U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Education Kim Hunter Reed will deliver the keynote address at a conference Wednesday in Louisville on a promising educational approach known as “dual enrollment.”
Reed will outline the U.S. Department of Education’s efforts to expand access to college and increase college completion, including efforts to support dual enrollment, where students enroll in postsecondary coursework while still enrolled in high school.
In May, the Department announced that it was inviting 44 postsecondary institutions to participate in an experiment that – for the first time – will allow an estimated 10,000 students to take college-credit courses by accessing $20 million in Pell Grants as early as high school. The program is aimed at improving academic outcomes for students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds.
Reed’s appearance will take place at the Dual Enrollment Pell Experimental Sites Inaugural Convening, hosted by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP), an accrediting body for concurrent enrollment partnerships.
The Obama Administration believes that every hard-working student in America deserves a real opportunity to earn an affordable, high-quality degree or credential that offers a clear path to economic security and success. Since 2009, the Obama Administration has taken strong actions to offset the rising costs of higher education, including expanding Pell Grants – federal financial aid offered mainly to undergraduate students – and making student debt more manageable. The President has raised the maximum Pell Grant by nearly $1,000 over the course of his Administration, and, for the first time, tied the maximum amount of the award to inflation.