INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WOWO) — Indiana higher education officials are taking a closer look at who has access to college-level coursework in high school, with the goal of helping more students earn college credits or career credentials before they graduate. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education issued a Request for Information Thursday seeking ideas for expanding access to career-technical education and the Indiana College Core, a 30-credit package of college-level general education courses designed to transfer across Indiana’s public colleges and universities. The review comes as Indiana puts its new high school diploma system into effect and ties additional credentials and postsecondary preparation to the state’s new diploma seals. Indiana already has a national lead in the percentage of students taking at least one college course while still in high school. But state officials say many students stop short of completing a credential such as the Indiana College Core. The commission also is examining situations in which students receive only high school credit for career-technical coursework even though the same or similar course may be eligible for college credit. Education Secretary Katie Jenner has been directed by lawmakers to examine Indiana’s dual-credit, career-technical and Advanced Placement offerings before the next legislative session. The larger goal is to determine how the state’s roughly $30 million investment in early college opportunities can better line up with the new diploma seals and give more students a pathway to postsecondary education or a recognized credential. “When we consider how we can make higher education more affordable and increase educational attainment, we have an incredible opportunity to expand access to high-quality early college credit for every high school student,” Jenner said in a statement Thursday. “Providing no-cost early college credit is an essential step in helping more students find the path that’s right for them and improving their long-term outcomes,” she said. The Indiana College Core consists of 30 college credit hours in general education. The state says those credits are designed to transfer seamlessly among Indiana’s public higher education institutions and are also accepted by some private institutions. Students who complete the College Core while in high school can potentially enter college with the equivalent of a full year of general education coursework already completed. The credential also can satisfy one of the credential-of-value requirements connected to Indiana’s Enrollment Honors Plus Seal under the state’s redesigned diploma. State education officials say students who earn that seal qualify for automatic admission to Indiana’s public higher education institutions, while some private colleges also participate in the state’s pre-admission program. The College Core is currently offered through hundreds of Indiana high schools. The Indiana Department of Education says 312 high schools offered the program at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year, while the Indiana Commission for Higher Education says the number has since reached 328. That still leaves a significant access gap. The commission says about 22% of Indiana students attend a high school where the Indiana College Core is not offered. Sam Rourke, assistant commissioner for career and technical education, said two major obstacles are enrollment and teacher availability. Some schools do not have enough students to support a particular dual-credit course, while others lack teachers with the credentials necessary to teach college-level courses. Those barriers can leave students with fewer opportunities to accumulate college credit before graduation, particularly at smaller schools or schools that cannot offer a broad range of dual-credit classes. The commission’s review is intended to identify ways to overcome those barriers rather than simply expand the number of courses on paper. Officials are expected to consider ways to increase the availability of qualified instructors, improve coordination between high schools and colleges and make better use of existing career-technical programs. The review also comes as Indiana’s new diploma structure places greater emphasis on college and career preparation. For students pursuing the Enrollment Honors Plus Seal, the Indiana College Core is one of several ways to meet the credential-of-value component. Other qualifying options can include certain industry-recognized or postsecondary credentials, the Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction designation, the Cambridge AICE Diploma or the International Baccalaureate Diploma. The state’s diploma rules also recognize dual credit, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge coursework as part of college-and-career preparation requirements. The emphasis on early college credit is intended in part to reduce the cost and time required to complete a postsecondary credential. Students who earn college credits while in high school can potentially reduce the number of courses they need to pay for after graduation. But state officials are also looking beyond simply counting credit hours. The broader diploma redesign is intended to give students multiple pathways toward college, employment or military service, with different seals recognizing different forms of preparation. The Commission for Higher Education’s latest request for information is therefore aimed at determining whether the opportunities available to students match those new expectations. Jenner is expected to submit the results of the review later this year, giving lawmakers additional information before the next legislative session. For Indiana students and families, the outcome could determine whether more high schools are able to offer the courses needed to complete the Indiana College Core — and whether more students leave high school with a year of college coursework, a career credential or another recognized postsecondary qualification already in hand. 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