Dual Enrollment: The Central Valley Way
Taft College 2024-2025 Academic Year
2,273
Total full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment (credit)
37
Number of dual enrollment course sections offered (CCAP)
25
Number of dual enrollment course sections taught by high school teachers who meet minimum qualifications (MQs)
77
Total number of students enrolled in dual enrollment courses (CCAP)
1,710
Total number of high school students enrolled in courses
Statistics from DataMart 2024-2025
Pathways: Taft College offers one dual enrollment pathway.
Who Was at the Table?
Taft College
- Jaime Lopez – Dean of Instruction, Dual Enrollment Lead
- Greg Borman – Interim Vice President of Instruction
- Marni Cahoon – Adjunct Math Faculty, teaches at the high school
Taft Union High School
- Mary Alice Finn – Principal, Dual Enrollment Liaison
Our Dual Enrollment Story
Taft College’s dual enrollment journey began around 2009, offering a handful of courses in English, Speech, Sociology, and Biology. For years, the program primarily served hand-selected, highly prepared students.
After COVID-19 and key legislative changes, the college experienced a cultural shift, expanding access to ensure that all students could benefit from early college opportunities. This shift led to the establishment of a formal CCAP agreement, aligning a clear general education pathway for high school students.
Today, Taft offers a blended staffing model, with approximately 50% of courses taught by college faculty and 50% by high school teachers who meet minimum qualifications (MQs). This structure has built student confidence and created a normalized college experience on the high school campus.
“COVID enrollments and legislative changes caused a culture shift… from just the best-prepared students to getting all students exposed to dual enrollment.”
Greg Borman
The impact is visible:
- 380+ college course enrollments in the past school year.
- 69 of 312 incoming 9th graders opted into Early College.
- First college completions are emerging, with two students in the Class of 2024 earning college awards before graduating high school.
Best Practices and High Impact Strategies
1. Pathway-First Design
Moving from scattered course offerings to mapped degree pathways increased family and student buy-in:
“Being able to share the pathway that students can follow… [gives] that clarity.” – Jaime Lopez
2. Intentional Math Sequencing and Math Bridge
- Two-Term Pre-Calculus → Calculus Sequence with pre-calculus in the fall and calculus in the spring, which Improves readiness and retention. Students benefit from shared vocabulary, early exposure to concepts, and dual office hour support.
“We introduce pre-calculus in the fall so that when they take calculus, they’re familiar with the terminology. And I really think that’s helped.” – Marni Cahoon
- Two-Term Statistics Sequence as part of the Math Bridge Program with pre-statistics taught by the high school teacher one semester followed by statistics taught by the college professor the next semester.
“That precalculus class… has helped my retention on the calculus side.” – Marni Cahoon
“They’ve got that vocabulary and that foundation when they hit the college stats course.” – Marni Cahoon
3. Mixed Staffing and Co-Owned Pedagogy
Strategic blending of college faculty and high school faculty:
- Build trust and confidence among students.
- Normalizes college rigor within the high school setting.
“A compliment from [a college professor] hits different for kids… it helps build confidence.” – Mary Alice Finn
4. Dedicated Leadership and Governance
- Assigning someone to a dual enrollment leadership role improved daily coordination and oversight.
- A standing dual enrollment committee with union representation sustains trust, compliance, and continuous improvement.
5. Early, Frequent Family Outreach
Parent nights and coordination with feeder schools create strong math “on-ramps” and prepare families for the expectations of college-level work.
“We’ve done a lot of marketing to families… the math is super important.” – Mary Alice Finn
6. Strategic Course Alignment
Courses are carefully aligned to prevent duplication. For example, AP Spanish was retired when a dual enrollment Spanish sequence met the same need, streamlining pathways and expectations.
Challenges and Rural Realities
Staffing Difficulties
Difficult to find qualified faculty to teach dual enrollment courses due to remoteness and competition with colleges in more urban areas.
Workload Issues
Workload issues include manual processing of hundreds of enrollments strains counseling staff and risks displacing other high school duties.
Transportation
Transportation barriers and small cohort sizes complicate section viability and continuity making it hard to scale dual enrollment offerings.
“Getting qualified faculty to teach… has been [a] challenge.”
Jaime Lopez
“The logistical work… on high school counselors… is overwhelming.”
Mary Alice Finn
Strategies to Overcome Obstacles
Flexible Faculty Solutions
Recruit local high school teachers with master’s degrees.
Technology Tools
Use technology tools like DualEnroll.com to streamline enrollment processing.
Dedicated Staff
Dedicate counselors to dual enrollment to focus on proactive interventions.
Gateway Courses
Implement programs like Math Bridge to create an “on ramp” to college and promote pursuit in STEM fields.
Opportunities and Rural Advantages
Relationships and Grant Funding
The small size of the district fosters direct collaboration and rapid problem-solving between high school and college leaders, as well as faculty-to-faculty relationships.
Joint pursuit of grant funding has supported staffing, tools, and startup costs for scaling dual enrollment.
“Relationships and collaboration are key… we’ve built those down to the faculty level.”
Mary Alice Finn
“Being able to present the concepts in a way that’s palatable to everybody… that’s been very helpful.”
Greg Borman
If We Had a Genie – Top Needs
1. Shared Advising Capacity
A dedicated, college-funded advisor embedded at the high school to manage onboarding, educational plans, progress checks, and case management.
“Even if [there was] funding strictly dedicated for that position, that would help.” – Greg Borman
2. Workflow Automation
Implement DualEnroll.com and streamline data systems for tracking progress, awards, and enrollment.
3. Clear State Guidance on ADA/FTES
Provide consistent, authoritative policies to clarify revenue allocation in CCAP versus non-CCAP courses.
Outcomes and Participation
Participation
380+ enrollments last year, with Early College interest continuing to grow.
Demographics
Hispanic student participation increased to 68%, up from 48% a decade ago.
Early Completions
Two students graduated high school with college awards in 2024.
Bottom Line
Taft College and Taft Union High School are building a rural dual enrollment model that combines intentional math readiness and deep collaboration. By embedding college faculty and leadership on campus, automating workflows, and investing in parent engagement, they are working to create a sustainable system that gives students — especially first-generation learners — a clear, supported route to college completion.
“A compliment from a college professor hits different for kids… it builds confidence.”
Mary Alice Finn
“Offering the pathway at the high school gives families the clarity they were missing.”
Jaime Lopez
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.