Acadeum Launches Dual Enrollment Network to Significantly Expand Access to College Courses and Degree Pathways

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Acadeum, the creator of an online course-sharing platform used by more than 380 colleges and universities to support student progress and completion, today announced a new dual enrollment offering that will expand access to college education for high school students nationwide.

The new dual enrollment program will offer eligible students access to more than 500 college-level courses from a growing network of participating institutions with significant dual enrollment experience, including Baker College in Owosso, Michigan, Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio, and Western Texas College in Snyder, Texas. Successfully completed courses can be applied for credit towards the student's GPA and graduation requirements at participating institutions or be transferred to thousands of colleges and universities across the U.S., allowing students to save significant time and money.

"For too many high school students, especially those who are the most disadvantaged, opportunities for college-level coursework are severely limited," said Dr. Lesa Louch, President of Online at Baker College, one of only six institutions to earn the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Quality Scorecard Exemplary Endorsement and one of the first members of National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships. "This consortium will expand higher education's promise to all those who are ready for it, allowing more students to get a jumpstart on college and career pathways, including the potential to earn an associate degree at the time they graduate from high school. We are excited to expand opportunities for learners across the country to access our nationally recognized dual credit program through this partnership."

As student loan debt surpasses $1.7 trillion in the U.S., interest in dual enrollment has increased in recent years, with more than one million high school students currently taking college courses. However, a 2018 Government Accountability Office report found significant disparities in access to dual enrollment, with fewer courses offered at low income and smaller schools. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment in which high school students are increasingly interested in online options.

Initially, the dual enrollment program will be introduced to eligible students at K12 Private Academy, a private online college preparatory school for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The consortium model powered by Acadeum will allow eligible K12 Private Academy students to enroll in the college-level courses. Upon successful completion, course credits may be applied to a student's GPA, high school graduation requirements, and/or transferred to participating institutions across the U.S. Beginning in fall of 2022, eligible high school sophomores can start to pursue 20 associate's degree pathways that are aligned to high-growth careers, including computer science, cybersecurity, and health sciences.

"For too many high school students, opportunities for college-level coursework are severely limited, whether by geographic or economic circumstances," said Tony Bennet, Senior Vice President of School Management at Stride. "By introducing K12 Private Academy students to Acadeum's consortium of institutions, we will expand higher education's promise to all those who are ready for it, allowing more students to get a jumpstart on college and career pathways."

"Throughout the pandemic, colleges have increasingly found ways to meet learners' needs and help them access high-quality online courses they may not otherwise be able to take," said Josh Pierce, co-founder and CEO of Acadeum. "We are excited to extend this effort to high school students, providing learners with the ability to take rigorous college coursework in a wide variety of subjects, no matter their physical location."

Course-sharing continues to grow in popularity among higher education institutions as they seek to expand access to high-quality courses. Since 2017 more than 14,000 students have used courses shared through Acadeum's platform to accelerate their path to completion. Acadeum's network now includes over 380 institutions of higher education and a global catalog of more than 40,000 online courses. These courses are also part of consortia organized by the Council of Independent Colleges, the League for Innovation in the Community College, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities and the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas, among many others.

About Acadeum
Acadeum helps colleges and universities create academic partnerships with like-minded institutions to support student progress and equitable access. Today, more than 380 higher-ed institutions use Acadeum's course-sharing network to place students in online courses they need to stay on track for timely graduation. Institutions gain new revenue from courses they offer through the network, by sharing tuition dollars from courses taken by their students, and by keeping at-risk students enrolled. To learn more about Acadeum, please visit acadeum.com.

SOURCE Acadeum