Approaches to Advising Incoming College Students with Dual Enrollment Credit

Abstract

Academic advisors in higher education are often incoming students’ first exposure to college curriculum and academic expectations. Additionally, academic advisors serve as an on-going support to students throughout their college careers. As the number of students beginning college full-time with a significant amount of dual enrollment (DE) credits increases, academic advisors must develop approaches to advising this population of students based on academic and developmental needs. This study explored the approaches college academic advisors take when advising high DE credit-bearing incoming college students.

Promises and Realities: Academic Advisors' Perspectives of Dual Enrollment Credit

“…This confirms previous findings in the literature, as students need to be informed of the appropriate expectations of DE credits for their own situation (Kanny, 2015;Karp, 2012). By implementing an orientation on DE in high schools for both students and their families, schools can help students make better informed decisions about their DE participation and better understand the connection between DE, college curriculum structure, and possible financial benefits (Witkowsky et al, 2020). Students can then better plan to pursue various opportunities, like studying abroad or taking an internship, that could potentially be impacted by their quickened graduation timeline.…”

“…Stated benefits of DE that are marketed to students and their families include reduced time to degree and decreased college costs (Thomson, 2017). Prior research identified the need to help DE students and higher education faculty members set appropriate expec-tations regarding the use of DE credits (Kanny, 2015;Karp, 2012), but the role of academic advisors in this issue remains relatively underexplored (Witkowsky et al, 2020). Some students earn such a high number of credits-24 credit hours, in this case-that they enter the university with sophomore standing.…”

Imagined future teacher self at the point of entry to teacher education

“…The transition from secondary school to higher education or the switch from one study program to another may imply a drastic change in a student's academic, personal and social life, their level of independence and coping strategies, which is affected by a variety of factors. Research has shown that apart from students' socio-economic status, grades and subject knowledge, non-cognitive factors such as attitudinal, affective and personality variables also play an important role in their rate of success and graduation (Witkowsky et al, 2020). Often there is a mismatch between students' beliefs, expectations and the academic and life demands they face.…”