State Policy Roadmap

Unlocking Potential: A State Policy Roadmap for Equity and Quality in College in High School Programs

A Blueprint for States to Advance Equitable and High-Quality Dual Enrollment

October, 2019

College in high school programs — including dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and early college high school — are among the most effective strategies to help students transition to college and career. But while participation has grown dramatically, access remains inequitable and program quality varies across states.

Unlocking Potential provides a comprehensive state policy roadmap to ensure that every student — regardless of race, income, or geography — has access to high-quality, equitable college in high school opportunities. The report outlines clear, actionable steps that states can take to remove barriers, strengthen quality, and close equity gaps.

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Why This Roadmap Matters

College in high school programs improve high school graduation rates, boost college enrollment and persistence, and reduce time and cost to a degree. Yet too often, students of color, low-income students, first-generation college-goers, and rural learners remain underrepresented.

This roadmap gives policymakers and practitioners the tools to act — turning well-intentioned expansion into intentional design and equitable access. By adopting these policies, states can ensure that participation reflects the full diversity of their student populations and that programs lead to real postsecondary and workforce outcomes.

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The Six Pillars of Equitable and High-Quality Policy

Unlocking Potential offers policy recommendations across six key categories that together create the foundation for statewide equity and quality in college in high school programs:

1. Equity Goal & Public Reporting
   Set a statewide equity goal with disaggregated public data and accountability for progress, ensuring that participation mirrors the state’s student demographics.

2. Program Integrity & Credit Transfer
   Promote cross-sector collaboration between K–12 and higher education and guarantee credit transferability so every earned credit counts.

3. Finance
   Design funding systems that remove financial barriers, ensuring that low-income students can participate tuition-free and without additional costs.

4. Course Access & Availability
   Ensure geographic and academic access to college in high school courses for all students, with clear pathways that count toward graduation and degrees.

5. Instructor Capacity
   Recruit and diversify the pool of qualified instructors and support collaboration between secondary and postsecondary educators.

6. Navigational Supports
   Provide advising and student support systems that help historically underserved students succeed from enrollment to completion.

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How States Can Use This Roadmap

Each section includes foundational, advanced, and exceptional policies — allowing states to identify where they are today and how to move toward the next level of progress. With real examples from 28 states, the roadmap provides both policy design principles and practical models for implementation.

State leaders can use this guide to:

• Establish a unified vision for dual enrollment across agencies

• Align funding, data, and accountability systems to equity goals

• Scale proven models that link coursework to college and career pathways

• Build the instructor pipeline and strengthen intersystem partnerships

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A Joint Initiative of CHSA and Level Up

This report was produced by the College in High School Alliance (CHSA) and Level Up, in partnership with state and national leaders dedicated to expanding equitable access to early college opportunities. Together, these coalitions call on every state to take bold action to ensure that college in high school programs reflect the full diversity of the nation’s high school students.

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Download the Report

Download Unlocking Potential (PDF)
Explore how your state can create equitable, high-quality college in high school systems that help every student succeed beyond high school.

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About the Partners

• The College in High School Alliance (CHSA) brings together national and state organizations working toward equitable access and quality in dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and early college programs.

• Level Up, organized by the Education Strategy Group, unites partners across K–12 and higher education to increase postsecondary readiness and success for students of color, low-income students, and first-generation learners.