More students earn college credit while in high school

The number of Oklahoma students who enroll in college courses while still in high school has nearly doubled in past 11 years, according to a new report on concurrent enrollment.

During the 2016-17 school year, more than 12,000 high school juniors and seniors across the state enrolled in 108,248 credit hours — 40 percent more hours than four years earlier.

Their pass rate for all those college courses was 92 percent, said Tony Hutchison, who presented the report Thursday to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

Concurrent enrollment is a top priority for the regents, who lobbied hard this year for an additional $7.5 million from the Legislature to pay for tuition waivers.

The program, which began in 2005, now allows students to earn up to 18 credit hours their senior year tuitionfree.

Both the number of students enrolling and the number of hours they take are expected to keep rising, said Hutchison, the regents' vice chancellor for strategic planning, analysis and workforce and economic development.

He said students who take concurrent courses go to college and graduate at significantly higher rates than their peers.

Oklahoma’s 2016 college-going rate was 45 percent of all public high school graduates, but 60 percent of concurrent students.

“We have a pretty low college-going rate in Oklahoma, below the national average,” Hutchison said. “Students that take concurrent enrollment — of course these are better-prepared students — go to college at a much higher rate, which is a good thing.”

Proponents say the program prepares high school students for success in college.

The new report shows concurrent students have a higher persistence rate from freshman to sophomore year — about 95 percent at research universities, about 87 percent at regional universities and above 80 percent at community colleges. The persistence rate for community colleges overall is about 65 percent.

College graduation rates also exceed those of other students, even at the research institutions where many of the concurrent students may be below the other students in terms of preparation, Hutchison said.

“It not only benefits graduation rates and retention rates, but it also saves students and parents money as they’re taking these courses during their high school years,” he said.

And it shortens the time it takes to earn a degree and enter the workforce.

“It’s a program where you invest money and can see real results in terms of graduation rates and student success, and success in the Oklahoma economy,” Hutchison said.

Board Chairman Jay Helm, of Tulsa, praised the program.

“It’s satisfying to see that some of the things that we do are making a difference in the state,” Helm said. “That increased graduation rate from college is important. We’re very proud of this program.”