Author: Schield, Pamela J.

Title: An Analysis of the Dual Enrollment Program of Northcentral

Technical College, Wausau, Wisconsin

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Graduate Degree/ Major: M.S. Career and Technical Education

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3

Schield, Pamela J. An Analysis of the Dual Enrollment Program of

Northcentral Technical College, Wausau, Wisconsin

Abstract

This ex post facto, nonexperimental quantitative study is set

within a midwestern PK-16 school-to-work context. Partners

create school to career planning and the mechanisms that allow

opportunities for students to move efficiently across educational

levels. In partnership NTC in Wausau, Wisconsin and area K-12

schools have awarded to high school students in the north-central

region of Wisconsin, with thousands of hours of transcripted

college credits.

This study analyzed the impact of dual enrollment through

longitudinal data. The objective of this study was to facilitate

better understanding of the utilization and delivery of dual

credit courses and degree completion rates at Northcentral

Technical College. Findings are summarized concerning credits

earned per student and their enrollment in post-secondary

education at NTC. Additionally, the study highlights degree

completion comparison between students who received transcripted

4

credit and those entering the college without having earned

transcripted credit.

5

Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Chapter I: Introduction 5

Statement of the Problem 6

Purpose of the Study 6

Research Objectives 7

Significance of the Study 8

Assumptions of the Study 8

Delimiting Factors 9

Definition of Terms 9

Organization 10

Chapter II: Literature Review 11

Goal Setting Theory 11

Origins of Articulation of Prior Learning 12

Workforce Development and PK-16 CTE 14

Background of Dual Credit 14

Development of Dual Enrollment 16

Impact of Dual Enrollment 17

Summary 18

Chapter III: Methodology 19

6

Reseach Design 19

Population 19

Instrumentation 20

Data Collection 20

Data Analysis 21

Chapter IV: Results 23

Demographic Profile 23

Dual Credit Earned 23

Table 1: Credit Earned by Participants through Transcripted

Credit 24

Post-Secondary Enrollment 24

Table 2: Post-secondary Enrollment by Dual Enrollment

Participants 25

Degree Completion Comparison 26

Figure 1: NTC Degree Completion Correlation 26

Figure 2: Degree Completion – Rate of Enrty Cohorts 26

Figure 3: Degree Dual Enrollment Participants and Non-

Participants 27

Dual Enrollment Persistence 27

7

Table 3 Dual Enrollment Persistence through Second Term:

28

Chapter V: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations 29

Discussion 30

Conclusions 32

Recommendations 32

References 34

Appendix A: IRB Approval 39

Appendix B: National Student Clearinghouse, What We DO 40

8

Chapter I: Introduction

The paths through high school are many and varied. There is

the traditional college preparatory option, which may include

advanced placement courses and courses that provide transcripted

credit for post-secondary schools, also referred to as dual

credit. Career academy programs linking local businesses with

career-to-work programs (Co-op, Internship, Youth Apprenticeship,

School-based Enterprise Education, and Service-learning) allow

students to experience concurrent school-and work-based

dimensions within a real context. Gray (2002) indicates that the

middle ground between college prep and career academies include

blended programs offering college prep integrated with Career and

Technical Education (CTE) as electives.

Dual Credit initiatives exist in 38 states in the United

States and are being established internationally, according to

Watt-Malcolm (2011). The National Research Center for CTE has

published research studies from the states of California,

Florida, Georgia, Iowa, New York, and South Carolina that focus

on transcripted credit and secondary/post-secondary articulation

(Karp, Calcagno, Hughes, Jeong, & Bailey, 2007). Sometimes

9

referred to as dual enrollment or transcripted credit courses,

dual credit has the potential to impact and improve post-

secondary recruitment, retention, and graduation rates. Dual

Credit is available to high school students typically through

technical college curriculum that is presented either in the

secondary or post-secondary setting.

A recent report discloses that 42% of students who graduate

high school in good standing find themselves in a remedial class

when they enter college (Mead, 2009). It is becoming

increasingly important to prepare earlier for the future. Dual

Credit courses allow students to try college with little risk;

thereby, a more fluid transition into higher education. It makes

good financial sense to earn both high school and post-secondary

credit, for no added cost while taking advantage of learning at

an academically rigorous level (Northcentral Technical College,

2013).

An analysis of dual credit trends can provide greater

understanding of promising practices benefitting students as they

advance their life, education, and work journey. This study

describes the amount of dual credit awarded, the rate of

10

subsequent matriculation to the post-secondary level by dual

credit students and their program completion rates at

Northcentral Technical College (NTC).

Statement of the Problem

Partnering with area K-12 schools for Career and Technical

Education collaboration is entering its 10th year at Northcentral

Technical College (NTC) in Wausau, Wisconsin. In association

with secondary schools across the NTC service region, thousands

of hours of transcripted credit are awarded annually to high

school students. Secondary and NTC collaboration is integral to

the success of the dual credit program. While NTC collects data

on all students including dual enrollment students, it has not

formally tried to analyze it comparatively with regard to

systematic improvement. Currently, the value of dual credit at

NTC is unknown beyond anecdotal evidence.

Purpose of the Study

Interrogating data related to dual credit has the potential

to uncover opportunities and challenges that NTC can leverage in

allocating resources and energy to meet its institutional mission

and goals. I can also serve to help the institution message the

11

opportunity across its PK-12 partners in an effort to refine, and

advance academic connections to serve its constituents better.

Additionally, a study of this nature has the capacity to bring

greater understanding of the utilization and delivery of dual

credit courses and articulation rates at Northcentral Technical

College (NTC) and can provide insight to facilitate an impetus to

student credential or degree completion.

The CTE National Research Agenda regards Delivery Methods as

one of five research problem areas for Career and Technical

Education (Lambeth, Elliot, & Joerger, 2008). The Association

for Career and Technical Education Research (ACTER) ranked among

its 15 primary research objectives Transition to Post-secondary

Education; and as a research activity Articulation of Programs

between Secondary, Post-secondary and Higher Education merits

investigation. The relative importance of the research agenda

raises to a higher level the need for research to discover how to

provide better access to and greater benefit from transcripted

credit courses.

12

Research Objectives

This study is an evaluation of the volume of dual credit

awarded, the rate of subsequent enrollment at NTC, the Dual

Credit student graduation rate from NTC, and how Dual Credit

student graduation rates compare to all NTC graduates. The

research questions this study seeks to answer are:

1. How many students received dual credit and how many credit

hours were earned each year?

2. How many participating dual credit students enrolled at

NTC by year?

3. What was the rate of graduation at NTC for students that

earned dual credit in high school compared to non-

participants?

4. What impact did dual enrollment have on post-secondary

program participation for participants; specifically, were

they more likely to persist in their second semester?

Significance of the Study

Important issues being faced right now in Career and

Technical Education include recruitment, retention, and

graduation rates (Lewis, 2008). The Association for Career and

13

Technical Education Research (ACTER) points to the importance of

study and advancing knowledge in the area of articulation of dual

credit between secondary institutions and post-secondary

institutions. Transcripted credit courses have the potential to

impact and improve recruitment, retention, and graduation rates.

The CTE National Research Agenda illuminates areas of study

to focus on in order to improve practices in local and regional

settings by 1. Recruitment efforts can be aided by identifying

the numbers of high school students graduating with post-

secondary credits who matriculate in post-secondary education; 2.

Analyzing rates that these dual credit students complete studies

in post-secondary education may reveal factors leading to better

student retention (Watt-Malcolm, 2011); 3. A review of past

practices and the effect of programs on student success and

partnering institutions will facilitate and support program

improvement and a greater knowledge base leading to increased

graduation rates.

Assumptions of the Study

The focus of this research project examined the credit

earned by high school students through agreements with

14

Northcentral Technical College. The primary unit of measurement

used in this study is the credit hour established by the U.S.

Department of Education, which is consistent with the Carnegie

Unit which dates back to 1906 and is a time-based measurement (US

Department of Education, 2010). The assumption of this research

is the Carnegie Unit has been established as the means of

identifying accomplishment and progress towards educational

objectives, as such, dual enrollment credit is awarded by the

granting of Carnegie Units of credit. The secondary program

receives one Carnegie Unit for the successful completion of the

prescribed instruction in the content area that is directly

aligned with the first entry-level course from the post-secondary

institution.

Delimitating Factors of the Study

Transcripted credit courses that are part of an articulation

agreement are one avenue through which high school students may

enroll in technical college courses; these are the only courses

being evaluated in this study.

Other options that allow high school students to attend

technical colleges that are not part of this study are:

15

1. Youth Options – High school juniors and seniors who

meet certain requirements can enroll in courses at a

technical college for both high school and technical

college credit.

2. Two-Year Youth Apprenticeship Programs –Some Youth

Apprenticeship programs include transcripted credit

courses. (Others may include advanced standing

courses.)

3. Contracted Services – Enables technical colleges to

contract with school districts to provide a wide

variety of educational services.

Definition of Terms

In support of understanding the nomenclature of dual credit,

the following Definition of Terms is given to establish a common

framework of meaning.

Articulation agreement. An agreement between or among

institutions of higher education that specifies the acceptability

of courses in transfer toward meeting specific degree or program

requirements.

16

Dual credit. Is a post-secondary option that enables high

school students to earn both high school credit, as well as

technical college credit simultaneously.

Dual enrollment. The status of being enrolled in high

school while simultaneously engaging post-secondary coursework.

Matriculate. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary,

means to enroll as a member of a body and especially of a college

or university (2013). This study seeks to enumerate students

enrolling who received transcripted course credit in high school.

Post-secondary. Refers to any education received after

secondary education, grades 9 – 12. Examples of post-secondary

programs are colleges and graduate schools; academic, technical,

or professional instruction for the attainment of educational or

vocational objectives. Post-secondary education is not

compulsory.

Secondary. Refers to the school that follows the elementary

or middle school grades ending with grade 12 (NCES, 1981).

Transcripted credit. The number of credits earned that

appear on the student's high school and college transcripts upon

completion of a dual credit course.

17

Organization

Next, in Chapter Two - Literature Review prior research,

articles, and materials are examined and reviewed. Chapter Three

– discusses the Methodology, which is then detailed and depicted

graphically in Chapter Four – Findings. Final thoughts and

proposed measures will be discussed in Chapter Five – Summary,

Conclusions, and Recommendations.

18

Chapter II: Literature Review

The purpose of this study is to bring greater understanding

of the utilization and impact of the dual enrollment program at

Northcentral Technical College (NTC). The research has

specifically looked at the amount of credit achieved through dual

enrollment, participant entry into post-secondary education, and

the rate of credential attainment by participants compared to

non-participants; these are independent variables. The impact

that dual enrollment has on post-secondary program participants

is the dependent variable of the study.

The following narrative frames the study of dual enrollment

at NTC by reviewing previous research of dual enrollment through

gaining an understanding of their early establishment and

expansion to 38 states in the United States. The topics

addressed in the review of literature were: Goal Setting Theory,

the Origins and Background of dual enrollment programs, the

Development of Dual Enrollment, and the Impact of Dual

Enrollment. Recent studies have sought to explore the

development and impact of dual enrollment (Karp, Calcagno,

Hughes, Jeong, & Bailey, 2007; Berger, Turk-Bicakci, Garet, Song,

19

Knudson, Haxton.... Cassidy, 2013). A look at dual

enrollment’s growth provides insight and parallels to an increase

in student efficacy that draws upon goal setting theory (Locke &

Latham, 1990) supported by student engagement and self-

determination.

Goal Setting Theory

Successful learning involves not only comprehending content,

but learning to be an active, motivated, and self-regulated

learner (Bruning, Schraw, & Norby, 2011). Motivation and goal

setting are integral to whether a learner will attempt, complete,

and repeat activities. Goal setting theory in education, ties

closely to the relationship between traits (passion and

tenacity), vision, goals, and self-efficacy, as set out in Locke

and Latham’s A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance. Goal setting

theory was developed by Edwin Locke who published his theory in

1968; it states, “So long as a person is committed to the goal,

has the requisite ability to attain it, and does not have

conflicting goals; there is a positive, linear relationship

between goal difficulty and task performance” (Locke & Latham,

1990). Dual credit programs engage learners at a time in high

20

school when students can reasonably set goals, plan how to reach

those goals, and assess the extent to which goals were achieved.

What students choose to do, how persistent they are, and how

much success they enjoy occurs within a framework of the

students’ goals and expectations. Locke’s research on goal

choice showed “self-efficacy, past performance, and various

social influences affect the level at which goals are set”

(Locke, 1990). Dual enrollment students “try out” the role of

college student through anticipatory socialization and role

rehearsal. Participants of dual credit programs develop the

skills necessary for future post-secondary success through goal

setting and goal attainment, even as their experiences and self-

efficacy shape their future educational outcomes. It is in this

way that transcripted credit programs act as transition mechanism

between high school and higher education.

Origins of Articulation of Prior Learning

Initial education happens through families, through culture,

and through churches; only a part of education happens through

formal schooling. Recognizing that people learn as much from

life, as they do from school, does not insult to formal

21

schooling. Early career and technical education was established

within the families of the early colonists. The foundation of

the American educational system was based on European models

(Scott & Sarkees-Wircenski, 2008). As early as the 1820’s,

apprenticeship and trade school programs began skills training to

meet trade and industrial workforce needs. Lyceums or manual

trade schools, were the first such programs to offer formal trade

and industrial education (Hall & Marsh, 2003).

Public education systems soon began including industrial

arts, manual arts, agriculture, and business in their curricular

offerings. The Morrill Act of 1862 established so-called “land

grant” colleges around the United States primarily dedicated to

agricultural education, over 150 years ago. One of the first

land grant colleges was the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

The Hatch Act of 1887 continued funding agricultural education

and added research stations to the mission of the land grant

colleges.

Congress began funding other areas of vocational education

including the industrial arts (The Second Morrill Act of 1890)

and home economics (Smith-Lever Act of 1914). Then, in 1917

22

Congress passed the Smith-Hughes Act requiring states to create

state vocational boards, it also provided federal financial aid

for public secondary vocational education.

In 1963, Congress passed comprehensive vocational education

legislation, called the Vocational Education Act of 1963, in

which, some federal monies were designated for specific purposes.

These were called “set asides” to fund 1) training for persons

who had completed or left high school, or to construct area

vocational school facilities, or both, and 2) experimental

programs for youth vocational and technical educational (Hayward

& Benson, 1993). Expansion of the 1963 Act occurred with 1968

Amendments including provisions for cooperative education, work

study, and exemplary programs.

Pivotal to the expansion of these programs was the Carl D.

Perkins Vocational Education Act first authorized by the federal

government in 1984 and was reauthorized in 1990 and 1998. In

2006, the new Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education

Improvement Act instituted the use of the term "career and

technical education" instead of "vocational education”; it linked

23

academic and technical content across secondary and postsecondary

education, and strengthened local accountability.

Workforce Development and PK-16 CTE

Learners are the reason educational activities exist;

therefore, the learner should be the focal point of the

educational network. Career and technical educators should be

knowledgeable about the vital relationship between education and

work. The Job Training Partnership Act of 1982 (JTPA)

established innovative programs for youth aged 14 through 21

which aided entry-level employment experiences and a program

focused on school-to-work transition assistance. As part of the

secondary/post-secondary system, workforce education delivers

training programs to large numbers of people. Most high schools

and technical colleges have on-going programs, usually with a

strong work preparation component, known in Wisconsin as the

youth apprenticeship program (secondary) and youth options (post-

secondary). Additional funding which strengthened the system

came from the School to Work Act of 1994 which expired in 2001;

however, work-based learning programs have received needed

support from the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) which

24

replaced JTPA. Students can benefit from participation in

educational programs that provide a work-based experience and a

more deliberate selection of coursework based on potential career

interests. Some work-based education programs and offerings

provide an opportunity for students to earn post-secondary

credits concurrently with earning high school credit.

Background of Dual Credit

Course credit applied to both high school and post-secondary

transcripts allows students to complete a post-secondary program

in less time than non-dual credit students. Dual Credit

initiatives exist in 38 states in the United States and are being

established internationally, according to Watt-Malcolm (2011).

The National Research Center for CTE has published studies from

the states of New York, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and Iowa

focusing on transcripted credit and secondary/post-secondary

articulation (Karp, Calcagno, Hughes, Jeong, & Bailey, 2007).

The strategy of dual enrollment was implemented in 1976

first in California, according to Uniting Secondary and Post-secondary

Education: An Event History Analysis of State Adoption of Dual Enrollment Policies by

Mohker and McLendon (2009). Their study undertook a historical

25

analysis examining data amassed over 30 years. The salient

forces behind the adoption of dual credit programs were:

declining post-secondary completion rates, concern for the

academic rigor during the senior year of high school and growing

demand for remedial post-secondary courses. The aforementioned

led states to consider innovative ways of facilitating the

transition between K-12 and higher education systems (Mokher &

McLendon, 2009).

Examination of longitudinal data spanning 30 years by Mokher

and McLendon resulted in some notable conclusions, that states

were more likely to adopt dual enrollment policies:

if neighboring states had adopted a policy, considered

interstate diffusion,

if the state had relatively lower levels of college

aptitude among high school seniors,

if the state had a higher percentage of total higher

education enrollments in the two-year sector,

if a structure of P-16 coalition exists; these

consolidated governing boards communicate across

multiple educational sectors, and

26

if a state adopts innovative policies, voucher policies

and broad-based merit aid programs, then it is five to

seven times more likely to adopt dual enrollment.

The findings of Mokher and McLendon are generally consistent

the recent studies of Lewis and Kosine (2009), Hoffman and Voloch

(2012), and Thomas, Marken, Gray, and Lewis (2013). Their

empirical analysis points to a positive impact of dual credit

programs on student achievement in relation to college success

and completion.

The original intent of the states’ policies establishing

dual enrollment programs was accomplished: improving the

declining post-secondary completion rates, increasing academic

rigor during the senior year of high school and addressing post-

secondary readiness. Research has been proposed to evaluate the

use additional control variables for student background and

motivation. When researching the dual credit program at NTC a

measurable, independent variable of the amount of credit achieved

through dual enrollment was assessed.

27

Development of Dual Enrollment

Students enrolled in dual enrollment programs typically do

so to facilitate transcripted credit and accelerate their time to

degree completion in a post-secondary education institution.

Another popular reason for taking dual credit courses is to “try

out” college, this is a big advantage to first generation college

students and underrepresented populations (Karp, et al., 2007).

The impact of dual enrollment participation was examined in a

large quantitative research study analyzing longitudinal data

involving over 813,000 dual enrolled students from the state of

Florida and New York City (the College Now program). The

research report, The Post-secondary Achievement of Participants in Dual

Enrollment: An Analysis of Student Outcomes in Two States, was developed by

the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education

under a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of

Education. The report substantiated that dual enrollment is a

useful strategy for encouraging post-secondary success for

students, including those in CTE programs.

Student participation in dual enrollment has led to

measurable increases in their likelihood of entering college,

28

increased preparedness for college-level work as compared to non-

dual credit participants, higher post-secondary GPA, and a higher

rate of college degree attainment (Karp, et al, 2007). These

effects remained constant regardless of whether students took

one, two, three, four, five or more dual enrollment courses, as

noted in the study of Florida data. The study by Karp, et al.,

reflects the positive effect that dual enrollment has on student

motivation and goal setting.

Impact of Dual Enrollment

Outcomes considered in the 2013 descriptive research from

the American Institutes for Research (Berger, et al., 2013) were:

high school graduation, college enrollment, and college degree

attainment. The setting of the dual enrollment programs being

studied were 10 high schools in California from 2002 – 2011 and

the participants included 2,458 students selected by lottery and

the study’s timeframe extended with the post-secondary students

three years past high school. Key findings of the research

included:

29

86% of students were likely to graduate from high

school, compared to 81% of non-participants in dual

enrollment.

80% of dual enrollment students enrolled in college

(during the study period) compared to 71% not dual

enrolled in high school.

22% of participants completed a college degree, usually,

an associate’s degree, compared to 2% of non-dual

enrolled students.

The results of this impact study are only generalizable to

the 10 participating California high schools; however, the

benefits to the dual enrollment students of the study sites were

evidence of increased opportunities to enroll in and graduate

from college than their peers. This appeared to put students on

a different academic trajectory, earning college degrees and

enrolling in four-year institutions at higher rates than the

comparison students (Berger, et al., 2013). Students’ college

exposure, college credit accrual, and efficacy gains put dual

enrollment students ahead of their peers in categories of college

30

degree attainment, rigor in preparation for post-secondary

education, and a stronger college-going culture.

Summary

The overall nature of dual enrollment research demonstrates

a tenor of positive educational outcomes, including the

opportunity to earn college credit at no cost while reducing the

time to degree attainment and conclusively demonstrating improved

personal development through goal attainment. Student comments

included statements such as, “Without dual enrollment I wouldn’t

have the same confidence, college smarts or goals” and “I gained

the competence and skills to succeed in a competitive college

through dual enrollment,” describes another (Berger, et al.,

2013). These are positive comments that are in contrast to

general higher education concerns at both the beginning and

endpoints of college: the number of students entering in need of

remediation and the stagnant, if not declining, completion rates.

31

Chapter III: Methodology

This study interrogates data amassed by NTC between 2008 and

2013 for the purpose of evaluating the impact of the dual

enrollment program on participating students’ transition to post-

secondary programs at NTC. Dual enrollment students get to

rehearse the role of college student, by experiencing the post-

secondary mode of education, its expectations and workload.

Participants of dual credit programs develop the skills necessary

for future post-secondary success through goal setting and goal

attainment. Transcripted credit programs act as a transition

mechanism between high school and higher education. In this

study the topics addressed, specifically are the amount of

transcripted credit, post-secondary enrollment and degree

attainment, required access to data records of past program

participants.

Research Design

The basic design of the study is ex post facto,

nonexperimental quantitative research. This report analyzed the

impact of dual enrollment using correlational research methods to

evaluate longitudinal data. The research specifically looked at

32

the amount of credit attained by participants through dual

enrollment, participant entry into post-secondary education, and

the rate of credential attainment by participants compared to

non-participants; these are the study’s independent variables.

The dependent variable of the study was the impact that dual

enrollment on degree completion by participants. The control

variable was the post-secondary school awarding transcripted

credit was Northcentral Technical College.

Population

The population associated with the study was the data

records corresponding to the secondary students who obtained

course credit from NTC through the dual credit program for each

academic year in the study, 2008 - 2013. Additionally, when

considering the correlation between program participants’degree

attainment and the general population degree attainment at NTC,

non-participants were defined as the group of data records

corresponding to the general population of enrollees for the

timeframe excluding the dual credit program participants.

33

Instrumentation

The primary tools used as instrumentation in the analysis of

transcripted credit were the database of assembled key data

elements, which was populated into Excel spreadsheets for

analysis. Student data with all identifying information removed,

was accumulated which included the year, secondary institution,

and accumulated credits; these were assembled to be further

organized and studied. The key elements needed to address the

research questions were:

the amount of credit attained by participants through

dual enrollment

post-secondary enrollment for dual enrollment

participants

post-secondary credential attainment by participants

non-participant student enrollment for corresponding

timeframes

non-participant student credential attainment for

corresponding timeframes

34

Data Collection

In an effort to gain access to the data needed to meet the

research goal, the researcher identified key individuals and

obtained approval to undertake the research. In the process, the

UW-Stout IRB protocol was followed, and permission was obtained

as evidenced in Appendix A, for confidentiality and privacy

considerations the signatory name has been redacted.

Identified institutional data leads (NTC Institutional

Research Staff) were contacted, and a request was made for data

access. The collection of data for the research was made

available with the assistance of NTC’s institutional research

staff. Dual enrollment student records and summary data were

gleaned from data collected between 2008 and 2013 from the NTC

transcripted credit program. Historic data files are maintained

in the NTC data warehouse and are utilized for research and state

statistical reporting. In all 67,957 non-identifying records

were accessed with Microsoft Excel and matched with semester

enrollment files (n=67,957).

Dual enrollment summary files were built with non-

identifying participant data, each contained high school name,

35

graduation year and instructional program, as well as, the

results of the post-secondary institution enrollment information

which is acquired annually via a third-party database (see

Appendix B). Each year’s dual enrollment participant file was

matched against NTC enrollment data for the next fall and spring

terms to capture data elements, the combined files contained:

the amount of transcripted credit awarded

program participant enrollment into post-secondary

education information

credential completion for both dual enrollment

participants and non-participant enrollment year

cohorts

post-secondary program persistence - the freshman

second semester retention rate.

Multiple queries were prepared to extract the data meeting

the selection criteria for the timeframes selected.

Data Analysis

The basic strategies used to analyze the data were

descriptive statistics: central tendency and correlational

measures consistent with the process described in Wiersma & Jurs

36

(2009). In order to address Research Question 1: How many students

received dual credit and how many credit hours were earned each year? The

independent variable was evaluated by the central tendency

measure of mean by year. To capture findings for Research

Question 4: What impact did dual enrollment have on post-secondary program

participation for participants; specifically, did they persist in their second semester?

The correlational coefficient was measured. This process was

described in a research study conducted by Romero-Zaldivar,

Pardo, Burgos, and Delgado Kloos (2012) in an attempt to describe

whether data mining is a valid prediction mechanism of student

success. In an effort to answer Research Question 3: What was the

rate of graduation at NTC for students that earned dual credit in high school compared

to non-participants? The independent variable was represented as a

frequency by year.

The dependent variable was examined for the impact of dual

enrollment as considered by a comparison of degree completion

rates by participants of the dual enrollment program at NTC and

degree completion rates by non-participants. By this measurement

the a significance test of a one-sample t-test between

percentages to compare the two percentages was made. The use of

37

this distribution method is the commonly accepted method utilized

when inference about a population has been pretested for

normalcy, and the per hundred ratio may be subject to the one-

sample t-test (Creswell, 2013). In this way, it could be

determined whether dual credit participants were more likely to

complete a credential compared to non-participants at NTC.

Finally, Research Question 2: How many participating dual credit

students enrolled at NTC by year? The quantitative measurement was

arrived at by matching NTC enrollment files with the Dual

Enrollment program database, resulting in an unduplicated student

count by year.

.

38

Chapter IV: Results

The purpose of this study was to provide an analysis of the

dual enrollment program at NTC by examining of data for each year

and evaluating participation and effect of dual enrollment. The

research design utilized was a nonexperimental quantitative

research methodology. Longitudinal data spanning the period 2008

– 2013 was queried to obtain summarized reports with regard to

how much credit was earned per student, the enrollment into NTC

and other post-secondary institutions, the NTC degree completion

rates of students who took part in transcripted credit courses

during high school and non-participants, and program persistence

rates. This type of longitudinal research seeks to study and

describe trends and asks the same questions captured over time of

a population.

Demographic Profile

In collaboration with the NTC institutional researcher, the

computer files were queried and files were extracted containing

non-identifiable student data representing the population of dual

enrollment participants, in its entirety (n =3,500) and summary

information for non-participants (n =5,392).

39

Dual Credit Earned

When Question 1: How many students received dual credit and how many

credit hours were earned each year? was addressed the result was the

volume of dual enrollment (DE) participants increased between

2008 and 2013; participation increased +874%. The amount of NTC

transcripted credit earned via dual enrollment grew considerably

between 2008 and 2013, from 704 credit hours awarded to 5,757

(+817%). High school students earned 22,249 credit hours of

transcripted credit from NTC, for the period of 2008 – 2013.

Noteworthy is the 2013 decline of dual credit hours (5) per

student while participants nearly doubles (1118), see Table 1.

Table 1

Credit Earned by Participants through Transcripted Credit

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

#

Participan

ts

124 357 645 655

601 1,11

8

Credit

earned704 2,253 4,298 4,508

4,729 5,75

7

Mean cr. 6 6 7 7 8 5

40

hrs.

Post-secondary Enrollment

The findings for Question 2: How many participating dual credit

students enrolled at NTC by year? point out that in 2010, 507 DE students

enrolled as freshman in post-secondary education representing 79%

of the program participants. In 2011, 459 DE students enrolled

as freshman in post-secondary education representing 70% of the

program participants. In 2012, 405 dual enrollment students

enrolled as freshman in post-secondary education representing 67%

of the program participants. The 2013 number of students

entering post-secondary institutions was 644, a significant

increase compared to previous years; however, the percentage of

total dual enrollment participants enrolling was a marked

decrease of 58%.

Those enrolling at NTC after earning transcripted credit in

high school are reported in Table 2. The number of students from

the dual enrollment program who enrolled in NTC in 2010 was 139

representing 27% of those with post-secondary enrollment. NTC

enrolled 111 former dual enrollment students in 2011 which is 24%

41

of the population with post-secondary enrollment. NTC enrolled

94 former dual enrollment students in 2012 which is 23% of the

population with post-secondary enrollment. The 2013 the number

of students entering NTC was 192, a significant increase compared

to previous years; the percentage of the population with NTC

enrollment was a marked decrease of 30%. Interesting to note

were the number of students in 2012 and 2013 that entered in the

Spring term as freshmen (21 in 2012 and 41 in 2013), rather than

during the traditional entrance of the Fall term.

Table 2

Post-secondary Enrollment by Dual Enrollment Participants

2010 2011 2012 2013

Enrolled in

PS

507

(79%)459 (70%)

405 (67%) 644 (58%)

Enrolled at

NTC

139

(27%)111 (24%) 94 (23%) 192 (30%)

Degree Completion Comparison

When determining the answer to Question 3: What was the rate of

graduation at NTC for students that earned dual credit in high school compared to non-

42

participants? it should be noted that the most recent high school

graduates and NTC enrollees are excluded for years 2012 and 2013,

their graduation eligibility had not occurred. Figure 1

highlights a positive relationship between degree completion

rates of dual enrolled students (vertical axis) and the degree

completion rates of non-dual enrolled students (horizontal axis);

however, the significance is not determinately strong

(r=+0.32110009). A correlation was implied between degree

completion rates of dual enrolled students and the degree

completion rates of non-dual enrolled students. The strength of

a linear relationship between the two variables indicated a

moderate positive variance in their relationship (See Figure 1).

Figure 1. NTC degree completion correlation

43

Figure 2 illustrates the comparison of degree completion

rates between dual enrollment participants and non-participants,

was determined as a percentage of the entry cohort. Percentages

of 73.1, 61.5, 55.1, and 35.6 were the completion rates for dual

enrollment participants compiled, 2008-2011. There was a marked

decline in the dual enrollment participants’ degree completion

rate for 2011; this finding is an indication of program

continuation, discontinuance, or student transfer. The

completion rates for non-participants of dual enrollment were

57.8, 63.6, 56.5, and 57.7.

Figure 2. Degree completion rate of entry cohorts

Figure 3 highlights a different perspective of the degree

completion data analysis is in Figure 3, Degree Completion- Dual

Enrollment Participants and Non-Participants demonstrates the

44

proportion of the students completing degrees that participated

in dual credit in high school beside non-participants each

completed degrees during the year listed. The cohort of dual

enrollment participants alongside the non-participants gives a

scale comparison to the program. The more recent NTC dual

enrollment cohorts of 2012 and 2013 were larger; however, their

progress toward degree completion remained underway at the time

of the study.

Figure 3. Degree completion – dual enrollment participants and

non-participants

Dual Enrollment Persistence

Noteworthy findings were revealed through the analysis of

Question 4: What impact did dual enrollment have on post-secondary program

participation for participants; specifically, did they persist in their second semester?

45

Participants of dual enrollment who enrolled in NTC see Table 3

(also see Table 2) are listed for each year 2008-2013.The

students enrolled for the second consecutive term were counted.

The probability of a dual enrollment student persisting to a

second term was calculated. Persistence in the second semester

was consistently above 77% for dual enrollment participants,

notably this perseverance occurred as participation increased

noticeably in 2013.

Table 3

Dual Enrollment Persistence Through Second Term

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

# Participants

Enrolled32 64 139 111

94 192

Persistence

count26 51 107 87

85 154

Rate of

persistence 81.3% 79.7% 77.0% 78.4% 90.4% 80.2%

46

Chapter V: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations

The purpose of this study was to analyze the dual enrollment

program at NTC for the purpose of evaluating the impact of the

dual enrollment program on participating students’ transition to

post-secondary programs. More specifically, the research

addressed the following research questions:

1. How many students received dual credit and how many

credit hours were earned each year?

2. How many participating dual credit students enrolled at

NTC by year?

3. What was the rate of graduation at NTC for students that

earned dual credit in high school compared to non-

participants?

4. What impact did dual enrollment have on post-secondary

program participation for participants; specifically,

did they persist in their second semester?

The study employed an ex post facto, nonexperimental

quantitative research design. This report analyzed the impact of

dual enrollment using correlational research methods to evaluate

longitudinal data. The research specifically looked at the

47

amount of credit attained by participants through the high school

transcripted credit program at NTC, participant entry into post-

secondary education, the rate of credential attainment by

participants compared to non-participants, and post-secondary

program persistence. The control variable was the post-secondary

school awarding transcripted credit was Northcentral Technical

College.

The subjects for this line of inquiry were the data records

corresponding to the secondary students who obtained transcripted

course credit from NTC through the dual credit program and

acquired third-party post-secondary institutional information for

participants. The dual enrollment participant file was matched

to enrollment files by term, for each term 2008-2013.

Additionally, when considering the correlation between program

participants’ degree attainment and the general population degree

attainment at NTC, non-participants were defined as the group of

all enrollees’ data records for the timeframe 2008-2013,

excluding the dual credit program participants.

The basic strategies used to analyze the data were

descriptive statistics: central tendency and correlational

48

measures (Creswell, 2013). The number of students and the amount

of transcripted credit received was evaluated by the central

tendency measure of mean by year. Enrollment in post-secondary

education was compared for dual enrollment participants as a

whole and those enrolling in NTC. The correlation coefficient

was calculated to address the research question of credential

attainment by dual enrollment participants in relation to non-

participants. The dependent variable examined was the impact of

dual enrollment, which analyzed whether freshmen from the dual

enrollment program persisted in their second semester of post-

secondary studies at NTC.

Discussion

The findings of this inquiry were consistent with previous

research that suggests the role of dual enrollment and its

notable effect on college completion rates over the past decade

(Berger, et al.; 2013, Karp, et al, 2007; Mokher & McLendon,

2009). The U. S. Department of Education and the National

Center for Educational Statistics have compiled research

discussing a number of initiatives that examine dual enrollment

(NCES, 2013). According to the U.S. Department of Education, as

49

quoted in the NCES research the post-secondary persistence rate

in the United States for 4-year colleges and universities is 59

percent and for 2-year degree-granting institutions the

completion rate for full-time, undergraduates is 31 percent.

The analysis of the dual enrollment program at NTC did show

findings with a completion rate of 59.5% for the timeframe 2008 –

2010 for dual enrollment participants; this includes certificate

(i.e. CNA) and diploma (i.e. welding) programs, as well as,

associate degrees. In comparison, the overall completion rate

was 58.1% for the corresponding timeframe at NTC.

To frame the analysis a look at dual enrollment’s growth

provides insight and parallels to an increase in student efficacy

that draws upon goal setting theory (Locke & Latham, 1990)

supported by student engagement and self-determination.

Motivation and goal setting are integral to whether a learner

will attempt, complete, and repeat activities. Goal setting

theory in education ties closely to the relationship between

traits (passion and tenacity), vision, goals, and self-efficacy,

which is epitomized by the dual enrollment participant. These

50

students have rehearsed the expectations of higher education

while completing their secondary educational requirements.

More specifically, the findings supported the theory that

the most notable means to attain improved student learning,

retention, and graduation rates have been studied and revealed to

be the sustained practices of dual enrollment programs (Allen &

Dadgar, 2012). The hard-wrought lessons documented in dual

credit programs in New York, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina,

Virginia, Georgia, and California have shown the need to develop,

practice, and demonstrate skills and knowledge beyond the level

of minimum proficiency for post-secondary admissions in order to

excel and integrate into a successful completer of post-secondary

degrees. To improve college completion rates renewed efforts

focus on college readiness, student transformation, and methods

to reduce time to degree completion (Allen & Dadgar, 2012), each

of these characteristics have been shown to be a positive effect

of dual enrollment programs. Researchers Bailey and Karp found

that studies that control for academic ability and other personal

characteristics have tended to find positive effects from dual

enrollment programs with a benefit for rural secondary school

51

districts desiring to offer additional curricular choices while

providing a post-secondary transition program (Bailey & Karp,

2003).

Conclusions

Based on the findings and observations of this study, the

following conclusions were drawn:

1. Participation in the dual enrollment program has

increased.

2. The total credit earned by dual enrollment participants in

the NTC service region from 2008 through 2013 totaled

22,249 credit hours.

3. During the same timeframe, 23% - 30% of dual enrollment

participants enrolled and attended NTC.

4. Post-secondary degree completion for dual enrollment

participants and non-participants indicated a moderate

positive correlation in their relationship.

5. A significantly positive persistence rate exists at NTC

for dual enrollment participants. Persistence in the

second semester was consistently above 77% for dual

enrollment participants.

52

Recommendations

Based on the findings, observations, and conclusions of this

study, the following recommendations are offered:

1. Further research is needed to evaluate a qualitative

inquiry to determine motivation for enrollment and

perseverance, and their effect on the dual enrollment

program.

2. There is a need to collect additional information about

whether dual enrollment was influential in choosing (or

eliminating) educational and career courses of study or

majors.

3. There exists a need to expand the study of student

transition to post-secondary studies, to include a

detailed analysis of the dual enrollment participants’

transfer to 4-year programs, where many dual enrollment

participants enroll.

4. More research is necessary to quantify the effect and

correlation of dual enrollment on post-secondary

transition, a measure of the remediation rate for dual

enrollment participants compared to non-participants.

53

5. Potential is present for further evaluation of goal

setting, examining secondary and post-secondary dual

enrollment participants to clarify behaviors that directly

affect choices.

Lastly, prior research suggests dual enrollment participants

have less need for remediation and earn higher grade point

averages in post-secondary education (Lewis & Overman, 2008).

This study highlights the quantifiable differences between

participants and non-participants of dual enrollment were modest,

typically about four to five percentage points, as in post-

secondary enrollment rates and degree attainment. This study

questions if dual enrollment participants would have these modest

advantages without the significant effort to develop and

implement dual enrollment programs. Though salient issues have

been highlighted by this analysis, challenges exist which

complicate the ability to isolate the cause and effect utilizing

the data available. What is best for any given student depends

largely on the needs of the individual when selecting a college-

level transition program.

54

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Appendix A: IRB Approval

63

Appendix B: National Student Clearinghouse, What We Do

64