Once limited to high-achieving students, such programs, specifically College in the Schools, are increasingly seen as a means to support the postsecondary preparation of average-achieving students. CIS simulates a truer college experience, as unlike AP courses, students are already enrolled in a college institution and need only to earn a quality grade throughout the course, rather than the potential for college credit being based solely on the score of a cumulative final exam. The United States Department of Education recommends expanding accelerated learning options that offer true post-secondary course work so that students enter higher education with a minimum of six college credits already earned, as students who fail to earn 20 college credits by the end of their first year were less likely to graduate from college.