Dual Enrollment: The Central Valley Way
Lemoore College 2024-2025 Academic Year
3,162
Total full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment (credit) at Lemoore College
22
Number of dual enrollment course sections offered (CCAP)
16
Number of dual enrollment course sections taught by high school teachers who meet minimum qualifications (MQs)
552
Total number of students enrolled in dual enrollment courses (CCAP)
3,496
Total number of high school students enrolled in courses
Statistics from DataMart 2024-2025
Pathways: Lemoore College offers 16 dual enrollment pathways.
Who Was at the Table?
Lemoore College
- James Preston – President
- Kris Costa – Vice President of Educational Services
- Callie Branan – Director of Outreach and Recruitment
Lemoore High School
- Alyssa Mitchell – College & Career Counselor
- Christina Braaten – College & Career Specialist
Caruthers High School
- Raina Sanchez – Guidance Counselor
Our Dual Enrollment Story
Lemoore College has experienced rapid growth in dual enrollment, transforming from isolated course offerings to a pathway-based program embedded across multiple school districts. Before COVID-19, approximately 10% of the college’s enrollment came from high school students. By fall 2023, dual/concurrent enrollment accounted for 22% of total enrollment, more than doubling in five years.
The college now partners with 5–6 high school districts, with some schools scaling quickly and others facing slower adoption due to political factors such as a preference to Advanced Placement (AP) vs. dual enrollment.
“Dual enrollment has gone from random acts to a structured, pathways-based program that now represents 22% of our enrollment.”
James Preston
There are only two colleges in Lemoore College’s service area. The collaboration with Caruthers High School is unique because it operates outside Lemoore College’s service area and required Fresno City College’s approval. The initial focus was on careers in education, with expansion into child development, Spanish, and welding courses.
At Lemoore High School, offerings grew from a single statistics class in 2017 to 10 courses today, covering general education, transfer core, CTE, and pathway-specific courses like Introduction to Education.
Best Practices and High Impact Strategies
1. Dedicated Staff on Both Sides
- At the college: The director of Outreach and Recruitment serves as the single point of contact for all high schools, and a full-time counselor was reassigned exclusively to dual enrollment students.
- At the high school: The College and Career counselor provides ongoing advising, progress monitoring, and intervention for struggling students.
“Having someone like Alyssa who can step in when grades drop has been a game-changer.” — Christina Braaten
2. Technology to Streamline Enrollment
- Implemented DualEnroll.com to automate registration, provide real-time notifications, and eliminate paper processes.
- Scaled the program to over 400 students without overwhelming counseling staff.
“If you have a person and a system like DualEnroll.com, you can take dual enrollment to scale.” — Kris Costa
3. Parent Engagement and Trust-Building
- Dual Enrollment Nights are held each semester at both college and high school locations.
- Sessions include joint presentations by college and high school staff.
- Outreach expanded to 8th-grade families, building early awareness and trust.
4. Faculty Training and Support
- Adjunct faculty (including high school teachers who teach dual enrollment) are invited to their Summer Innovate Program that provides Canvas-focused training and AI integration to help part-time faculty.
- Teachers receive professional development before each semester to provide updates and support for navigating the learning management system and best teaching practices.
5. Flexible Delivery Models
Online facilitator model ensure continuity when credentialed teachers aren’t available. College instructors teach online while high school staff facilitate in-person.
6. Strategic Pathway Expansion
- Added U.S. History as a dual enrollment option, which is a graduation requirement.
- Expanded business, agriculture, and criminal justice offerings based on data and student demand.
Challenges and Rural Realities
Faculty Recruitment
It is difficult to recruit faculty who meet the minimum qualifications to teach courses in pathways.
CTE Pathways vs Offerings
CTE pathways at high schools don’t always match college CTE offerings, requiring more coordination with other colleges to offer aligned pathways.
Filling Sections
Small schools, especially with fewer than 700 students, struggle to fill sections, balance Advanced Placement vs. dual enrollment messaging, and fit courses into tight schedules.
Funding Gaps
Funding and staffing gaps – Positions often depend on temporary grants, creating instability and requiring creative budget solutions.
“If I could dedicate all my time to dual enrollment, we could grow, but I’m pulled in so many directions.”
Raina Sanchez
Strategies to Overcome Obstacles
Flexible Faculty Solutions
Recruit local high school teachers with master’s degrees while using proctors to support visiting college instructors.
Work with Other Colleges
When possible, work with other colleges to help create online course options for CTE courses that don’t align with local colleges’ offerings.
Focus on General Education Pathways
Focus on General Education Pathways with small high schools to help create college-going “on-ramps”.
Dedicated Staff
When possible, leverage existing staff and assign dedicated dual enrollment responsibilities such as a dedicated counselor.
Outcomes and Impact
Lemoore High School
- 2023–24: 405 students enrolled, nearly doubling participation through U.S. History and other core courses.
- Success rates: 94% completion, 84% success rate.
Caruthers High School
- ~85 total dual enrollment students across all courses.
- 100% completion and success rates.
Overall Impact
- Dual enrollment students consistently outperform non-dual-enrolled peers by 10% in success rates.
- Parents increasingly prefer dual enrollment over Advanced Placement due to guaranteed college credit and GPA bump incentives.
“Parents now see the difference: AP tests aren’t guaranteed credit, but dual enrollment is.”
Alyssa Mitchell
Bottom Line
Lemoore College has successfully scaled its dual enrollment program by investing in dedicated staff, leveraging technology, and focusing on parent engagement and pathway alignment. This relationship-driven approach transformed dual enrollment from scattered offerings into a strategic system that now represents nearly a quarter of the college’s total enrollment.
Rural Colleges’ Dual Enrollment Stories and Strategies
Dual Enrollment: The Central Valley Way
Table of Contents
- Dual Enrollment: The Central Valley Way
- Coalinga College x Mendota High School
- Columbia College x Summerville High School & Sonora High School
- Lemoore College x Lemoore & Caruthers High Schools
- Merced College x Merced Union High School District
- Porterville College x Porterville Unified High School District and Burton High School
- Reedley College x Sanger Unified School District
- San Joaquin Delta College x Stagg High School x College Bridge Model
- Taft College x Taft Union High School
- Overarching Themes, Best Practices, and Future Directions
Resources
Career Ladders Project
- Dual Enrollment Access Gap Tool
- Dual Enrollment Community of Practice
- Dual Enrollment for Equitable Completion Framework
- Dual Enrollment Implementation Roadmap
- Dual Enrollment Scheduling Tool
- Dual Enrollment Tool Kit
- Equitable Dual Enrollment: A Policy to Practice Guide
Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC)
- Master’s Upskilling
- CVHEC Dual Enrollment Listserv (to subscribe to this list, email cvhecinfo@mail.fresnostate.edu)
College Bridge
Dual Enrollment Document Samples
- College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) Kern CCD CCAP Example
- Foothill DeAnza MOU Template
National and State Organizations
- Aspen Institute (& CCRC) Dual Enrollment Playbook & Summary of the Dual Enrollment Playbook
- Community College Resource Center (CCRC) Dual Enrollment Dashboard and College Business Models for Scaling Purposeful Dual Enrollment
- Cradle to Career database
- EdTrust-West and Career Ladders Project-Advancing Equitable Dual Enrollment in California Practitioner Guides
- Los Angeles Orange County Regional Consortium (LAOCRC) Dual Enrollment Handbook
- National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) quality standards guiding principles & remote dual enrollment
- Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Making Gains in Math Through Dual Enrollment
- Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Making Gains in Gateway English and ESL through Dual Enrollment
References
- California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. The Economic Value of the California Community Colleges System (Exec. Summary, 2025). (Taxpayer benefits & public-sector savings).
- Central Valley Higher Education Consortium. (2020). Dual Enrollment in the Central Valley: Working Toward a Unified Approach for Equity and Prosperity. [White Paper]. Retrieved from https://cvhec.org.
- Central Valley Higher Education Consortium. (2024). CVHEC Teacher Upskilling Program for Master’s Degrees Supports Dual Enrollment. CVHEC News Release.
- Central Valley Higher Education Consortium. (2023). WE Will! K-16: CVHEC Dual Enrollment Projects in North Valley. CVHEC News.