Creating Dual Enrollment Pathways for Adult Learners – Practice Brief May 2025

In October 2019, California Senate Bill 554 (SB 554) was signed into law, allowing adult learners enrolled in high school diploma or high school equivalency (HSD/HSE) programs to enroll in credit-level courses tuition free at a partnering community college while completing their high school credentials. SB 554 waives tuition for these learners and allows community colleges to receive enhanced apportionment for these enrollments. SB 554 serves as a means to create “adult dual enrollment” (ADE) programs, as defined below.

This brief provides information on ADE for the San Diego-Imperial Counties region’s community colleges and adult education consortia to consider. It describes the benefits to students and community colleges, lays out student eligibility and potential instructional models, and provides initial steps toward developing an ADE program, highlighting examples from successful ADE implementation in the state. Creating adult dual enrollment programs introduces adult learners to the opportunities that community college programs can unlock. As such, these programs help the region meet the Chancellor’s Office Vision 2030 goal of “economic mobility through degree attainment — the ability to attain living wage jobs and careers — the reason students enroll in California community colleges” (California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, 2023, p. 7).

Creating Dual Enrollment Pathways for Adult Learners-Practice Brief May 2025