Dual Enrollment and Conditional Credit Acceptance: Effects of Georgia’s Articulation Agreement on Timely Degree Completion

Abstract

Many high school students access dual enrollment at 2-year colleges, but the credits associated with their college-level courses may not transfer if they later matriculate to 4-year institutions as first-year undergraduates. In this study, we ask whether statewide articulation agreements can support the postsecondary success of participants by preserving the credits earned and facilitating academic momentum. Employing the administrative data of students in Georgia, we use a difference-in-differences approach to investigate the effect of the state’s 2012 policy on 4-year college undergraduates who participated in dual enrollment at 2-year colleges. We find a positive impact of the policy on timely degree completion, but the effect is conditional, as it applied only to students who completed the coursework identified by the articulation agreement.