Within Reach: A Policy Roadmap for Dual Credit in Indiana

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education (CHE) 2021 Early College Credit Report notes ever-increasing numbers of Hoosier graduates earning dual credit, resulting in significant potential tuition cost savings to families, and greater rates of on-time or early college graduation for participating students. However, the report also identifies inequities in dual credit participation by student race and ethnicity, family income and geographic region of the state.

To support efforts to address these challenges, the Joyce Foundation engaged Jennifer Zinth, a nationally recognized dual credit state policy expert, to develop the present report synthesizing the insights of statewide dual credit stakeholders on barriers to equitable dual credit access, participation and success in Indiana, as well as recommendations to address identified challenges. The six policy categories in the College in High School Alliance Unlocking Potential report served as a framework for these discussions. The goal is for state and local policymakers to use this report to inform future policy actions to enhance equity in dual credit availability, access and success.

Three cross-cutting policy levers emerged from this research:

1. Indiana Dual Credit Advisory Council: A reconvened council could consider ways for programs to receive the funding necessary to ensure program integrity and assess viable alternatives to the current dual credit funding model.
2. A statewide equity goal for dual credit participation: A statewide equity goal would be a critical tool in efforts to identify and address equity gaps in dual credit access and participation and apply college course-taking in high school to further efforts to decrease demographic gaps in postsecondary success measures.
3. Scaling the Indiana College Core in high school: The Indiana College Core establishes 30 college credit hours guaranteed to transfer to public institutions statewide. While awareness of the program is growing with key audiences such as high school students, parents, teachers, counselors and administrators, many such individuals
   are as of yet minimally aware or not aware of Indiana College Core opportunities and advantages.

Leading recommendations also came forward from each Unlocking Potential policy category:

1. Equity Goal and Public Reporting
Provide and utilize more detailed student participation and outcomes data: Such data can shed light on geographic disparities in equitable dual credit course availability; and student participation, success and future employment outcomes.
2. Program Integrity and Credit Transfer
Enhance and broadly communicate the TransferIN website: Stakeholders noted a
lack of awareness of the TransferIN website among many students, parents, teachers and counselors, and particularly among first-generation students and their families.
3. Finance
Enhance communication to legislators on the value and benefit of dual credit courses: State funding does not cover institutions’ dual credit course delivery costs. Sustaining or increasing the state’s financial commitment to dual credit implies ensuring that legislators understand the return on the state’s biennial investment in priority and Career and Technical Education (CTE) dual credit courses.