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%.

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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.

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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.