By William A. Sederburg
and Bradley J. Cook
The Salt Lake Tribune

Quality is of primary importance to concurrent enrollment

Utah policy makers and educators have long promoted college access as an important piece of the economic development puzzle, particularly as the need for post-secondary education has increased.

One of the more successful initiatives to provide early college credit has been concurrent enrollment, which allows high school students to enroll in college courses and earn college and high school credit simultaneously. The advantages include less time necessary to earn a post-secondary degree, savings for students and taxpayers, a more productive use of the senior year, an early assessment of a student's ability to do college level work, a more seamless connection between K-12 and postsecondary systems and increased access to higher education generally.

Concurrent enrollment can be a vital tool for meeting the growing demand for higher education in this state. At Utah Valley State College, we strongly support quality concurrent enrollment. This past fall we enrolled more than 4,500 students in college courses offered at local high schools. It is imperative, however, that the desire to promote access to concurrent enrollment to a broad range of students must not conflict with the need to maintain quality post-secondary academic standards.

The continuation and expansion of concurrent enrollment at UVSC depends on two factors: adequate finances and quality control. The biggest problem is financial support. For 2005, the state of Utah had nearly 25,000 students enrolled in concurrent enrollment - about 6,000 more students than in 2000.

Unfortunately, the legislative appropriation for 2005 was about $300,000 less than it was five years ago. Rep. Margaret Dayton is proposing legislation that attempts to address the critical funding issue. The governor has included an increase in funding for concurrent enrollment that will also help narrow the gap between expenses and revenue.

The primary costs of concurrent education to higher education are: coordination with high schools, adjunct instructor training, quality control of courses, department supervision of instructors, faculty selection, processing of grades, transcript recording, advising and other administrative costs.

As dollars have shrunk, much of the quality assurance of the course work has often gone undone, placing accreditation standards at risk and possibly compromising the integrity of college credit generally.

Currently, UVSC and local school districts provide significant subsidization of concurrent enrollment. Over time, this cannot be sustained without hurting quality and access.

The Dayton legislation and the governor's budget (if enacted) will help keep concurrent enrollment vital. They will help blunt the growing debate among Utah System of Higher Education officials about the viability of concurrent enrollment as currently practiced.

The state of Utah has a vested interest in ensuring that its financial investment is used wisely and that concurrent enrollment programs remain college-level and do not dilute the meaning of credit earned through state post-secondary institutions.

The state is at a precarious "tipping point" in regards to concurrent enrollment due to an eroding fiscal model. New fiscal models must be explored and implemented if concurrent enrollment is to be sustained in an academically healthy way.

Without new approaches to funding and quality, colleges and universities will be forced to withdraw or drastically reduce the offering of concurrent enrollment.

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William A. Sederburg is president and Bradley J. Cook is vice president for academic affairs at Utah Valley State College.