So, what’s the rush? A seventh-grader in your 101 class? A college course for fourteen-year-olds at the local high school? Complaints abound about students not being well prepared for college, yet state governments, boards of trustees, and local college and high school administrators across the country are formulating policies that allow tweens and teens to take, for college credit, such dual-enrollment courses.
These courses, also referred to as dual-credit or concurrent-enrollment courses, are now offered in forty-eight states, primarily at community colleges but also at the baccalaureate level. Community colleges make up one-third of higher education institutions nationally and, according to Walter Bumphus, president of the American Association of Community Colleges, 30 percent of the students at those colleges are in dual-enrollment programs. The proliferation of these courses makes it critical for the AAUP to address the issues they raise. The Association’s Committee on Community Colleges has done just that by publishing a Statement on Dual Enrollment that provides context and recommendations for college faculty members who are facing these issues. While acknowledging differences in how dual-enrollment programs are designed and implemented across the country, the statement focuses on the common concerns of college faculty: maintaining a commitment to academic quality and standards, the integrity of course offerings, the academic freedom of the classroom instructor, and the principles of shared governance.
Proponents of dual-enrollment programs emphasize the benefits of an early introduction to the college environment. Students will face more challenging learning experiences, they say, and will be more motivated to earn a college degree. Proponents also argue that these offerings make college more affordable by decreasing time to graduation. Yet there is no conclusive research to back up these claims.
Increasingly, K–12 and higher education administrators and state legislators are establishing dual-enrollment programs without input from elected faculty leaders, bypassing college and university governance structures. These programs are not attached to academic departments, where authority for curriculum, faculty hiring, and evaluation resides. Financial considerations stemming from decreased enrollment too often predominate over pedagogical concerns, particularly in a job-rich economy.
It is imperative that faculty members maintain academic standards in dual-enrollment classes. Concerns about academic standards affect not only the higher education institution assigning credit for the coursework but also any other institutions that accept that academic credit. Faculty in college departments should determine curricula, course material, and methods of delivery without interference or influence from high school staff, higher education administrators, government officials, or parents. If these are true college courses, faculty members should choose instructors for them using established criteria and standards. Faculty members teaching dual-enrollment courses (whether at the higher education institution, at a high school, or through the internet) should undergo the same peer-evaluation process as all other faculty members at the higher education institution.
As the Statement on Dual Enrollment recommends, higher education faculty members should ensure that their institutions work with high schools to devise appropriate standards for accepting students into dual-enrollment programs. Presenting college-level course material to students who are still in high school (or even middle school) poses instructional challenges distinct from those that arise in traditional college instruction—especially when more than 40 percent of community college students are over the age of twenty-five. A significant body of literature has established that prior learning, engagement, persistence, and motivation differ widely among students of different ages. As Caprice Lawless, the AAUP’s first vice president and a community college professor, observes, “It is impossible to teach a class when students range from those who do not yet drive to those who have driven tanks and ambulances. My eighth-grade students complain to my department chair that they do not understand the lesson. The returning Iraq War vet complains to my department chair that my course is too simplistic. I fail them and all those in between in an attempt to find some common ground.”
Informed and reasoned debate about the efficacy of dual enrollment is in the best interest of students. The institution’s faculty should have a central role in decisions to offer, modify, or terminate these programs.
Anne Friedman is professor emerita at the City University of New York Borough of Manhattan Community College and a former member of the AAUP’s Committee on Community Colleges.
Comments
Sarah Dougher (not verified)
Sat, 09/14/2019 - 5:16pm
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Dual credit programs
As an instructor/member of a teaching team in a dual credit program through Portland State University, I find this opinion article devalues the experience and expertise that high school teachers can bring to the conversation in devising and teaching dual credit courses. High school teachers often have long-standing relationships with students, and these relationships are key to co-creating a learning environment where all students can thrive (c.f. Z. Hammond, 2014).
Michelle Davidson (not verified)
Mon, 09/16/2019 - 11:59am
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Another issue with dual-enrollment
I have taught writing and rhetoric at a four-year state university in the state of Ohio for 21 years. The state's "College Credit Plus" (CCP) dual-enrollment program allows students as young as 13 to take tuition-free college courses (with textbooks provided free-of-charge by the school system). Who wouldn't take this sweet deal? Well, the kids in the inner city schools; the at-risk students, the ESL learners. Their already financially strapped schools systems foot the bill for some students to gain faster access to college than others, when they should be strengthening their remediation programs and working to improve graduation rates. These programs widen the divide between those with access to higher-education and those without it.
Tom McKaige (not verified)
Mon, 09/19/2022 - 11:24pm
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Dual Enrollment
Numerous studies Show that DE does positively impact graduation rates. It helps prevent Bored smart kid syndrome. I wholeheartedly agree that DE should be taught at the college by college professors. My daughter Completed 114 credits in DE including all pre reqs for Engineering and all but 23 credit for a BA in International Affairs at FSU. She took every class with both DE and Adult students. When asked to work on research for presentation at national conference she went at it enthusiastically. Local professors say that the grade distribution falls into three demographics. DE, 18-25 and older than 25. The DE are consistently the highest performing, the over 25 next and the 18-25 are the worst. Most of the DE students will go to the states flagship universities or more elite schools. The only opportunity for CC students to engage with these very smart people is when they are in DE at the college.
Mary Cantrell (not verified)
Thu, 10/10/2019 - 3:18pm
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College Faculty Should Teach College Courses
I'm a full-time professor who has been teaching in my college's dual credit program for almost ten years, and I enthusiastically support this strategy for helping more students succeed in college. But I don't think high school teachers should teach college courses at the high school, following the high school schedule. My high school teachers were among the best instructors I've ever had, but as smart as they were, as challenging as their classes were, they did not and could not teach a college course. High school faculty have to answer to principals, parents, and coaches; they are trapped in a classroom all day, without time for their own research, much less course prep and grading; they are compensated much less than a college professor, which makes the practice of using high school teachers exploitive; and their students are dealing with the many challenges of high school life--challenges that differ significantly from those they'll face in college. I applaud the AAUP's statement and hope that professors everywhere are paying attention to what's happening with college credits in high school.
Tom McKaige (not verified)
Mon, 09/19/2022 - 11:46pm
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Dual Enrollment
I agree with all you said. My daughter did 114 credit during dual enrollment. All at a college in regular college classes. She was indistinguishable from other students. The experience was invaluable getting her ready for university life. The pedagogical difference between a high school campus and a college campus are too great to ignore. While great teacher with great curriculum may impart the same knowledge as would be obtained at a college, the method is different and thus the preparation for upper division course work is also different. In my daughters case she Showed up at FSU as a senior (by credit). Her first semester classes were with senior and grad student IA and junior level engineering students. Her initial feeling was that because she was so much younger she didn't have as much life experience as her peers. Her grades were good and professors invited her to join research groups and by the second semester she felt right at home in the high level courses. I can't imagine what the outcome would have been if she showed up with the credits but lacked the college experience at that level. I can see maybe up to 4 courses taught on a high school. Beyond that you are just missing to many soft skills that are as important as the material in a college education.
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