Access and Participation in Dual Enrollment: Education leaders are increasingly interested in encouraging transition to college through dual and concurrent enrollment, particularly for rural learners. Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Central studied access and participation in dual enrollment based on locale and income using data on students and high schools in REL’s Central region, which is more rural than the national average and includes Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. The following are key findings of their results:
- About 82% of high schools in the REL Central region provided at least one dual enrollment course, a higher percentage than the national average, and 89% of students had access to at least one dual enrollment course.
- Within the REL Central region, access to dual enrollment schools and courses tended to be lower in rural and city locales than in town and suburban locales. However, students in rural locales participated in dual enrollment at the highest rate.
- Within the REL Central region, high schools with high percentages of low-income students were more likely to provide at least one dual enrollment course and reported higher levels of dual enrollment participation.
Postsecondary Education Barriers: Cengage Group recently published a report examining factors that impact student decisions to opt into or out of postsecondary education. Researchers surveyed more than 1,600 respondents, including learners who were currently enrolled in postsecondary education, former postsecondary students who dropped out and high school graduates currently not enrolled in postsecondary education. The report reveals the following findings:
- Respondents identified the cost of tuition, living and course materials as the biggest barriers to postsecondary education. Additionally, more than 40% of technical college students cited their employer’s inability to cover tuition as a potential enrollment barrier.
- Almost half of all respondents stated that free tuition would encourage them to return or complete postsecondary education. Others said debt forgiveness, online courses, grants, lower costs of living and cheaper course materials would also influence their decision.
- Approximately 68% of current students and 58% of students who dropped out are interested in skills courses or micro-credentials due to their flexibility, lower prices and shorter completion time.
- Nearly half of the current students surveyed reported that they enrolled because a credential is necessary for their career path.
The report offers multiple recommendations to reduce barriers to postsecondary education such as creating online options, implementing stackable credentials, establishing debt forgiveness opportunities, introducing competency-based education and expanding job skills programs, among others.
Transfer, Mobility and Progress: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted student transfer patterns, resulting in 191,500 fewer students transferring from one postsecondary institution to another. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center published a report that examines this and other trends among 2.1 million postsecondary transfer students between July 2020 and June 2021. Researchers focused on three different pathways among transfer students: transfers from two-year to four-year institutions (upward transfer), transfers from four-year to two-year institutions (reverse transfer) and transfers between two-year institutions or between four-year institutions (lateral transfer). The report detailed the following findings:
- While all pathways faced declines, upward transfers decreased the least at a rate of 1.3%. In contrast, reverse transfers fell by 16.2% and lateral transfers decreased by 11.9%, with declines concentrated in transfers between two-year colleges.
- Upward transfers among Black students declined at the sharpest rates while Asian and Latinx upward transfers increased. Additionally, transfer enrollment fell more for males than females.
- Only highly selective and a few online colleges expanded their total transfer enrollment throughout the year. Hispanic-serving institutions faced significant transfer declines, while historically black colleges and universities were unaffected.
Stranded Credits: Stranded credits are academic credits that students earned but cannot access due to an unpaid balance with a previously attended institution that is holding their transcript as collateral. A report by Ithaka S+R used interviews from 13 students in institutional debt relief programs and staff at five institutions to study the impact of stranded credits. The report found that stranded credits disproportionately affect students of color, first generation and low-income students; disrupt students’ education and career goals; and inhibit students’ ability to apply for financial aid. Researchers outlined the following recommendations to address stranded credits:
- State representatives and state higher education executive officers should create legislation that limits institutions’ reliance on holding transcripts and degrees for payments and requires institutions to report the prevalence of unpaid debt. Furthermore, regulatory bodies should work with institutions to identify flexible ways for students to settle their debt.
- Institutions should create debt relief programs and expand opportunities for students to learn about financial aid, debt and resources for financial hardship. Additionally, institutions should train staff about financial aid and work to identify students at risk for financial instability.
Future research on stranded credits should examine triggering events in students' lives that lead to increased debt, identify the points in their education pathways when learners are most vulnerable to accruing more debt, and explore whether "one-stop shops" that centralize registration, tuition payments and financial aid impact the prevalence of stranded credits, among other questions.
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