Texas' budget concerns hit close to home. The Texas Community College Teachers Association blog reports that dual credit programs are under new scrutiny in "
Dual Credit Scrutinized." I will provide my thought in another post, and copy the TCCTA post in its entirety.
Dual credit programs have grown prodigiously at Texas community colleges. Since the state first started tracking enrollment in 1999, the number of dual credit students across Texas has "ballooned from fewer than 12,000 to more than 91,000," according to a recent article in the Texas Tribune by Brian Thevenot.
State officials tend to support the growth and, historically, these students perform well in transferring and getting their degrees. It's too early, however, to measure whether the positive numbers will hold up, since today's dual credit students are not necessarily as well prepared as they were before the programs began to multiply. More reports are expected soon, but they may be flawed by an inability at this point to measure the success of the current cohort of students. A time frame of six years is often needed.
Some officials have voiced displeasure about the financing of dual credit, which allows colleges to count students in the instructional formula, and also permits school districts to tally them as part of their average daily attendance totals. "State Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, and other state policymakers, including Commissioner of Education Robert Scott, have raised concerns that the state may be double-paying for the classes in financing both the high schools and colleges involved," the Tribune article states.
According to the piece, concerns among legislators "emerged when they realized just how large the dual credit program had grown, and some were irked at reports that some colleges also charged tuition, either to students or their high schools."
Then there is the issue of academic standards, which may become more problematic as enrollments grow.
Here's an important passage: Unlike Advanced Placement courses, which are also common on high school campuses, there’s no test at the end of the class required for students to earn the college credit, [Rep.] Hochberg pointed out. And the dual credit courses can be taught either on college or high school campuses. It’s not known at the state level the prevalence of each, but the high school-based classes in particular have drawn suspicions about their rigor. “There have been a lot of allegations that they aren’t really college-level courses,” Hochberg said.
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As a thirty-something college student, I can vouch that I was much more prepared in high school to take college-level classes than I am now. I have forgotten so much basic information and, with a family and full-time job, it is a challenge to find time for my studies. The professors that teach dual credit courses are college professors. I would think that they would teach the same class material and test in the same manner that they test their freshman college students. I am all for dual credit courses. Leave it alone, Hochberg.
ReplyDelete-According to the piece, concerns among legislators "emerged when they realized just how large the dual credit program had grown, and some were irked at reports that some colleges also charged tuition, either to students or their high schools."-
ReplyDeleteIf they are earning college credit, why wouldn't they be charged tuition?
-And the dual credit courses can be taught either on college or high school campuses. It’s not known at the state level the prevalence of each, but the high school-based classes in particular have drawn suspicions about their rigor. “There have been a lot of allegations that they aren’t really college-level courses,” Hochberg said.-
Is he saying that just because a DC class is physically held at the high school is raising questions about the rigor?
As a dual credit student enrolled in two courses at MCC, I can assure anyone that the classes are indeed "college-level." We as students still must take all mid term and final exams at the college, so I believe that makes it legit. Of course, this may not be the case with all colleges, but in my case it is. I also was unable to pay for the tution required to recieve my credits, so my high-school paid it for me after I met certain qualifications. Now, I don't know if this money came from the state, funds put aside for the dual credit program, or simply a donation, I was just happy to have the opportunity.
ReplyDelete