Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Earning college credit in high school has become a rising trend, while correlation of matriculation to credit hour accumulation, underrepresented minority population, and high school data is limited. State policies are redefining outdated rules and processes in order to provide access, affordability, and awareness to students throughout the United States. West Kentucky Community and Technical College, in partnership with area high schools, enroll students in dual credit courses, which assists with increasing college credential completion and the reduction of total college costs. Students must have guidance and planning before, during, and after earning dual credit. This helps the student to earn college credit related to an academic plan, which leads to intended career achievement. In order to reap the benefits from the resources poured into dual credit programs, postsecondary education institutions need dual credit students to matriculate for maximum benefits related to performance standards and degree completion. An important outcome of dual credit is for students to earn a postsecondary education credential or a skilled trade. Dual credit students have higher matriculation and completion rates than that of peers without dual credit experience. The dataset included 6,232 students enrolled in dual credit courses between 2012 and 2016, with 20 variables to examine. The outcome of a binary logistic regression model revealed statistical significance to matriculation. Three variables were determined to be of interest: underrepresented minority, credit hour attainment, and the student’s home high school. Variables related to matriculation of dual credit students identified specific areas for future recruitment efforts and area where matriculation rates could be increased. Students earning dual credit need to integrative advising which will lead to credential attainment and not credit hour accumulation.

Year manuscript completed

2019

Year degree awarded

2019

Author's Keywords

dual credit, matriculation, community college, guided academic plan, P-20

Dissertation Committee Chair

Randal Wilson

Committee Member

Ben Littlepage

Committee Member

David Heflin

Document Type

Dissertation

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