Original reporting by Jessika Harkay. Compiled by Kat Struhar.
Dual enrollment programs provide early college access, allowing students to earn high school and college credit simultaneously.
The courses save students both time and money in their pursuit of higher education, while giving them an understanding of the workload of a college class. But not all Connecticut high schools offer dual credit courses, meaning many students can’t take advantage of them.
Here’s what to know.
What is dual enrollment programming?
Most high schools provide dual enrollment programming, a set of coursework that allows students to earn both high school and college credit in one class.
These courses are “a huge equalizer for a lot of students,” said Christopher Todd, the executive director of the Office of Early College Programs at the University of Connecticut. UConn’s Early College Experience program educates over 17,000 Connecticut students across 188 schools.
UConn is the largest state provider of dual credit courses, followed by the Connecticut State University and College system, the University of Bridgeport and Goodwin University.
Unlike Advanced Placement courses, where a student has to take and pass a standardized test at the end of the year to determine whether they qualify for college credit, students in a dual enrollment program start a college transcript and are graded normally throughout the year, allowing a “true demonstration of mastery,” Todd said.
Research has shown dual credit courses are particularly useful to first generation and low-income students because it familiarizes students with a college workload and gives them a head-start in their postsecondary education at a fraction of the cost.
What determines whether a school offers dual credit courses?
Whether a school offers dual credit courses is often dependent on teacher recruitment, training and retainment and the resources individual district and high school leadership place into the programs, The Connecticut Mirror found in an analysis of UConn course data and interviews with school leaders of traditional public high schools.
The analysis found that suburban towns generally have averaged more course offerings compared to rural and urban districts, the latter of which often struggle with high staffing turnover.
Urban districts are more prone to high turnover and low retention, because of growing student populations (particularly students with high needs), limited staff, extensive workloads and funding challenges. Without stability in staffing, the focus of these schools becomes rooted in providing equitable core classes across campuses before opening new sections.
Meanwhile, in some rural districts, outreach and information about dual credit opportunities can be a challenge. Without established dual credit courses, these schools may struggle with class enrollment, especially if it’s a first time offering and may be intimidating.
For both urban and rural schools, course expansion may also be a budget issue.
How do teachers and school leaders impact a school’s dual credit course offerings?
Even within similarly-sized district populations that face some of the same issues, the CT Mirror’s analysis found that the number of course offerings often depends on teacher certifications and recruitment.
Because most high school teachers have to undergo additional training or higher education coursework when they want to teach ECE classes, the expertise and course goes with the teacher, unless there are multiple teachers approved to teach the same course.
In some districts, Todd said, teacher turnover creates challenges for dual credit course offerings.
“Once an instructor is approved by UConn, they, as the instructor, are now an official affiliate of the University’s department. So if they were to move schools, it doesn’t change their ability to offer the UConn ECE course, it would change their site that they would be designated,” Todd said.
Even in schools with high student interest, already stretched funding or staffing can be a deterrent for any additional certification a teacher may need.
Some teachers are “already under the gun,” and working multiple jobs, Kate Dias, president of the Connecticut Education Association, the largest teachers union in the state, said, adding that the likelihood for them of them taking more courses is “just not happening.”
Leadership stability is another major factor, educators said, noting that both district and high school leadership are essential to the direction curriculum goes in.
For example, Bulkeley High School in Hartford had five principal changes between 2014-15 and 2023-24. The school once offered seven dual enrollment opportunities with UConn but now has zero.
In contrast, John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury only had one principal in the same timeframe and saw their UConn ECE courses grow from three to 10.
“It’s really important to recognize that some district leadership have preferences to engage in partnerships with other higher ed institutions. Some of it is just building leadership preference, … a building principal could come in and totally rearrange what the pathway is for students in terms of dual credit opportunities. They could say, ‘We’re going to double down on AP and AP is going to be the primary thing we add in,’” Todd said. “The problem starts to become if you have a lot of leadership transitions, you’re sort of ping pong back and forth between those things.”