According to the MUSD website, the Dual Enrollment program at MHS is an opportunity for students to enroll in college classes taught in the San Jose City College Extension. While some point to the benefits to the program, others question the effectiveness of it.
Senior Nidhi Bhat is enrolled as a part of the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC), Bhat said. “Doing dual enrollment in my junior year really reduced the intensity overall of my course rigor,” Bhat said. Classes in the IGETC pathway have been much easier for her than Advanced
Placement (AP) level courses she has taken at MHS, she added.
According to the MUSD website, the IGETC pathway is defined as “a series of high interest courses that California Community College students may complete to satisfy the lower-division breadth/general education requirements before transferring to either the California State University or most colleges and majors at UC campuses.”
Bhat doesn’t believe the IGETC classes “are of the same course rigor simply because you are not
forced to be in class and take it as seriously as you’re expected to in an AP course,” Bhat said.
“Some classes have been helpful, but some haven’t been, so overall, it’s an inconsistent experience.”
The discussion-based nature of the courses and the fact that most tests and quizzes are open-book have led to the perception that the classes are optional and have led to students not trying, Bhat said.
Additionally, students in other pathways that have to take both GE and major specific classes have also expressed concerns with course rigor in the program, senior Siya Sathaye said, having been enrolled in the STEM pathway at dual enrollment, known as Tech Nest, since her junior year. The GE “classes are easy, and I don’t think they’re really helpful to my major. If it’s called Tech Nest, I think all the classes should be more geared towards my major,” Sathaye said. Classes such as dance appreciation should not be a part of the course curriculum as they aren’t relevant to the STEM pathway, Sathaye added.
Concerns with course rigor have also led to questions regarding the fairness of the GPA boost given to students for both dual enrollment and AP courses, Bhat said. “In terms of course rigor, many of the classes don’t deserve the same GPA boost, but they have to receive them because they are, in the end, courses taken from colleges,” Bhat said.
A GPA boost is given as a recognition for any class that challenges a student and dual enrollment courses fall under that category, Milpitas Middle College High School Principal Karissa Scott said. “APs are college prep classes; these are actual college classes. I would definitely say if you’re going to give a boost to a college prep class, you should give it to a college class,”
Scott, who also oversees the dual enrollment program, said. Absenteeism at the program’s courses has also been an issue Bhat said. “For many classes, attendance isn’t fully necessary to get a good grade,” Bhat said. “Oftentimes, going to class is unnecessary, so I don’t fully blame students for leaving early.” Administration also allows students to leave early if professors cancel class, she added. Students see some classes as unnecessary and these classes have a higher volume of absenteeism, Sathaye said.
“People tend to skip the general ed classes that aren’t relevant to their major often, but they mostly attend classes that are part of the pathway,” Sathaye said about the Tech Nest pathway. Absenteeism doesn’t appear to be widespread enough at the program to be an issue, Scott said. “I don’t think it’s enough to classify as an issue because our success rate was 96%.” This effectively means that 96% of students are
getting a C or higher in every class, and that’s indicative of a successful program, Scott added.
Some also consider the schedule’s flexibility to be positive for students. Having one class two days a week, another class on the other two days, and, in some cases, no class on Friday, is a huge change for many students, counselor Julie Cler said. “The flexibility of a college schedule is a lot easier than our rigid six-period schedule here” at MHS, Cler said. The flexibility gives students the opportunity to do well in the classes they choose, she said.
While the flexibility of the dual enrollment schedule has problems of absenteeism and optionality, it has helped her mental wellbeing , Bhat said. The opportunity to complete her college