For many students, college life begins in high school

WASHINGTON -- After two years at Northland Pioneer College, many students are ready for a career or advanced university work -- and some of them aren't even finished with high school yet.

The northeastern Arizona community college offers dual enrollment, which allows students in high schools to take courses for which they earn both college and high school credit. It is not unusual for students to have enough credits for an associate's degree by the time they end 12th grade, said Everett Robinson, the college's marketing and public relations director.

As Robinson put it, "If the student is self-motivated and can complete the work, they're into the work force sooner and raising their families sooner, and just getting on with life."

In total, 57 percent of colleges and universities had high school students enrolled in college courses in the 2002-2003 school year. Most of those students were in dual enrollment, an arrangement in which colleges and high schools agree on how and where courses are offered. Other students enroll directly with colleges.

Roughly 813,000 high school students took college courses in 2002-03 -- or one in every 20 high school students. The percentage would be even higher if the numbers were narrowed to the students in grades 11 and 12 who typically take the college classes, said Susan Sclafani, the assistant secretary for vocational and adult education at the Education Department.

These college courses -- offered in high schools, on college campuses and other locations -- are separate from popular Advanced Placement courses. More than 1.1 million students took AP exams in 2004, which can lead to college credit depending on how well a student performs.

The two studies reflect the first federal estimates of dual enrollment and dual credit, based on surveys of college and high school officials. Sclafani cautioned that the results are limited and do not offer the same room for analysis that firm enrollment numbers would.

But whatever the number of high school students in college classes, "it's probably not enough, when we consider the number of students who could benefit from it," she said. That's especially true for 12th-graders who often have free time as they near graduation, she said.

The classes are credited with giving students access to a wider range of courses, helping families save money and engaging young people in the college process. A total of 38 states have dual enrollment systems, with various level of detail on matters such as course quality.

Among other highlights from the studies:

* 89 percent of colleges said the curricula of the courses taken by high school students were the same as they were for regular college students; 3 percent said the courses were specially designed for the high school students; and 8 percent said the curricula varied.

* 77 percent of high school students took college courses offered by public two-year colleges, while the rest took the classes through public or private four-year schools.

* 26 percent of college programs on high school campuses were taught by college instructors, 32 percent were taught by high school instructors and 42 percent used both.

* 40 percent of colleges said high school students and parents paid part or all of the tuition for the college classes, and 19 percent said there was no charge for students and parents. The rest of the colleges reported varying amounts of payments by students and parents.

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On The Net:

National Center for Education Statistics: http://nces.ed.gov/