More high school students than ever before took advantage of dual enrollment at Gadsden State Community College, marking a 57% increase since 2020.
The announcement comes on the heels of the Alabama Community College System (ACCS) releasing data this month that show an increase of more than 15% in high school students participating in dual enrollment statewide.
“Dual enrollment is certainly a great way for students to get a head start on their college experience,” said Tonya Douthitt, dual-enrollment coordinator at Gadsden State. “I believe we will continue to see an upward trend in dual enrollment across our service area as more students learn about these opportunities.”
Aida Massenburg, 17, a junior at Glencoe High School, said she chose to take online dual-enrollment classes at Gadsden State so she can complete as many general studies classes as possible before becoming a college freshman.
“I am getting a jump start on my college education by enrolling in courses that are much more affordable than the same courses taught at four-year universities,” she said. “I have already completed two classes, and I have plans to take four more classes before high school graduation.”
State investments
State lawmakers in April provided an additional $5 million for dual enrollment at Alabama’s community colleges. Those funds as well as funds designated last year are helping to expand dual-enrollment scholarships to high school students interested in taking college-level science, technology, engineering and math courses at community colleges, like Gadsden State.
In the fall when the scholarships were first announced, 16,462 students took advantage of the opportunity, representing a 15% increase from fall 2020, when 14,286 high school students took dual enrollment.
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“When you have a program that is working by advancing Alabama’s workforce training for residents from as early as high school age, you keep growing that program so that as many who are willing can use those resources to change their lives and their family trajectory,” ACCS Chancellor Jimmy H. Baker said in a statement.
Since 2015, there has been a more than 65% increase in dually enrolled high school students at Alabama’s community colleges, ACCS report.
Some other states like Ohio are also having success with a focused dual-enrollment effort, but nationally numbers have slipped recently. Prior to the pandemic, a growing number of community colleges were leaning on dual-enrollment programs to help steady a drop in enrollment as many Americans were opting to work in the red-hot economy rather than go to college. But in fall 2021 and spring 2022, those figures have trended down from the previous fall and spring, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The details
Like in other states, dual enrollment gives Alabama’s high school students access to college-level classes that apply to credit in both high school and college at the same time. Unlike Advanced Placement honors classes in high school, a student’s grades for dual-enrollment classwork are the only factor in determining whether the student receives full college credit for the class. The dual-enrollment classes at Gadsden State are delivered through a variety of methods, including traditional in-person instruction, hybrid and online.
Programs that are eligible for scholarship awards — which cover tuition, fees and textbooks — include: air conditioning and refrigeration, auto collision repair, automotive manufacturing technology, automotive service technology, carpentry, child development, civil engineering technology, computer science, diesel mechanics, electronics engineering technology, electrical technology, health information technology, industrial automation technology, mechanical design technology, mechatronics, MSSC–certified production technician, office administration, paralegal/legal assistant, precision machining and welding.
The programs require a 2.0 GPA or higher for placement.
STEM-approved scholarship courses are anatomy, astronomy, biology (103 and 104), chemistry, computer science, geography, geology, math, physical science and physics. Students will need a 2.5 GPA to participate in STEM-related academic work.
At Gadsden State, students must be in grades 10-12 and have approval from a high school counselor to participate. They also must complete an admissions application as well as a dual-enrollment program approval form, which requires signatures from the student, counselor and principal. Courses in English, math and computer science require minimum placement scores before registration.
