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Ohio’s Innovative Program policy expanded dual‑enrollment access for Black and Hispanic students but produced mixed postsecondary outcomes, researchers say
Summary
A CCRC evaluation presented at a Midwestern Higher Education Compact webinar found Ohio’s 2017 Innovative Program waivers increased College Credit Plus participation among Black and Hispanic students, but course pass rates and college matriculation did not show clear improvement; state and college leaders said stronger advising and targeted supports are key to success.
The Midwestern Higher Education Compact hosted a webinar where researchers and Ohio practitioners reviewed Ohio’s Innovative Program policy for dual enrollment and its effects.
At the heart of the discussion was an evaluation led by the Community College Research Center in partnership with the Ohio Department of Higher Education and supported by the Joyce Foundation. Sarah Griffin, a CCRC researcher, said the policy — created in 2017 as part of Ohio’s College Credit Plus program — allows approved high school–college partnerships to waive standardized placement‑test requirements and instead use alternative measures such as GPA or open access, provided programs commit to targeted outreach and extra supports.
The evaluation used interviews with program leaders, college administrative data and high school data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Griffin summarized the findings: “Partnerships that waived placement test requirements and implemented innovative programs significantly increased participation in College Credit Plus among Black and Hispanic students,” she said. However, Griffin added that “course pass rates among Black and Hispanic students did not change,” and the study did not detect increases in college matriculation after high school.
Becky Stewart, program director for College Credit Plus at the Ohio Department of Higher Education, described the policy’s origins. She said state leaders noted rapid growth in College Credit Plus enrollment in the program’s early years — from about 40,000 participants initially to roughly 68,000 within a few years — while Black and Hispanic students remained underrepresented in the program. That gap, she said, drove the creation of the waiver framework so partnerships could propose alternatives to single high‑stakes placement tests.
Nadia Leary, manager of recruitment and College Credit Plus at Lorain County Community College, explained how local implementation worked. Leary said her college’s innovative program proposals relied on counselor outreach, targeted invitations to students with particular GPA ranges, assigned advisors who follow students from high school into postsecondary enrollment, and campus supports such as tutoring and writing centers. “We assign specific advisors to specific schools and so there is a person … and they follow them,” Leary said.
Panelists emphasized that expanding eligibility alone is insufficient. Sarah Griffin and practitioners warned that broader access must be paired with intentional advising and academic supports to help students persist. Becky Stewart described how Ohio used pandemic‑era experience to inform rulemaking: during 2020 emergency policy decisions, the state and institutions examined data from innovative program cohorts and early college programs; Stewart reported an average GPA of 3.45 for students admitted through innovative waivers in the early cohorts and said that the state later codified alternative eligibility measures (including defined GPA thresholds and course grades) in administrative rulemaking.
Practitioners offered implementation advice: start small, ensure infrastructure and supports are in place, track outcomes, and expect a staffing and funding lift. Leary said her college sees strong outcomes when supports are provided: “92 percent of our dually enrolled students have a pass rate of C or higher in their classes,” she reported. Stewart acknowledged the resource intensity of the work and said Ohio will pursue funding opportunities in the biannual budget to support program expansion.
Looking ahead, panelists said Ohio is exploring statewide innovative waivers that align with industry partnerships so approved pathways can be adopted by multiple institutions, and they encouraged colleges and districts considering alternative eligibility approaches to use careful partnership design and data monitoring. The webinar closed with panelists directing practitioners to Ohio Department of Higher Education web resources and encouraging further conversation between institutions and the state.
The CCRC report and Ohio program materials are available through the Midwestern Higher Education Compact and CCRC; webinar participants were encouraged to consult those resources for details on data, methods and application packets.
