Advantages of Completing College Acceleration Courses in High School. General Report

The number of jobs across the United States requiring postsecondary education continues to grow. Concerns expressed by business leaders, policymakers, and the public include too few students enrolling in higher education, the affordability of college, and decreasing levels of college completion. One solution to address these issues has been to enroll students in college-level courses and certificate programs while still in high school. Students are enrolled in college acceleration courses where they are awarded college credit toward technical or degree-granting colleges upon completion and often receive high school credit. Students who enroll in college acceleration courses are more likely to graduate from high school, enroll in college within one year of receiving their diploma, and are less likely to need developmental college courses. While most studies examined courses in which students receive both high school and college credit, the present analysis looks at all college courses students participated in regardless of whether they received high school credit. The project presented in this report aims to describe the landscape of high school students who enroll in college acceleration courses facilitated by the Utah System of Higher Education institutions.