Dual enrollment gives students the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school. Over the past decade, the number of students taking dual enrollment courses has increased almost doubled no signs of slowing down. At the national level, 82 percent of high school students attend a school that offers dual enrollment, and upon graduation, approx one third of high school students have taken at least one college-level course. For students from underrepresented communities, these opportunities can be especially beneficial by boosting confidence, providing a taste of college life, and saving students both time and money by giving them a head start on earning college credit.

The New York University (CUNY) Office of K16 Initiatives partners with the New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) to provide dual enrollment opportunities as well as free college transition programs and support services to all NYCPS high school students through programs such as Faculty Now. College Now offers college credit courses in various fields, allowing students to earn free college credit while still in high school and prepare them for college. In the academic year 2022-2023, 23,534 students enrolled in 34,156 college-level courses. Moreover, students participating in College Now transfer and earn more credits in their first semester at CUNY than nonparticipating students.

While participation in dual enrollment continues to grow, there remains a lack of understanding of how dual enrollment courses would transfer and apply to undergraduate programs across CUNY’s 20 undergraduate colleges. The opacity of the credit mobility process can be especially challenging for students trying to bridge the gap between high school and college. To address this issue, CUNY Transfer Explorer (T-Rex) High School to CUNY the site was recently launched in a collaboration involving Ithaka S+R, the CUNY Office of K16 Initiatives and the CUNY Office of Student Success Initiatives.

CUNY T-Rex High School to the CUNY website

The CUNY T-Rex High School to CUNY site is specifically designed to address a key challenge in college readiness by helping high school students who have taken College Now credits, as well as Advanced Placement (AP) and/or the Exam Program at college level (CLEP), understand how these credits meet CUNY degree requirements, including general education requirements, major requirements, and electives.

USING CUNY Transfer Explorer platform (which shows anyone how credits transfer and apply across CUNY campuses), the site allows students to explore degree requirements and see how their earned or anticipated credits align with CUNY degrees, effectively bridging the gap between high school and college. By providing this essential information, the High School to CUNY website empowers students and their supporters (high school counselors, community-based organizations (CBOs), families, etc.) to make informed decisions, gain confidence in their college preparation, and more good understanding the credit mobility process.

Empowering students to make informed choices

The CUNY T-Rex High School to CUNY site empowers students by allowing them to begin their exploration with a personalized experience. Students begin by selecting their high school and can then browse a menu of College Now courses offered at CUNY partner campuses. This feature not only helps students keep track of courses they’ve already completed, but also makes it easier to discover new course opportunities on CUNY campuses.

As a final step, students can view a detailed chart and visual diagram showing how their College Now classes and AP or CLEP exams may transfer and apply to general education requirements, elective requirements, and major requirements at specific CUNY colleges. This type of browsing experience gives students the information they need to decide which courses to take. Depending on individual goals, this could include exploring a major requirement or fulfilling a general education requirement; in the former, a student might be willing to accept only elective credit from the intended college, while in the latter, a student would want to ensure that the course is given credit for a requirement of general education.

Additionally, this experience gives students the foundation they need to make better choices with the guidance of their support systems, ensuring that students are taking courses that will apply to key requirements when courses are transferred. This final step will make recommendations for programs of study based on the selections, as well as provide an easy way to share the results.

Enhanced College Readiness

The CUNY T-Rex High School to CUNY website is not just for students, but is also designed for high school counselors, families and CBOs who help students make decisions about their post-secondary journey. The site provides anyone with an easy-to-follow guide on how to effectively use CUNY T-Rex to help students best navigate the decision-making process. Users can also easily navigate to other CUNY websites to learn more about CUNY degree requirements and academic programs.

Using the CUNY T-Rex High School to CUNY website, students can learn about dual enrollment opportunities at their high schools, allowing them to take advantage of these offers. The introduction of CUNY T-Rex and the transfer concept, along with tools like the High School to CUNY site, allows students to familiarize themselves with credit mobility and develop a clear understanding of how college credit is awarded before enrolling in college, which can lead to improved academic performance.

A better understanding of the credit transfer process

By providing clear and accessible information about credit transferability, the CUNY T-Rex High School at CUNY site helps bridge the often complex gap between high school and college. The tool allows students to make more informed decisions about college and major choices, maximizing the applicability of the credits they’ve already earned. In addition, the transparency of credit transfer information allows students to understand the credit transfer process, removing the hurdles of an often opaque and complex subject. With the information in hand, students and their support systems can have more constructive and informative conversations.

Promote the use and adoption of the CUNY T-Rex High School on the CUNY website

To support users in using the site to its fullest potential, CUNY has developed a comprehensive “train the trainer” initiative to ensure that staff are equipped to train NYCPS, CUNY, and CBO stakeholders in using the site to at High School to CUNY. This initiative is essential to ensure that practitioners support students in understanding how their dual enrollment credits transfer and apply to specific CUNY colleges. By creating marketing materials, hosting workshops and conducting professional development sessions, CUNY makes this tool accessible to all New York high school students, empowering them to successfully transfer their high school credits to their post-secondary education.

The value of dual enrollment credits depends on their applicability to specific degree programs at specific colleges, so this site—and associated practitioner training—ensures students, families, and advisors have the resources to understand how the credits apply. For students who may not know their destination college or CUNY major, comparing different credit transfer scenarios provides a way to focus a college choice decision based on how different colleges may award credit . By streamlining this process with the new site, CUNY K16 Initiatives is helping students maximize their dual enrollment opportunities, paving the way for greater college persistence and degree completion.

The CUNY T-Rex High School to CUNY website reflects a collaborative effort between CUNY programs, high school counselors and students with a shared goal of ensuring students are well prepared for their college journey. The site not only allows prospective students to explore different degree programs, but also teaches them about the structure of CUNY degrees and how their dual enrollment credits can fit into these programs. The significance of dual enrollment credits cannot be overstated. These credits give students a head start on their college education, potentially reducing the time and cost required to earn a degree. By demystifying the credit mobility process and showing when there is clear applicability to CUNY degrees, the High School to CUNY site equips students with the tools they need to confidently begin their higher education journey. As dual enrollment programs continue to grow, the High School at CUNY site is critical to ensuring students have the information and support they need to succeed in higher education.

Pooja Patel is a Senior Analyst in Ithaka S+R’s Education Transformation team. She contributes to Ithaka S+R’s work on transfer credit issues and bad credit research.

Sandrine Fermino, Director of the College Success Network, contributes insights from her experience managing a large network of postsecondary professionals focused on college access and persistence.