Date of Conferral

3-25-2025

Date of Award

March 2025

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Ioan Ionas

Abstract

College students in the United States begin their higher education journey intending to graduate, but almost 37% do not earn a degree. The problem addressed in this study is that while dual enrollment has been shown to affect graduation rates in higher education positively, it was unclear if the location of dual enrollment courses, high school or college campus, influenced retention at a southwestern United States community college. Using Tinto’s student integration theory, the research question sought to discover the extent to which the location of dual enrollment courses, high school or college campus, predicts student retention to the second year at the same higher education institution while accounting for (a) number of dual credit courses, (b) first-term college grade point average, (c) plan type (degree seeking or certificate/non-degree seeking), and (d) race/ethnicity. Binary logistic regression using archival data from 8,688 high school seniors revealed that the four predictors course location, plan type, race/ethnicity, and first-term college grade point average were statistically significant. Students who attended dual enrollment courses at their high school versus college campus were 1.9% more likely to be retained. Better odds of being retained were revealed for Black (1.6%), Hispanic (1.4%), and White (1.3%) while students identified as other were 1% less likely to be retained. Students who had higher first-term grade point averages were also more likely (1.1%) to be retained. These findings suggest that prioritizing dual enrollment classes on high school rather than college campuses could support social change by increasing the efficiency of dual enrollment programs and increasing students’ graduation rates, ultimately benefiting all stakeholders and their communities.

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