Dual Enrollment: Creating Opportunities & Preparing the Next Generation of Workers
Strengthening the Greater Rochester workforce pipeline and creating opportunities are critical to our role as regional lead for talent strategy, as part of the ROC2025 coalition. This includes efforts to support the next generation of workers, high school students from all backgrounds, to help prepare them for the jobs of the future and help keep Rochester on the cutting edge of innovation. Greater Rochester supports legislative bill S.5616 (Mayer) / A.8941 (Benedetto), Dual Enrollment.
Dual enrollment partnerships between school districts and higher education institutions allows for more high school students to jump start their future careers by enrolling in college courses and earning transferrable credits before graduating. Dual enrollment can help increase participation in advancement opportunities from students of all backgrounds, races, and socio-economic statuses, groups which have traditionally been underrepresented in similar programs and opportunities to get ahead.
Dual enrollment programs benefit both colleges and universities, 19 of which call the Greater Rochester region home, and students who participate in these programs. By introducing students to local colleges, this facilitates the start of what could be a long-term partnership. Students who participate in dual enrollment courses in high school may be more likely to later matriculate into a two- or four-year degree if they already have started it in high school without having to take on the financial burden of tuition or loans.
Dual enrollment programs have grown significantly since the pandemic. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that community colleges saw these programs grow by over 11% in the post-pandemic era. The S.5616 / A.8941 legislation proposes allowing TAP funding to be used as a source for students earning credit through dual enrollment coursework, which would open the door for even more diverse students to utilize this resource to get ahead.
Dual enrollment programs offer additional benefits, even if students do not go on to pursue an advanced degree. College courses foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and time management skills, all of which can be used in the workforce if they decide to enter the workforce directly out of high school.
To learn more about the proposed Dual Enrollment legislation, please visit https://www.bcnys.org/memo/s5616-mayer-8941-benedetto-0