For any dual enrollment (DE) reform to be effective, educators must acknowledge and understand the diverse experiences of all DE students, especially those from historically underrepresented populations. As part of CCRC’s DEEP research, the author of this brief investigates the experiences of students historically underserved in DE to understand what these students want from their DE programs and the educators who lead them. An analysis of focus group interviews with 97 predominantly Black, Hispanic, and low-income students uncovered six themes that the author frames as students’ wants:
- Students want know about DE options earlier.
- Students want well-informed DE advisors who empower them.
- Students want their DE courses to be aligned with career and academic pathways in their fields of interest.
- Students want engaging learning experiences in their online courses.
- Students want to know how to balance the high school experience and DE coursetaking.
- Students want to know how to find scholarships and manage debt to help them attend college after high school.
For each of these six wants, the brief describes the students’ perspectives and presents research-based strategies educators can use to support DE students in the realization of these wants. The brief also outlines questions educators can ask their students to gain a better understanding of their experiences.
