Indiana’s model for dual and concurrent enrollment centers on guaranteed transfer, advising and state funding

Indiana’s approach to strengthening dual and concurrent enrollment centers on aligning state policy, financial incentives and advising so college credits earned in high school reliably transfer and apply to students’ chosen programs, speakers said in a Midwestern Higher Education Compact webinar.

Jennifer Zinn, a consultant who works on dual-enrollment policy, and Terry Lambert, director of curriculum innovation initiatives and transfer pathways at Ball State University, described a multi‑part “blueprint” Indiana uses to reduce duplication, improve equity and help students complete credentials sooner.

The model pairs statutory and policy tools with infrastructure and dollars. Lambert described a legislatively mandated transfer framework that includes a statewide transfer library and the Indiana College Core, “the total core consists of 30 semester hours of credit and when completed, transfers as a block and then counts as satisfying the core equivalent at receiving institutions,” she said. Zinn said states can require in statute that dual‑enrollment coursework be recognized for transfer on the same basis as courses taken by regular matriculated students.

Why it matters: students and families often cannot tell which courses will apply toward a degree. Zinn noted the downstream…