The dual enrollment rate is often described to high school students and their families to gain early college experience, and the cost is greatly reduced. These students will earn college credits (even an associate’s degree or other university qualification) before graduating from high school, which may reduce the time and cost of obtaining a bachelor’s degree.
At least that’s a promise. But what happens when the path after high school is not very clear?
For us, all former DE students (or, as we call “invisible transfer”), the course to transfer to the Bachelor after high school is not easy. And our stories are not uncommon. DE students often leave high school without guidance on the transfer path and even less understand the complexity of credit transfer or the financial impact of their choice in high school. What happens to former students’ credits after graduating from high school? What challenges are these students facing? How do we better support them?
Invisible Transfer: The Unforeseen Challenge of Credit Liquidity
As dual enrollment students, we believe that transfer is an easy handover: credits we earn in high school will be transferred to any college or university we plan to apply directly to our study program and help us graduate early while saving money. Actually, this isn’t always seamless. Here are some reasons:
- Students may not know or recommend whether their conducting courses will be accepted for credits with a bachelor’s degree or other certificate in their major field of interest. More than 4,000 DE students from 17 universities participated in pilots participating in the Student Engagement Dual Enrollment Survey (DESSE), with less than half of students reporting interacting with university consultants, while 88% reported never taking advantage of the university’s transfer credit services.
- Researchers use national data to usually track transfer results. However, limited research on the extent of DE credit transfer challenges and the degree of challenges for universities and K-122 partners remains limited, ensuring DE credit is seamlessly transferred and applied to student degree programs. Community college students face challenges in the challenge of transferring credit to a major area of focus – this may make DE students more complicated due to knowledge about credit transfer and the use of uncommon transfer support.
- Upon enrollment, former DE students may feel supportive because of high school graduation, but have advanced academic status, so they won’t be so neatly trapped in the number of students who are first year or transferring (and the support services designed for them). As a result, stealth transfers may miss out on special advice, scholarships and clear information on how to advocate for yourself during the credit assessment process.
Support for Traveling with Me: Akira’s Story
As a double transfer – first in high school, then from community college to a private university – I always know my path is right even if others doubt it. While DE hasn’t received a lot of promotions from my high school like other academic programs, I know it’s a valuable and easy opportunity to prepare myself for college and my future goals. However, the guidance from my high school and community college consultants is not always clear and often feels universal. Instead, I rely on my faith and the support of my family. Thanks to my dad’s research, I knew which credits would not be transferred, helping me make informed decisions. After transferring to my college, it was certain that the university consultants realized that my family and my efforts to make a plan were made. Finally, 57 of my 65 credits were transferred.
Many students like me turn to faith, families and communities to bridge the gap in information and support. My story urges the University to recognize that support and resource transfer students are providing clear pathways and dedicated advice to them.
Competition in a university without a roadmap: Aurely’s story
When I graduated from high school with an associate degree and 68 college credits, I thought leading my peers would be an advantage, especially since I couldn’t afford to pay for college. I only applied to one in-state university because it received 60 college credits and received a scholarship from former DE students. De prepared for my university coursework, but it was not the feeling of becoming a junior high school student at the age of 18. My focus is on graduating quickly to start earning income, so I meet with consultants monthly to stay on track, but I don’t take advantage of internships or networking opportunities because I don’t recommend their importance and have little time after balancing heavy classes and part-time jobs.
Like many low-income students, I encourage higher education rather than how to use it for guidance in my goals or career. Looking back, a community dedicated to stealth transfer can help me catch up with the social, professional and developmental experiences that usually occur in college years.
What should we do to support DE transfer experience?
DE’s growth nationwide means that with invisible transfers, more students will arrive at universities and university campuses. When these students’ transfer trips are hidden, they may miss out on special advice about reducing strategies for completing degrees and coaching how to advocate for their own coaching in higher education and elsewhere. As a former DE student who is now studying and transferring, we provide the following advice in our life experience and national studies below.
- Collect data on credit transfers and experiences of previous DE students. What happens after high school. Educators can better support stealth transfers by taking surveys like Desse and track the outcomes of former DE students, including how many credits are lost and courses that are not usually transferred. These data should be broken down to identify gaps (e.g. race, income) and discussed with K-12, community colleges and university partners during professional development and planning meetings to improve transfer outcomes.
- Provide clear primary avenues and guidance for invisible transfer. After high school, many former DE students transfer more than once, but information about these pathways is not always accessible (or understandable) to students and their families. Educators should publish clear guidance on K-12, community colleges and university websites for community college students after DE. In high school, students should be informed if they are attending courses from multiple institutions and saving course teaching competitions so that they can better promote future course transferability.
- Improve financial guidance for former DE students. DE students may not be familiar with colleges after DE. Educators can ensure that former DE students can receive scholarship opportunities at various transfer destinations and communicate deadlines during high school.
- Supports invisible transfer experience as part of the University Transfer Support Service. With the expansion of the dual enrollment program nationwide, more stealth transfer students will be available after high school to enter higher education. Educators can provide transfer support services such as transfer centers, such as transfer centers, to create former DE affinity groups, to provide dedicated support for former DE students, to promote peer connections and to provide networking opportunities for this population.
As dual enrollment rates continue to grow, college and university leaders must recognize that more and more students will arrive as invisible transfers of identities. By making invisible transfers visible, we can ensure that DE’s commitments are realized, rather than lost in the transition.
