2022 State Policies Promoting Early Postsecondary: The College in High School Alliance (CHSA) recently released its 2022 year-in-review report that summarizes key trends in state law related to college in high school programs such as dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment and early college high school. Researchers found that 263 bills across 37 states were introduced in 2022, an increase from 222 bills in 2021. Additionally, 2022 saw 54 new laws enacted across 24 states. The biggest areas of activity in enacted laws were finance as well as program integrity and credit transfer. Notably, the report mentions that perhaps due to a more favorable budgetary environment as a result of the American Rescue Plan, states put a major focus on dual-enrollment funding and looking for ways to eliminate student expenses. The past year also saw an increase in laws that impact navigational supports, with five new laws in 2022 in comparison to two new laws in 2021.
Some of the most notable laws include California AB 181, which invests $200 million into establishing a competitive grant program to support the expansion of high-quality dual-enrollment programs in the state. Additionally, Florida passed HB 5001, which appropriated $11 million to reimburse the cost of instructional materials for postsecondary institutions. For more information visit CHSA’s State Legislation Tracker.
Advancing Dual-enrollment Equity Through State Policy: A recent report by the Education Commission of the States tackles the challenges and barriers of making dual enrollment more accessible among underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students. The report notes that participation in dual enrollment is critical in creating positive postsecondary outcomes for learners but that participation is currently not representative across student groups. Researchers found that students face three main barriers to dual-enrollment participation starting with accessibility, or the lack of availability of programs in their school districts or areas; affordability, or the lack of predictable financial supports; and quality, or the lack of available high-quality programs with transferable credits and skills.
Eliminating Dead Ends: Learner-centered Approaches to Stackable Pathways: Education Strategy Group recently sought to analyze and tackle the current issues faced by stackable pathways and credentials. More specifically, researchers claim that most stackable pathways systems focus too much on the stackability of a credential rather than on the stackability of learner knowledge. The toolkit is designed for institutions throughout the nation that are aiming to improve their approach to stackable credits and includes specific strategies, further resources, guiding questions and an action planning template organized around four pillars for “forward-thinking, learner-centered” stackable pathways:
- Data infrastructure and systems
- Mapping and alignment of curriculum
- Credential pathways communication
- Student-centered supports
Do Stranded Academic Credits Lead To Stranded Students?: A recent article released by Forbes looked at the issue of academic credit policies and transfers among postsecondary institutions as well as the challenges faced by learners of all ages in completing a postsecondary degree or credential when credentials earned from one institution are not accepted at another. The article makes note of a study from StraighterLine and UPCEA, the University Professional and Continuing Education Association, which looked at how transfer policies are affecting students across the country who look to transfer between institutions. According to the study, 40% of students choose to transfer due to financial reasons and only 61% of those who transfer said their new institution accepted most or all their credits. Forbes author Alison Griffin emphasizes the importance of this issue in helping the almost 40 million Americans that have some college, but no degree and student debt finish their postsecondary education. Speaking with Gerardo de los Santos, Vice President for Community Relations of National University, the author mentioned the consensus among advocates on the need to break down transfer credit barriers that impede student access and completion of postsecondary education.
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