Study: 83% of Ohio Dual Enrollment Students Go to College

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio high school students who are dual-enrolled in college courses are slightly more likely to go to college after graduation, according to a new study from Teachers College of Columbia University. their peers from other states.

While 81% of all high school students who take dual enrollment courses attend two- and four-year colleges after graduating from high school, in Ohio that number increases slightly to 83%.

Among low-income Ohio students, 78% who took dual enrollment courses go to college, compared to 77% nationally.

Dual enrollment includes courses taken on a college campus or online with regular college professors or in high school with teachers who meet the requirements for adjunct college professors. Columbia University has included students taking courses at premier academic high schools, which provides the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree and credits toward a bachelor’s degree. secondary studies, as well as programs offering technological pathways to early students.

Columbia has not included Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in its definition of dual enrollment.

Nearly 2.5 million high school students take dual-enrollment college courses nationwide. Tuition is generally free for students. In Ohio, school districts typically foot the bill. As dual enrollment programs have grown, so has their importance in higher education. Today, one in five community college students is in high school. A quarter of high school graduates entering four-year colleges took dual-enrollment courses in high school.

The study focused on dual enrollment starting in fall 2015.

Columbia researchers analyzed whether students who entered college after participating in dual enrollment in high school earned degrees or certificates after four years. In Ohio, 50% of students were, which is the same rate nationally. And 45 percent of nondually enrolled students earned a degree or certificate within four years in Ohio, compared to the national average of 44 percent.

“Dual enrollment already provides a powerful on-ramp to postsecondary completion for Ohio students, and there is a clear opportunity to expand its reach to those who could benefit most,” said Tatiana Velasco, lead author of the report, in a prepared statement. . “States should use this data and other measures of dual enrollment access and participation to identify opportunities for growth and expansion of dual enrollment policies and practices, particularly for schools and underserved communities.

Laura Hancock covers state government and politics for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.