How the dual enrollment boom is changing Texas colleges

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LIBERTY CITY — Zachary Carnes is a professor of government at Kilgore College, but these days, he says, he feels more like a “wandering preacher.”

When he entered a community college in East Texas, he faced a wide audience of adults, both those who had just graduated from high school and those who were looking for a new direction in life. Now he drives his pickup truck between high school campuses, teaching a course on government to teenagers.

He often teaches in multi-purpose classrooms. On Thursday afternoons at one of the high schools, he usually tries to move the desks before the students arrive.

“Adapt,” he said. “That’s what you’re doing.”

More and more high school students are entering college with dual credit classes, allowing them to earn high school and college credits simultaneously. That’s because of a new state program that gives community colleges money to offer these classes for free to low-income students.

In the last academic year alone, Kilgore College saw a 36.5% increase in the number of faculty taking dual credits. High school students in East Texas now make up the majority of Kilgore College students.

A surge in dual-credit enrollment is changing the identity of community colleges across the state, forcing educators to rethink how to effectively deliver classes to meet the needs of teenagers and encourage them to pursue higher education paths after earning a high school diploma.

For years, Texas has been a national leader in dual credit because educators tout it as a way to get students into college early. Research shows that dual enrollment is associated with higher rates of educational achievement and on-time graduation.

When colleges struggled to retain students during the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of high school students participating in the dual credit system was so high that it matched Texas’ overall enrollment.

Texas lawmakers changed last year how community colleges were financed to recognize the work local colleges have already done to prepare high school students for college. Colleges now earn state dollars if high school students earn at least 15 credit hours on their campuses.

The new funding system also included an optional program that made dual credit more accessible to low-income students. Participating community colleges became eligible for additional money when they allowed high school students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch to attend classes for free. Other students received a discount on dual credit classes, with the cost capped at approximately $55 per credit hour.

The so-called program Financial aid for quick transfer“is changing the demographics of dual credit. This provides an opportunity for many students who, for financial reasons, would not be able to enroll,” said Brandon Walker, dean of dual credit at Kilgore College.

According to Sarah Keyton, interim commissioner of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, more than 250,000 students participated in the dual credit program last year and their institutions received a total of nearly $80 million in funding.

As dual credit students become a larger part of community college life, college leaders are faced with changes in the student experience.

The Kilgore campus is quiet as more adult students take online classes and more high school instructors. Walker says the college sees an emerging need to make it easier for virtual students to use them, whether it’s social activities on Zoom or connecting dual-credit students with campus groups like an honor society.

Instructors are increasingly wondering how to best tailor classes to the needs of high school students, many of whom are still deciding whether they want to continue their education.

“To really do a good job teaching college classes to high school students, you actually have to combine what high school teachers know and do every day, which is classroom management working with high school students… and what they know and do every day college lecturer’s day, i.e. content knowledge,” said John Fink from the Community College Research Center.

Carnes, a government professor, enjoys the challenge of engaging students in becoming accustomed to the rigors of college-level classes.

To break the ice with the younger generation of students, Carnes referenced the summer of children, a nod to British singer Charli XCX’s hit album. He doesn’t have Tik Tok, but his wife loops it.

Carnes knows his high school students are still trying to figure out how to approach professors and adjust to how college can feel more independent. So he began dedicating classroom time to exam review sessions with his high school students to provide them with a structured space to ask questions.

During his last class in October, Carnes projected the semester’s study guide on a projector and scanned the room for signs of confusion. When the students didn’t raise their hands, the professor asked his own questions: Who can tell me what the difference is between a confederate, federal, and unitary system? How to distinguish de jure segregation from de facto segregation?

He waits to talk to his students about their plans after high school. At a time when young people are questioning the value of college, dual-credit instructors like Carnes may be best equipped to talk about what they stand to gain by earning an advanced degree.

The college is also starting to consider how dual credit classrooms can be used to share information about how to pay for college.

“I certainly see our role as we engage with more and more dual degree students … letting them know they can go to college for a few years,” said Carnes, who took several classes at Tyler Junior College and then attended a four-year university. “That’s the message I tried to convey to my students.”

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