I have more than a decade of experience regarding dual enrollment; at both 2-year and 4-year institutions, as well as both public and private sectors. I've discussed the AP vs Dual Enrollment, taught freshmen seminars that included DE students, met with multiple principles to build schedules prescriptive for their students, and implemented synchronous distant learning. All of these conversations and implementations were centered on getting high school students into college courses while they fulfilled their high school graduation requirements!

Increasingly are high school students simultaneously graduating with their diploma and Associate’s Degree. Students are understanding that by enrolling in early college, they can save time and graduate with their college credential sooner as oppose to waiting to enroll after high school graduation. Parents however are more appreciative of the savings! Student loan debt has now topped the chart, surpassing credit card debt! However, what better way to counter such crippling financial responsibility than to obtain free college education prior to becoming an undergraduate student.

Becoming a dual enrolled student’s take's a teenager that is honest with his/her intentions about their future. Nevertheless, the student who decides "not" to dual enroll should be given equally as much respect as the student that does welcome the challenge. High schools have to be willing to sacrifice some of their high school experiences, especially if taking classes on the institutions campus as oppose alternative delivery methods. A dual enrolled student is brave and is willing to straddle the fence as he/she completes their high school graduation requirements while opening the door to their higher education. Although students often do well in their dual enrolled courses, for some the transition is a struggle.

Occasionally students underestimate the expectations of being a college student and find conflict with juggling high school and college responsibilities. However, what is equally important and even shockingly, is that in 2018 I'm still occasionally have conversations with high school students/parents who are completely oblivious to the concept of dual enrollment. Therefore, as prevalent as this dynamic opportunity is, awareness is still warranted.

Overall, dual enrollment involves a multitude of decisions for a teenager (i.e. when to begin, it’s good for me, how many classes to enroll, transferable credit delivery method, AP Vs Dual Enrollment). All are significant factors that serves as a catalyst for a conversations among educational professionals. I believe my presentation would be the flat form in which a more developed and prescriptive dialogue could occur in AACRAO SEM conferences to occur.

Submission ID:

T4.3436

Day:

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Time: 

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM