Differentiated Dual Enrollment and Other Collegiate Experiences

Best Practices / Equity / Members Only / Student Outcomes /

Students in Bridgeport, Connecticut and four intermediate school districts (ISDs) in Michigan have opportunities to experience themselves as college students while still in high school.1 Educators believe—and research has shown—that participating in college credit coursework while in high school increases the chances that students will graduate, go on to college, and earn a college degree.

While these opportunities have been available for a long time in the form of dual and concurrent enrollment, as well as Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, they have tended to be extended primarily to the most academically advanced students—those who would have completed college in any case. But what if they could also be offered to those in the academic middle, including students who are on the fence about attending college? And perhaps students who are not eligible for dual enrollment could engage in other experiences that have some of the same benefits, called here “collegiate experiences.”