Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

In this study, we measure the impact of dual enrollment in high school and college courses through the College Now (CN) program on completion of gateway courses in English and math for students enrolled in the City University of New York (CUNY). Prior research shows that completing gateway courses increases the likelihood of both retention and college graduation. Our sample is students who graduated on-time from high school in 2016 and were eligible for CN during 2014-2016 in the 11th or 12th grade from the 74% (443 out of 599) of New York City’s public high schools where the program is offered. We use a sharp regression discontinuity design (RDD) methodology that estimates the causal local average effect of the treatment, eligibility for dual enrollment in college classes while in high school via CN, on completion of gateway courses. Completion of gateway courses in the CUNY system remains a pressing question from both a research and policy standpoint. CUNY currently seeks to increase rates of completing gateway course requirements in the first year of college from 36 percent to 60 percent for mathematics and from 64 percent to 85 percent for freshman composition. This study will help assess the degree to which eligibility for dual enrollment leads to increased completion of these courses.