COLUMBUS, Ohio – The number of Ohio high school students who are dually enrolled in courses to earn college credit continues to rise, although participation in Cuyahoga and Summit counties was lower than other parts of the state, according to a recent report from the Ohio Department of Higher Education.

Ohio’s dual enrollment program is called College Credit Plus. Students enroll in courses for free – sometimes taught on nearby college campuses, sometimes offered at the high school by teachers who meet adjunct college faculty requirements, and sometimes online. Textbooks are also free, and students earn both high school and college credits.

The latest Department of Higher Education report shows a 5.3% increase in College Credit Plus enrollment, to 80,163 students in grades 9-12, in the 2022-2023 school year. College Credit Plus began in the 2015-2016 school year, with 53,273 students, although another dual-enrollment program existed before then, dating back to 1989.

Students and families in the 2022-2023 year saved $193 million in college tuition through College Credit Plus. The report estimates over $1 billion in all has been saved in the eight years of the program.

The following was College Credit Plus participation in Northeast Ohio:

-Cuyahoga County: 9%, or 5,000 students out of 58,399 students in grades 9-12

-Summit County: 7%, or 2,012 of 26,906 students in 9-12

-Lorain County: 15%, or 2,341 of 15,112 students in 9-12

-Lake County: 10%, or 1,082 of 10,810 students in 9-12

-Medina County: 14%, or 1,308 of 9,099 students in 9-12

-Geauga County: 11%, or 510 of 4,839 students in 9-12

-Portage County: 9%, or 576 of 6,621 students in 9-12

Putnam County in northwest Ohio had the highest participation, with 33% of its students in grades 9-12 dually enrolled, followed by Washington County in eastern Ohio with 30%, and Hancock County in northwest Ohio with 29%.

Hamilton County had the lowest percent of dually enrolled students in 2022-2023, at 5%. Summit and Ashtabula counties tied for second lowest at 7%.

READ MORE: State announces $3 million to prep high school teachers to teach college courses

Ohio Auditor Keith Faber looked at College Credit Plus in detail in August 2022 and made several recommendations for improvement.

“Despite the obvious benefits of College Credit Plus, we found that the program was not consistently promoted or used at the local school district level,” the audit said.

The audit said that nationally, dual-enrollment programs can close education gaps for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. However, in Ohio, these students are lagging in College Credit Plus participation.

An October study by Columbia University’s Teachers College also found that among low-income Ohio students who took dual enrollment courses, only 9% had completed bachelor’s degrees four years after high school, compared to 11% of low-income students nationally.

READ MORE: Study: 83% of Ohio students who take college classes in high school go on to college

Faber’s audit recommended that state K-12 education and higher education officials work to expand high-speed internet for low-income students, who often lack the ability to take dual-enrollment courses because of their internet speeds at home. It also said that districts can eliminate barriers by providing support services for low-income students who participate in College Credit Plus.

The Ohio Department of Higher Education report for the 2022-2023 year found that of the 80,163 students in College Credit Plus, 55,486 were not economically disadvantaged; 15,774 were economically disadvantaged and the family incomes of 8,903 were unknown.

Laura Hancock covers state government and politics for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.

The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 1, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 1 drawing

06-12-28-35-66, Powerball: 26, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 1 drawing

07-15-17-39-40, Lucky Ball: 16

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Jan. 1 drawing

01-02-08-14-30, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 03

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from Jan. 1 drawing

06-18-20-27-35

Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

• Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
• Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
• Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.

When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?

• Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
• Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
• Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
• Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
• Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.

MADISON, Wis. — Nearly 200 absentee ballots somehow went uncounted in Wisconsin’s liberal capital after the Nov. 5 election, prompting state election officials to launch an investigation Thursday into whether the city clerk broke the law.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted unanimously to investigate whether Madison City Clerk Maribeth Wetzel-Biehl failed to comply with state law or abused her discretion. Commission members said they were concerned the clerk’s office didn’t inform them of the problem until late December, almost a month and a half after the election. Commission Chair Ann Jacobs certified Wisconsin’s election results on Nov. 29.

Wetzel-Biehl’s office said in a statement that the number of uncounted votes didn’t affect the outcome of any race or referendum on the ballots. But Jacobs said the oversight was “so egregious” that the commission must determine what happened and how it can be prevented as spring elections approach.

“We are the final canvassers,” Jacobs said. “We are the final arbiters of votes in the state of Wisconsin and we need to know why those ballots weren’t included anywhere.”

Wetzel-Biehl said in an email to The Associated Press that her office looks forward to working with the commission to determine what happened and how to prevent the same issues in future elections.

It’s another misstep for Wetzel-Biehl, who announced in September that her office mistakenly sent out up to 2,000 duplicate absentee ballots. She blamed it on a data processing error.

According to election commission documents, the commission learned of the uncounted ballots on Dec. 18, when Wetzel-Biehl’s staff told the commission that they recorded more absentee ballots as received than ballots counted in three city wards.

The commission asked Wetzel-Biehl to provide a detailed statement, which she did two days later. The memo stated that on Nov. 12, the clerk’s office discovered 67 unprocessed ballots for Ward 65 and one unprocessed ballot for Ward 68 in a courier bag found in a vote tabulating machine.

The memo also stated that her office was reconciling ballots for Ward 56 on Dec. 3 when 125 unprocessed ballots were discovered in a sealed courier bag. Reconciliation is a post-election process in which officials account for every ballot created. That work begins immediately after an election. Clerks have 45 days to complete it.

The memo does not offer any explanation, saying only that the clerk’s office planned “to debrief these incidents and implement better processes.”

The clerk’s office issued a statement on Dec. 26 saying it had informed the elections commission and would send an apology letter to each affected voter.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway released her own statement the same day saying the clerk’s office didn’t tell her staff about the problem until Dec. 20. She said her office plans to review the city’s election procedures.

“While the discovery of these unprocessed absentee ballots did not impact the results of any election or referendum, a discrepancy of this magnitude is unacceptable,” the mayor said in the statement.

Wisconsin is a perennial battleground state in presidential elections. Republican Donald Trump won the state this past November on his way to reclaiming the White House, beating Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris by about 29,000 votes.

Madison and surrounding Dane County are well-known liberal strongholds. Harris won 75% of the vote in the county in November.