A Comparative Study of Academic Success, Performance, Persistence, and Attitudes Between Traditional and Early-admit Community College Students PDF Download

Author: Zaneta Brown-Ingles
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Community colleges
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Increasing numbers of students enrolling in college, escalating costs of higher education, constrained public and private resources, and inadequate preparation of students for secondary coursework are obstacles to the achievement of the American dream of attending and completing college. Dual enrollment programs based at community colleges have the potential of addressing these obstacles. Critical determinants to the effectiveness of dual enrollment programs are the achievements, attitudes, levels of satisfaction, and demographics of students who might benefit from participation in the programs. The purpose of this study was to compare the success rates of students that entered college through the traditional pathway to the success rates of students who were enrolled in the early admit program. The methodology involved the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data selected from three groups. The groups included high school students dually enrolled at the community college, students who were enrolled at the community college who did not participate in the dual enrollment program, and an interview was conducted with only the students who were dually enrolled. Analyses of data revealed interesting relationships among student achievement, attitude, level of satisfaction, and demographics of students who might benefit from participation in dual enrollment programs. For example, students enrolled in the dual enrollment program were more likely to have higher college grade point averages and college placement exam scores than traditional students. The study is believed to lay the groundwork for a more definitive study. Recommendations for future research stems from the results posited from the study, several aspects may change in the lives of students enrolled in the dual enrollment program. There was (a) an increase in the current GPA, (b) an increase in the number of students who passed the college placement exams, (c) an increase in the level of motivation in the students to excel not only at the high school level, but at the college level, (d) a reduction in the areas of curricula redundancy in the last year of high school and first year of college. The program also: (e) served as a bridge between the high school and the college, and (f) gave the high school students an opportunity to take college level courses at a fraction of the price. -- Abstract.