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Report/Research

Dual Enrollment for Students from Special Populations

At a Glance

Interest in dual enrollment is rising in California and nationwide, but students from special populations—including English learners, students with disabilities, foster youth, and young people experiencing homelessness—are too often left on the sidelines. This report explores promising practices and recommendations for designing dual enrollment with the assets and needs of these students at the center.

Published mar. 02, 2021

Contributors

Sarah Hooker
Director, Population-Specific Strategies
Sam Finn

Senior Program Manager
Derek Niño

Associate Director
Alice Rice

Program Manager, Research and Learning Communities

Capabilites

Design

Influence

Scale

Area of Work

Ensuring Equity in Advancement

Topics

English learners have tremendous potential but too often are held back from participating in the courses that lead to postsecondary degree completion and career success. Dual enrollment can be a powerful tool to increase college enrollment and success rates, especially if implemented with attention to English learners’ unique assets and needs. This brief explores the current state of dual enrollment participation for English learners, highlights promising practices, and provides recommendations for creating a more seamless transition between high school and college for this group.

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Make dual enrollment a seamless pathway to a college degree for more high school students in need. Improve the quality of college courses taken for dual credit, align those courses to degree requirements, and bolster the success rates of underrepresented and underserved student populations.

Dual Enrollment in California: Applying National Lessons to State Challenges

Dual enrollment has long been recognized as a powerful strategy to increase college enrollment, success, affordability. Yet compared to many other states, California has been slow to embrace this proven approach. With support from the College Futures Foundation, JFF and Career Ladders Project have conducted research on the evolution and current state of dual enrollment policy and practice in California. Together we have developed joint recommendations for expanding dual enrollment in California and expanding its impact.