Dual Credit is a Smart Investment
As published in the Las Cruces Sun-News
The more time I have spent in Santa Fe this year, the more appreciation I have gained for the enormity of the task undertaken on our elected officials.
Regardless of their backgrounds or areas of expertise, they are, in many cases, called upon to be experts in everything as they make policy and spending decisions that affect us all.
Which is why it is so important for us, as citizens with a host of areas of expertise, to come alongside our legislators as partners in the process. Good information informs good policy, and policy is sustainability for the great work being done by public and private sectors, especially nonprofits and philanthropy.
Too many good things have gone away in the past when “the grant ran out.” We need good policy and sustainable funding to advance what’s proven with data to work and can bring considerable long-term benefits and returns on precious state dollars.
As a member of the Dona Ana County Legislative Coalition, The Bridge of Southern New Mexico has taken a giant leap in understanding why we need equitable funding for New Mexico’s Dual Credit Program. Two bills (HB 415) and (SB 377) are currently in discussion at the state legislature to help us implement the recommendations identified by a task force of public and higher education and workforce leaders to sustain and strengthen the program.
Why? Because it’s working.
This year’s report on the Dual Credit Program illustrates its success:
· Dual Credit students have higher high school graduation rates across the board, with some districts posting more than 20-point spreads in graduation rates for Dual Credit vs. non-Dual Credit students. In fact, 16 districts reported 100% graduation rates for their students. In our local districts, the difference in graduation rates was:
o Gadsden: 96% vs. 82%
o Hatch: 90% vs. 68%
o Las Cruces: 97% vs. 86%
· New Mexico’s Dual Credit program is primarily benefitting students of color. Of all Dual Credit students:
o 49% are Hispanic
o 11% are American Indian
o 1% are Asian
o 1% are African American
o 1% are Non-Resident Alien
o 2% are Two or More Races
o 24% are White
· The vast majority of students (76%) earned A-C grades in credit-bearing courses.
The report also confirmed what we have feared all along…without funding colleges and universities, the program appears to be retracting. For the first time since SY 11-12, there were less dual credit students and less courses taken.
This isn’t just an academic issue – it’s an economic one. We need a consistent flow of talented workers with technical and middle-skilled certifications and degrees for the economy of our state, and the economic wellbeing of families. The 2016 New Mexico First Statewide Town Hall Report: Economic Security and Vitality for New Mexico highlighted that by 2020, most New Mexico students will not have the education, credentials, or degrees required to fill 63% of the state’s jobs. Dual credit is a critical component in implementing those solutions.
According to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, 52% of New Mexico’s “good jobs,” those that pay more than $55,000, require more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree.
Regardless of how far in a student’s academic journey they seek to go, being equipped for technical and middle-skilled jobs, will undergird them with earning power no matter how far they go in their academic journey. And, they will help us attract new industries by having high-quality talent development pipelines generating well-qualified and well-educated employees at every level.
We, like the county, have a gaping hole in the middle of our state’s workforce. Dual Credit can help us close it for the long-run. Improving the academic outcomes of our youth will generate positive economic impacts in individuals, families, communities and the state. It will improve the outcomes of our children for generations.
