In Early College, supporting students is a shared responsibility. Teachers, counselors, college faculty, advisors, administrators, and support staff each play a role in helping students reach the outcomes they came to Early College to achieve.
Access to Support Is Not the Same as Using Support
During our latest Professional Learning Community, Clovis shared an excellent example of formalized tutoring provided by college faculty. This is exactly the kind of partnership that can make a difference for ECHS students. But it also raises an important question: What happens when we tell a student that tutoring is available, but the student never goes?
Recent research offers an interesting perspective. A 2026 study examined the difference between simply making tutoring and advising available and bringing those supports directly into students’ learning environments. Students who received embedded support were significantly more likely to use tutoring and advising. They were also more likely to pass their courses and less likely to withdraw.
The lesson isn’t that every ECHS needs to put a college tutor in every classroom. It is that access does not always equal use. Sometimes students need help making that first connection.
That is not about rescuing students. It can be the beginning of gradual release: first helping students recognize and access a resource, then encouraging them to use it independently, and ultimately helping them become students who recognize when they need help and know how to find it.
Student Support Begins Early
This work should not begin when a student is already considering withdrawal from a college course. The habits we want students to develop in their dual credit courses can begin much earlier.
Imagine the message we can give a ninth or tenth grader:
We have high expectations for you. We know you may encounter challenges. You are not expected to figure everything out alone. There are people and resources here to help you. But you also have an important role: engage, ask questions, use the support available to you, and take increasing ownership of your success.
That is an important part of the Early College experience.
Students are not simply learning college content. They are learning how to be successful college students.
And those early experiences matter. When students encounter a difficult course in ninth or tenth grade and learn that asking for help is part of the process, not a sign of failure, they are better positioned to navigate the greater independence and expectations that come with dual credit.
What Can We Do Now?
As we move further into the semester, ECHS teams might ask:
- What early warning signs are we watching for?
- Who makes the connection with the student when a concern appears?
- Are we simply referring students to support, or helping them access it?
- Are we gradually building students’ ability to seek help independently?
- Are we following up to see whether the support made a difference?
Our goal is not simply to prevent withdrawals. Our goal is to help students successfully navigate challenges, use the support around them, and gradually become confident owners of their own educational journey.
That is the promise of Early College: high expectations, meaningful support, and students learning to take ownership of the path they are building.
Read More
A recent study, Meeting People Where They Are: Experimental Evidence on Embedded Supports, Service Use, and Educational Outcomes, offers a compelling look at how bringing tutoring and advising directly into students’ learning environments can increase use of support and improve course outcomes.