Dual enrollment

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In education, dual enrollment (enrollment) is where a student is enrolled in two separate, academically related institutions. It may also refer to any individual who is participating in any two related programs, but such a general form of usage is uncommon.

[edit] In secondary school

Students enrolled in secondary school (called high school in the United States) may be dual enrolled at a local institution of higher learning, such as a community college or university. These students may take classes at either institution for credit toward their high school diploma, as well as for college credit. Many state governments within the United States have recognized the benefit of dual enrollment and have consequently instructed their public universities to begin collaborating with local schools. Some private universities also participate.

Dual enrollment in both secondary school and college is advantageous to students because it allows them to get a head start on their college careers. In some cases, the student may even be able to attain an Associate of Arts or equivalent degree shortly before or after one's high school graduation. Furthermore, it may ease the transition from high school to college.

In addition, dual enrollment is seen by parents as a money saving strategy that avoids skyrocketing tuition costs because courses are paid for and taken through the local high school. State government officials also see dual enrollment as a net savings due to the lower present value of funds spent earlier, as opposed to those spent later. Public school costs are also lower than they would be at postsecondary institutions.

There is much discussion concerning possible downsides of dual enrollment, including the lack of college preparedness for high school students - even Freshman - taking college-level courses at their local high schools, and out-of-field teacher qualification problems for those high school teachers given preference for teaching DE or AP classes. Debate continues, as educational policy experts watch how DE cohorts perform after high school graduation in terms of degree completion and persistence rates, especially among minorities.

The expansion of postsecondary education downward into the high schools, as opposed to upward expansion through the addition of more and more advanced degrees, is seen by some as an example of credential inflation, since it, too, extends the length of time students typically spend pursuing degrees. In addition, it is felt that such educational expansion undermines the separation between secondary and postsecondary education, which took one-hundred years to put in place in the US.

[edit] In college

Colleges may join together in leagues to allow their students to take courses at all of the member universities. These leagues, such as Five Colleges (Massachusetts), Seven Sisters (colleges), or Five Colleges of Ohio, allow students to benefit from the collective knowledge of all of the participating institutions. In general, there is no increase in tuition to participate in collegiate dual enrollment programs.

Within colleges, programs that coordinate the curriculum of dual major students are sometimes called dual enrollment programs. These programs allow the student to reap the benefits from both departments without having to take overlapping and unnecessary courses. Most universities have some degree of interdepartmental dual enrollment coordination.