting legislation is still a major challenge facing the expansion of dual enrollment in New England. The report details how legislation and institutional policies are necessary in order to permit: 1) college courses to replace high school courses in order to accelerate students through postsecondary education and shorten time to the degree; and 2) high school or college funds to be used to pay for the participation of high school students in postsecondary courses and programs. Currently, no New England state has legislation actively supporting dual enrollment. While Massachusetts technically has legislation, it has been without appropriation since 2003. “Diverse student populations are still woefully underrepresented on New England’s higher education campuses,” says Dr. Wilson. “It is our hope—and belief—that Head Start on College will encourage further exploration of dual enrollment as a strategy for increasing the number of underserved students who enter and succeed in the region’s campuses and beyond.”   ###  About Jobs for the Future Founded in 1983, Jobs for the Future is a leading innovator in strategies to accelerate education and career advancement for both young people and adults. JFF’s Double the Numbers initiative is designed to advance state and national policies that can significantly increase the number of young people who make it to and through college. The initiative identifies, assesses, and promotes new and promising approaches to increasing efficiencies and reducing inequities in the attainment of secondary and postsecondary credentials. With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other foundations, JFF is also establishing 170 small public schools that blend high school and college so that students simultaneously earn an Associate’s degree or its equivalent and a high school diploma. These schools are a radical form of dual enrollment: they integrate high school and college, with strong supports to enable students to take a full program of college courses during their final year of high school. The initiative targets students who are underrepresented in higher education, including those from low-income families, first-generation college goers, English Language learners, and students of color, and will serve over 60,000 students at capacity. For more information on JFF, please visit the Web site at www.jff.org. About the Nellie Mae Education Foundation Based in Quincy, Massachusetts, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation is the largest philanthropy in New England that focuses exclusively on promoting access, quality and effectiveness of education. Established in 1998, the Foundation provides grants and other support to education programs in New England that are designed to improve low-income and underserved students’ academic achievement and access to higher education. Since 1998, the Foundation has awarded $53 million in grants and support to education programs in the region. For more information, please visit www.nmefdn.org.