A comparison of the enrollment and academic success of dual credit and non-dual credit students at Des Moines Area Community College

Abstract

Iowa has embraced joint enrollment with their secondary and postsecondary institutions. Legislated incentives have been created in Iowa which involve creating joint enrollment opportunities for students between the secondary schools and Iowa's 15 community colleges whose boundaries determine which school districts they are to partner with. Similar boundaries exist for Iowa's Area Education Agencies which coincide with the community colleges. The Area Education Agencies are the regional agencies set up in Iowa to provide support services and connectivity to the secondary schools within their jurisdiction. These agencies provide connectivity between the K-12s and the Iowa Department of Education and also some with the community college districts in Iowa. The Department of Education in Iowa most recently categorized this programming as "concurrent enrollment" in new "Senior Year Plus" legislation (Iowa Department of Education, Condition of Community Colleges Annual Report, 2009). The following sections examine general enrollment trends and joint enrollment trends in Iowa's community colleges and K-12 institutions, specifically focusing on Des Moines Area Community College District (DMACC). DMACC serves the largest population (754,260) of any Iowa community college. Iowa community college student enrollment has been on a steady rise over the past years in the credit issuance category as depicted in Table 1.1. This has meant an increase from 95,556 credit unduplicated enrollment in Iowa in 1999 to 128,146 credit unduplicated enrollment in fiscal year 2008, (Department of Education, Condition of Iowa Community Colleges, 2008). This period of time was at the heart of dual credit program development within the state. This was a 34% increase in credit enrollment during this period of time as is

Using MAP-Works to explore early credit enrollment in high school and the impact on students’ academic self-efficacy and academic resiliency

“…Students may get a head start on preparing for the more difficult courses encountered in the collegiate setting. Many researchers are finding results that show students who participate in dual enrollment persist at higher rates, ease transition, are more college ready, earn high college GPAs, and have a higher rate of degree attainment Fara, 2010;Fink, et al, 2017Iowa Department of Education, 2014aMead, 2009;Noble & Wheeler, 2014;Radunzel,).…”

“…Several researchers have concluded in the results of their studies that students who participate in dual enrollment persist at higher rates, ease transition from secondary to postsecondary education, are more college ready, earn high college GPAs, and have a higher rate of degree attainment Fara, 2010;Iowa Department of Education, 2014a;Mead, 2009;Radunzel, Noble & Wheeler, 2014). Findings have also revealed that dual credit aids in the transition and preparedness into the university setting; therefore, it is important to identify which factors, in addition to early credit, lead to positive reports of academic selfefficacy and academic resiliency Callan, et.…”

“…Findings have also revealed that dual credit aids in the transition and preparedness into the university setting; therefore, it is important to identify which factors, in addition to early credit, lead to positive reports of academic selfefficacy and academic resiliency Callan, et. al., 2006;Edmunds 2012;Fara, 2010;Kim, 2014;Mead, 2009). Students who have higher academic self-efficacy make decisions and pursue actions that aid in their academic success such as: feel confident in their ability to do well on problems and tasks assigned in their various courses, feel they will do well in their hardest course, and persevere on class projects, even when they may be challenging (Bandura, 1997;EBI, 2012;Boazman & Sayler, 2011).…”

“…For many proponents of participation in dual enrollment, the purpose of dual credit is to aid in student preparedness and/or transition into the collegiate environment, preparing a student academically and learning the content necessary for their success in subsequent coursework Callan, et al, 2006;Kim, 2014;Edmunds 2012;Fara, 2010;Mead, 2009). A Florida study by Kim (2015) revealed that the number of dual credit hours a student enrolls in is positively correlated with their readiness in the subjects of reading, writing, and mathematics.…”

“…Students may get a head start on preparing for the more difficult courses encountered in the collegiate setting. Many researchers are finding results that indicate students who participate in dual enrollment persist at higher rates ease their transition from a secondary to a post-secondary institution, are more college ready, earn high college GPAs, and have a higher rate of degree attainment Fara, 2010;Iowa Department of Education, 2014a;Mead, 2009;Radunzel et al, 2014). This aligns well with federal initiatives, such as Educate to Innovate, that are seeking to increase the rigor of high school curriculum, especially in the math and sciences (Office of the Press Secretary, 2009).…”