Using Promise and Dual Credit Programs to Find and Engage Opportunity Youth

Session Abstract: Opportunity youth, or young people ages 16-24 who are neither enrolled nor employed, are a population who often face significant challenges in the labor market yet hold untapped potential for colleges and universities as prospective students; sometimes, these youth even have prior touchpoints to higher education through dual credit and promise programs. In this session, we will explore national and regional trends in college-going, showcasing how numbers of opportunity youth have risen during periods of economic uncertainty and disruption. We will consider how changing labor market conditions and new technology affect young people’s job prospects and college-going behavior, and how postsecondary institutions can make the case for education as a viable alternative. Finally, we will discuss how practitioners can use data to identify this growing population, enabling institutions to re-engage them with outreach efforts that seek to (re)connect them to higher education.

Keywords: Community College, Opportunity Youth, Enrollment Management