Dual-enrollment participation climbs at region’s community colleges
More high school students are taking advantage of the state’s program that allows them to accumulate college credits at no cost while still in high school, according to a report recently released by the Colorado Department of Education.
Statewide, 35,713 students participated in dual-enrollment programs during the 2014-2015 academic year, representing nearly 30 percent of all 11th and 12th graders in public high schools in Colorado, according to the report.
About 3,000 high school students participated in the program through Front Range Community College that has campuses in Longmont, Fort Collins, Brighton and Westminster. Another 1,100 students earned college credits through Aims Community College that has campuses in Greeley, Loveland, Windsor and Fort Lupton. The numbers represent increases of 564 students at Front Range and 308 at Aims compared with the 2013-2014 school year.
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A few students opted to earn credits through the University of Colorado Boulder, 26; University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, 26; and Colorado State University in Fort Collins, 12.
The program is funded by school districts that negotiate deals with two- and four-year schools in the state to determine the amount of tuition that is paid. Districts enter cooperative agreements with colleges and universities outlining how credits will be awarded, and establish an academic plan of study for students to support ongoing counseling and career planning.
Concurrent enrollment is a strategy that Colorado implemented in 2009 to expand pathways from high school to higher education in order to increase college completion rates, close the attainment gap and decrease the high school dropout rate.
Colorado Department of Higher Education research indicates that concurrently enrolled students are more likely to enroll and persist in college than their peers and are less likely to need remedial education once in college, according to the Colorado Department of Higher Education.
“Our collaboration with school districts throughout Larimer and Weld counties provides students a head start earning their college degree while challenging them with accelerated academics during high school,” said Leah Bornstein, president of Aims Community College. “The expansion of our concurrent enrollment program continues to increase opportunities for students to pursue rigorous college-level work at no cost, while helping them develop the academic foundation, skill sets and study habits necessary to succeed in a 21st century college and career.”
