Dual enrollment (DE) is a common method for high schools to offer postsecondary preparation, exposure to college-level expectations, and, potentially, college credit. Some dual-enrollment students enter college with 24 semester hours. Upon matriculation, these high-credit DE (HCDE) students present unique challenges to college academic advisors. This study examined the experiences of these advisors by utilizing semi-structured interviews with academic advisors from Colorado who work with HCDE students. Advisors frequently had to address implications of DE credits on time to graduation, degree planning, potential costs savings, and tradeoffs with on-campus experiences. Implications include the need for four-year institutions to better communicate with high school students and counselors and to improve planning for the complexities of HCDE students.

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Academic advisors in higher education are often incoming students’ first exposure to college curriculum and academic expectations. Additionally, academic advisors serve as an on-going support to students throughout their college careers. As the number of students beginning college full-time with a significant amount of dual enrollment (DE) credits increases, academic advisors must develop approaches to advising this population of students based on academic and developmental needs. This study explored the approaches college academic advisors take when advising high DE credit-bearing incoming college students.