According to Community College Week journalist Harvey Meyer,

One thing is abundantly clear about dual-enrollment programs that offer high-school students a jump start on their college education: The programs are increasingly popular among secondary students. What’s not so clear is whether the hodgepodge of state legislation and policies governing dual enrollment are promoting or restricting participation, particularly among low- and middle-achieving high-school students.

A 40-page report, “State Dual Enrollment Policies: Addressing Access and Quality,” issued earlier this month by the Community College Research Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College, explored the implications of broadening student access through dual enrollment. CCRC examined 10 features in which states’ dual-enrollment programs vary, including funding, admission requirements, program structure and course content. The organization issued six recommendations to help legislators and educators develop effective dual-enrollment policies…

The report — CCRC’s second of three on dual enrollment — comes at a time of escalating popularity for dual-enrollment programs, which allow high-school students to enroll in college courses and simultaneously earn college and high-school credit. While national statistics are difficult to obtain, a host of states and higher-education systems report rising dual-enrollment participation. In New York City alone, about 13,000 students took advantage of dual enrollment during 2002-2003. While many community colleges welcome dual-enrollment students, officials are concerned about funding sources and maintaining course quality…

The report suggests crafting policies that are neither too open-ended nor too detailed. Open-ended policies may be misunderstood or lead to abuse or other unintended consequences, the report says. On the other hand, overly detailed policies may limit student participation and hinder program innovation…

The report also calls for policy-makers to support dual-enrollment programs that address students interested in technical courses. Otherwise, the report says, policy-makers risk turning dual enrollment into a program for the academic elite, thereby diminishing student participation. The report suggests one way to broaden participation is to create career and technical pathways that offer dual-enrollment credit for both technical and academic courses.

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--Link to the CCRC Report