When low-income students take credit-bearing college courses while still in high school, research has shown they are more likely to graduate from high school, enroll in college and then stick with it.
So-called dual enrollment programs have become increasingly popular, with 1.4 million high school students taking a college course during a recent year. About 2,000 colleges and universities offer dual enrollment, according to the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment.
Many states and most colleges subsidize the tuition prices of these programs, the alliance said. But not all do, and fully two-thirds of colleges reported that some parents and students spent money on the tuition for dual-enrollment courses. As a result, the alliance said lower-income students are less likely to take the courses than their wealthier peers.
"Paying for dual enrollment is a big challenge for a lot of students," said Elizabeth Morgan, director of external relations for the National College Access Network.
In addition, high school students are not able to access federal financial aid to help pay for dual-enrollment courses, because Pell Grants only are available to students who hold a high-school diploma or its equivalent.
The Obama administration wants to change this policy, at least on a limited basis. Last week the U.S. Department of Education announced a plan to open up experimental access to Pell Grants for high school students in dual-enrollment courses.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/11/02/feds-encourage-dual-enrollment-through-experimental-access-pell-grants