Dual Credit in the Illinois Community College System - Fiscal Year 2025 - Report overview

Oct 15, 2026

Dual credit instruction enables academically prepared high school students in Illinois to earn credits that count toward both a high school diploma and a college degree. The report summarizes legislative background and student characteristics, including unduplicated headcount, gender and race/ethnicity patterns, credit hours enrolled, and geographic region distribution. It also analyzes duplicated course counts and enrollment, compares transfer versus career and technical education, and describes outcomes such as graduation and advancement rates. Data come from the Illinois Community College Board’s centralized systems.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages53

Reading Time2 h 14 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Dual Credit Definition and Legislative Background

Characteristics of Dual Credit Students (unduplicated)

Overall Headcount

Characteristics of Gender and Race/Ethnicity

Credit Hours Enrolled by Dual Credit Students

Geographic Region

Dual Credit Course Count and Enrollment (duplicated)

Overall Course Count and Enrollment

Transfer Versus Career and Technical Education

Instructional Site

Dual Credit Student Outcomes

Graduation Rate

Advancement Rate

Bibliography

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

|
DUAL CREDIT
IN THE
ILLINOIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM
FISCAL YEAR 2025 | | --- | |
February 2026 | Compiled by ICCB Nathan R. Wilson, Deputy Director for Research and Information Technology Jay Brooks, Associate Deputy Director for Research and Analytics Cecilia Elhaddad, Senior Director for Data Analytics and Visualization Claire McDowell, Senior Director for Data Management and Research Michelle Dufour, Director for Research and Analytics Mitchell Gaffney, Data Analyst Jana Ferguson, Consultant, Data and Research Services Printed by Authority of the State of Illinois 02/26 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction....................................................................................................................................4 Dual Credit Definition and Legislative Background ..................................................................5 Characteristics of Dual Credit Students (unduplicated) ............................................................7 OVERALL HEADCOUNT ...................................................................................................7 CHARACTERISTICS OF GENDER AND RACE/ETHNICITY ...........................................8 CREDIT HOURS ENROLLED BY DUAL CREDIT STUDENTS ........................................9 GEOGRAPHIC REGION...................................................................................................10 Dual Credit Course Count and Enrollment (duplicated).........................................................10 OVERALL COURSE COUNT AND ENROLLMENT ........................................................ 10 TRANSFER VERSUS CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION ..................................12 INSTRUCTIONAL SITE .....................................................................................................15 Dual Credit Student Outcomes...................................................................................................15 GRADUATION RATE ........................................................................................................15 ADVANCEMENT RATE ....................................................................................................18 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................22 Appendix A ...................................................................................................................................23 Appendix B ...................................................................................................................................23 Appendix C ...................................................................................................................................24 Suggested Citation: Illinois Community College Board. (2026) . Dual Credit in the Illinois Community College System in Fiscal Year 2025 . Springfield, IL: Author. INTRODUCTION Dual credit instruction allows academically prepared high school students to simultaneously earn credits that count toward a high school diploma and a college degree. Dual credit instruction delivers a “win-win” arrangement for all parties: students gain access to challenging college-level coursework to make their junior and senior years of high school more productive; students can prove to others and themselves that they have the ability to succeed in college; college costs can be reduced for parents and students; time to degree at college can be shortened; and the enhanced high school and college faculty dialogue can contribute to a better alignment between secondary and postsecondary education. Consequently, as dual credit instruction has a positive impact on postsecondary completion, there is a growing emphasis among policy makers on the value of dual credit enrollment for all students and especially those who are traditionally underserved in higher education. Highlig

FAQs

What is dual credit instruction in Illinois, according to the report?

Dual credit instruction allows academically prepared high school students to simultaneously earn credits toward a high school diploma and a college degree by taking community college courses.

Which data sources are used to compile the fiscal year 2025 findings?

The report uses the Illinois Community College Board’s Centralized Data System, specifically the Annual Student Enrollment and Completion (A1) student-level submission and the Annual Course Data (AC) student-level submission.

How do the outcomes for students who take dual credit courses compare to those who do not?

The report states that high school students who took dual credit courses have substantially higher community college graduation rates and advancement rates than students who did not enroll in dual credit coursework.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Maya Linwood