PEP Talk: Strengthening Partnerships Through Data and Communication

Welcome back to our Program Equity Practices resource, or PEP Talk, where practitioners lead the charge in sharing their experiences and perspectives on how to address equity gaps and increase postsecondary education access and success for all students. The National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) hopes this resource series will empower practitioners by informing program practices with insights on ways to elevate dual and concurrent enrollment to meet the education needs of all who seek the opportunity.

NACEP works to promote, advocate, and help facilitate equitable access and participation in dual and concurrent enrollment. Research continues to show gaps in access and participation for historically underrepresented student groups despite attempts to increase equity.

One important way that programs can start to improve equitable access and participation is to utilize program data. In this NACEP PEP Talk we explore ways program data can be used as a tool to build consistent communication and collaborative goal setting to increase equitable participation. Building and sharing data pro les can be an impactful tool to increase awareness and collaboration between colleges, K-12 partners, and community stakeholders. In this PEP Talk we focus on ways concurrent enrollment partnerships can leverage systematic collection and dissemination of data to help programs identify gaps in equitable participation and develop interventions to set goals and monitor progress.

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Over the past three decades, opportunities for high school students to earn college credit while in high school have grown exponentially. A wide-ranging body of research shows the tremendous impact college courses in high school environments have on students and their success. The NACEP Research Commission works to gather and synthesize this research through research spotlights and issue briefs, and curates these resources in the NACEP Resource Center. Research continues to show that participation in dual enrollment has a positive impact on student academic achievement, graduation rates, non-remedial placement upon college entry, higher post-secondary GPA, and increased degree attainment (NACEP Fast Facts).