Higher Education and Pre-K–12 as Partners: Embracing Dual Enrollment to Promote Equitable Education  

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Initiating, Building, and Sustaining Diverse Partnerships

Abstract

Dual enrollment is a practice that allows high school students to earn simultaneous credit for both high school and college. This paper presents a pilot study of a new dual enrollment program designed by a regional, four-year university, that fosters equitable learning opportunities for all students, particularly those in a large, low socio-economic school district in southwest Alabama. Findings from the first year of implementation indicate that collaboration between the school district and university is paramount to the success of the implementation. Also critical are the support structures offered to help the students achieve success, especially in that the majority of participants are from underrepresented groups and did not consider higher education as an option.

Author

• Andrea M. Kent, University of South Alabama