Neoliberal Pressures and Democratic Aims: How Competing Logics of the Community College Influence Dual Enrollment Growth

Abstract

ABSTRACT Dual enrollment coursework, also known as dual credit (DC), allows high school students to earn college credit through secondary-postsecondary partnerships. DC participation has been positively associated with college completion, though access to coursework is stratified by race and class. DC programs have scaled rapidly over the past decade, with particular implications for community colleges, which offer 70% of DC coursework. Yet, few studies in the DC literature have centered the perceptions of college stakeholders. Drawing on institutional logics, this qualitative study examines the benefits and challenges of DC expansion from the community college perspective. We focus on interviews with 28 administrators and faculty from a large, diverse community college district in Texas, where DC course-takers represent almost 25% of the population. Findings reveal that stakeholders framed DC as promoting college access, equity, and preparation (social-democratic logic), but the rapid pace of program growth (neoliberal logic) sometimes undermined their capacity to advance those aims. The study calls for investing in community colleges to maximize DC benefits.