Enrollment Process

Overview

Each California community college has its own enrollment processes for high school (special admit) students. Many of these colleges and their high school partners recognize the immense barriers that the traditional college application, CCC Apply, and local enrollment requirements create for high school students attempting to enroll in college courses. This is especially true for students who are from groups that are underrepresented in postsecondary education.

Simplifying and streamlining the enrollment process is key to supporting a robust dual enrollment program. In a report by CLP and Engage R+D, challenges with the enrollment process were named as the top barrier to dual enrollment implementation and the fourth highest ranked barrier was challenges with CCCApply. The most successful dual enrollment partnerships have identified ways to remove or reduce barriers to enrollment.

Barriers Identified

The following categories have been identified by college and high school leaders around the state as the four primary barriers high school students face in accessing college classes:

• • Application Process
  • Enrollment Process
  • Lack of Understanding of College Processes
  • High School and College on Different Calendars

Strategies for Removing Enrollment Barriers

Simplify Policies

The California Community Colleges Board of Governors revised Title 5 requirements for dual enrollment admissions in November 2023, and partnerships should review, update, and simplify their dual enrollment processes. A key change is requiring parent consent one time for the duration of high school and removing the requirement for students to submit their high school transcripts or social security number to the college. It is essential for partnerships to continuously review their enrollment process and address any existing barriers and ensure that policies and procedures are up to date with state and federal requirements.

Provide Students with Support Through the Process

The application and enrollment process should provide high school students with a positive and welcoming college-entry experience. Several college and high school partnerships, like Bakersfield College and Kern High School District, and Santa Barbara City College and Santa Barbara Unified School District, have dedicated staff within their institutions to support students through the enrollment process. There are also some colleges, like American River College and Mt. San Antonio College, that acknowledge when students successfully enroll in college courses by giving them college ID cards.

Establish Regular Communication Structures Between High School and College

A successful enrollment process for students does not delay or deter students from participating in a dual enrollment opportunity. Partnerships need to equip students with an understanding of what it will take to apply and enroll in a course, what it means to be enrolled in the course, and how they can unenroll in (drop or withdraw from) the course, if necessary.

In a strong partnership, college and high school staff work together to identify the students to be enrolled in college courses, share the responsibility of helping students through the application and enrollment process, and consistently communicate regarding the students’ enrollment status. Because dual-enrolled students spend the majority of their time on the high school campus, that is often the best place to reach them and support them through the application and enrollment process.

By creating a way to share updated course rosters, the college and high school can correct errors quickly. A shared and transparent enrollment process allows faculty and staff to monitor and provide assistance to students and parents at each step of the way.

Leverage Technology to Streamline Processes

As dual enrollment participation increased rapidly at colleges including Bakersfield College, East Los Angeles College and Compton College, they turned to digital solutions to eliminate manual processes that had become burdensome for admissions and records staff. Manual processes also created delays for students attempting to enroll in classes. Using technology tools to automate enrollment processes has enabled these partnerships to spend more time and resources supporting students and programs.

By implementing automated solutions, colleges can simplify and streamline the dual enrollment process, identify students and parents who may be struggling with it, and provide transparency to all stakeholders during each step of the process. Bakersfield College has combined a case-management model of staff who support students from a set list of high schools with the implementation of an online program that guides students through the enrollment process and automatically enrolls them in college courses after they are approved by the high school.

Equity Considerations

Evaluate Enrollment Processes for Gatekeeping Criteria

The CCCCO and ASCCC encourage dual enrollment partnerships to evaluate their enrollment process for barriers and gatekeeping criteria that create obstacles for students, particularly those from underrepresented or historically underserved groups. Gatekeeping policies or processes that are no longer permissible due to changes in Ed Code or Title 5 include:

• • Requiring a minimum GPA or the completion of certain courses that are not prerequisites for the college course.
  • Limiting enrollment to (or only recruiting from) advanced placement, honors or “advanced” students.
  • Requiring additional approvals (from counselors, teachers, or other school officials) for enrollment.
  • Requiring high school transcripts as a condition for enrollment. (Note: Colleges may accept transcripts for placement purposes.)
  • Restricting enrollment or adding enrollment steps based on residency determination or citizenship status.

In order for dual enrollment to be leveraged as a tool for equitable college access, the process for enrollment must be simple to navigate, transparent to all stakeholders, and intentionally tailored to reach underserved student populations. This CLP publication details how admissions and records departments can play an essential role in providing an open door to college for dual-enrolled students.

Identify Access Gaps by Comparing High School Enrollment to Dual Enrollment Participation Data

To ensure that students have equitable access to dual enrollment opportunities, compare high school enrollment data to dual enrollment participation data. Be sure to review disaggregated data for the populations that your partnership has identified as underserved; these could include race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, LGBTQ+ identification, newcomer students and others.

As one way to address access gaps, some high school and college partnerships have developed “opt-out” models that automatically enroll students in college courses, unless the student or their parent or guardian chooses to opt out of the opportunity.

Design Support to Meet Individual Student Needs

The challenges that can be created by the enrollment process are often even greater for students from historically underserved groups, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and students with non-resident or non-citizen status. For ideas and examples for outreach and recruitment, please see the Supporting Student Success section of this guide.

The table below includes some considerations to note for these student populations.

Underfunded high schools also face challenges in having enough staffing and resources to complete enrollment requirements from the college. Each of the challenges faced by students, parents, and schools should be considered and collectively addressed by partnerships seeking to provide equitable access and support for high school students in dual enrollment.

Nuts and Bolts for Streamlining the Enrollment Process

This section describes current legal requirements and innovative practices to help partnerships identify ways to streamline and simplify their dual enrollment processes.

Simplifying the College Application Process

Per Ed Code 76004 (u)(4), the application process for students participating in CCAP dual enrollment should “allow a pupil to complete one application for the duration of the pupil’s attendance at a community college as a special part-time student participating in a CCAP partnership agreement.” (See CCCCO 2021 CCAP Legislative Report for more details.) While colleges may have local requirements for students to re-apply or update their information, making exceptions for students while they are still in high school will simplify the enrollment process for them and for the college and high school staff who support them through the process.

• • Review local policies regarding the application process for high school students in dual enrollment. Update policies to align with current legislation and regulations and to simplify the process as much as possible.
  • Work with your IT team and admissions and records office to update processes based on any changes to local policies.
  • Consider designing a simpler application specifically for dual-enrolled students.
  • Provide in-person and virtual workshops to educate students and parents on dual enrollment and guide them through the application process.

Reducing Amount and Frequency of Consents

High school students need consent from a parent/guardian and a recommendation from their high school principal to enroll in a community college course (Ed Code 48800). For CCAP participation, the parent consent and principal recommendation are required once for the duration of the student’s participation (Ed Code 76004 (c)(1)). Revisions to Title 5 clarified that, once parent consent is given, it applies to all college courses attempted until the parent revokes consent in writing (Title 5 56700). Partnerships can simplify the enrollment process for all stakeholders by reducing the amount and frequency of consents. Streamline the application process for high school students in dual enrollment to incorporate one-time consent.

• • Explore use of digital platforms to collect parent consent through email and/or text message. Colleges can track parent consent through these programs or through fields in their student information system. Electronic forms and signatures must comply with Title 5 section 54300.
  • Simplify the student and parent consent process to help your partnership do the following:
    • Give students the opportunity to approve or deny a FERPA release for their parents to receive information relevant to their participation in dual enrollment. Although FERPA consent cannot be used as a condition for dual enrollment participation, it is helpful for supporting students in dual enrollment.
    • Collect necessary consents for data sharing between the college and the student’s high school.
    • Obtain acknowledgement of the college’s or program’s terms and conditions for participation.
  • Simplify the principal recommendation process. Verify the principal’s recommendation one time during the duration of high school using the same form or online platform as the parent consent.

Streamlining the Course Enrollment Process

Each college has its own process for enrolling high school students. Colleges also often have different processes for students taking courses at their high school (as part of a CCAP partnership) and students who are enrolling in courses at the college on their own (outside of a CCAP partnership). The following are examples of how colleges are streamlining each of these processes.

• • Include dual enrollment processes in college CRM systems such as Slate or Salesforce.

• • Consider quicker and more supportive ways to enroll students in CCAP courses:
    • When a college has a verified roster of students to be enrolled in a course section, they can use batch enrollment features to add all students from the roster at one time.
    • Automated programs (DualEnroll.com, Parchment, etc.) can collect the necessary requests and verifications and then communicate directly with the college’s student information system to enter the registration. These programs also often include automatic notifications of successful enrollment or problems preventing the registration.
    • Some colleges require dual-enrolled students to register themselves in courses after they have been cleared by the college. Depending on the process, students may need additional help navigating the registration system and high school partners may find it difficult to know which students have enrolled and might need help with registration. Data sharing agreements can bridge this gap between colleges and high schools. See the Data section of this guide for more ideas on data sharing agreements.

• • Provide additional support for students who are enrolling themselves in courses at the college (in cases where the college requires students to enroll themselves). Having access to college counselors or advisers can help high school students select courses that align with their educational and career goals.
    • Navigating the college enrollment process can be tricky, especially for students who are still in high school. Providing in-person and virtual opportunities for students to complete all of their registration steps can help simplify the process and ensure that they are successful in registering for courses.
    • High school students who enroll on their own in courses may not be aware of the resources available to them at the college. Create orientation materials and marketing resources to connect students with the on-campus services that they may need, such as the textbook store, student health services, the pantry, or the tutoring center.

Creating a Clear and Supportive Drop Process

Drop processes often face some of the same challenges as enrollment processes, so partnerships should consider ways to streamline them and support students in making the decision to drop a course. For ideas about how to support students to be successful and identify struggling students before there is a need to drop, see the Supporting Student Success section of this guide.

• • • Ensure that all stakeholders are aware of drop dates, processes and consequences prior to the start of the course.
    • Clarify the steps and responsibilities for dropping students from courses. Consider the following:
      • If students decide to drop a course, who will remind them of drop dates and help them with the process, if needed?
      • If high school partners are responsible for communicating drops to the college for processing, what are the deadlines and what information is required?
      • What happens if a student is not dropped on time due to an error or lack of communication from the instructor, high school, or college?
    • Leverage early alert systems to build interventions for students who drop or fail courses and help them avoid additional dropped or failed courses. See the Supporting Student Success section for more information.