Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Sarah Inkpen

Abstract

Early college high school (ECHS) and dual enrollment programs offer opportunities for students to work toward their 2-year degree while still in high school. The problem for this study was that the ECHS and dual enrollment programs had not been compared to see if they facilitated 2-year college degree completion compared to one another and to a traditional college program. The problem was urgent because there was a need to evaluate two different ECHS screening methods, assuming significantly less time to degree completion for the ECHS students. The purpose of this quantitative project study was to determine if the time to 2-year degree completion was different for the ECHS, dual enrollment, and traditional college students. Bloom’s taxonomy was used in consideration of differences in complexity of thinking between the three groups of students. Using a convenience sample of 208 archived records, the research question compared the mean time in months to degree completion for the three groups. A Kruskal-Wallis H-Test revealed that the ECHS students (n = 128) completed their 2-year degree in significantly less time (mean rank [mr] = 16.00) than the DE (n = 31, mr = 61.66, p < .005) and traditional (n = 49, mr = 63.34, p < .005) students. Because the significant difference was found, a chi-square test of homogeneity was used to evaluate an academic matrix (AM) and non-AM screening processes for ECHS students. A significant negative association was found for the AM group, resulting in a policy recommendation to continue the ECHS program with a modified application process to replace the AM screening with an orientation approach for ECHS students. Positive social change is achieved when students are placed appropriately in programs that facilitate expeditious degree completion while maintaining high academic standards.

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