DES MOINES, Iowa - More high school students in Iowa are taking college classes at the same time as concurrent enrollment climbs in the state of Iowa.
According to the Iowa Department of Education 51,001 high school students jointly enrolled in a community college course during the 2017-2018 academic year. That's an increase of 2.3 percent.
Iowa Department of Education Public Relations Director Staci Hupp tells WHO Radio News the numbers show the accessibility of higher education in the state of Iowa.
"Concurrent enrollment is when a high school student is taking community college coursework at no charge to them."
Hupp also adds the programs fall in line with the Future Ready Iowa Initiative.
High school students represented 38-percent of enrollment at Iowa community colleges during the 2017-2018 school year.
Of those 50,001 high school students enrolled that year, 183 received their Associate's Degree upon graduation.