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Credit transfer, OER and teacher-credentialing emerge as top implementation challenges for dual enrollment
Summary
Webinar speaker Jennifer Zinth highlighted barriers to dual-enrollment effectiveness: inconsistent credit transfer, limited OER uptake, and recent Higher Learning Commission credentialing changes that shift decisions to local institutions—she recommended transparency, advising, and data-driven policy steps.
Jennifer Zinth told the Midwestern Higher Education Compact webinar that funding choices are only part of the policy equation: states must also ensure credits students earn transfer and apply to degrees, that course materials are affordable, and that instructors are appropriately qualified.
Zinth said poor transfer outcomes are a recurring complaint: students sometimes accrue credits that later count as electives or do not transfer at all. She described a pending Colorado bill (noted in the webinar as sitting on the governor's desk) to create a consolidated statewide website showing transfer applicability for AP, IB, dual-credit and prior-learning credits so students and families can see in advance how credits will apply.
On costs beyond tuition, Zinth said textbooks and course materials can be significant barriers. She discussed a project with MEC and the Southern Regional Education Board testing how open educational resources might be integrated into dual enrollment policy. Few states, she said, explicitly require OER use in dual-enrollment settings; West Virginia and some Massachusetts models were cited as stronger examples.
Zinth also previewed upcoming research on teacher credentialing after the Higher Learning Commission's November 2023 policy revision that moved many qualification decisions from a national standard (master's+18) to local determination. She said early evidence points to substantial local variation in the qualifications required of high-school instructors teaching college coursework.
Why it matters: If credits do not transfer or instruction quality varies widely, states risk poor student outcomes and weakened return on state investments in dual-enrollment programs, Zinth said. She recommended clearer pre-enrollment information for students and parents, stronger advising, and state-level guardrails on eligible course types as ways to align funding and academic outcomes.
The webinar presenter said related project reports on credit transfer and credentialing are expected in late summer or fall; no formal policy actions were taken in the webinar itself.
