Differences in Student Success as a Function of Dual Credit Enrollment for Texas Community College Students: A Multiyear Investigation

Purpose

The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to examine dual credit enrollment with respect to student demographic characteristics and to student success of Texas community college students. The first purpose was to describe the demographic characteristics with respect to gender and ethnicity/race of Texas community college students who completed a dual credit course while in high school. A second purpose was to analyze the extent to which differences were present in first semester GPAs by ethnicity/race and gender of Texas community college students who previously completed a dual credit course while in high school. Finally, a third purpose was to ascertain the degree to which differences were present in the second semester GPAs as a function of ethnicity/race and gender of Texas community college students who previously completed a dual credit course while in high school.

Method

A descriptive research design was used in the first article and a causal-comparative research design was present in the second and third articles in this journal-ready dissertation. Archival data, from a Texas community college district’s Institutional Research Division, were analyzed for the 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and the 2014-2015 academic years. Variables that were analyzed were: dual credit enrollment status, gender; ethnicity/race, first semester GPA, and second semester GPA.   Findings

With respect to the demographic characteristics of students who had completed a dual credit course while in high school, almost two thirds of the community college students were females. White and Hispanic students constituted the two ethnic/racial groups with the highest percentages of students who had completed a dual credit course while in high school. Of note was the very low percentage of Black students who had completed a dual credit course while in high school. Regarding first semester GPAs and second semester GPAs, with few exceptions, students who had completed a dual credit course while enrolled in high school had statistically significantly higher GPAs than their counterparts who had not completed a dual credit course while enrolled in high school. These results were consistent across all three academic years. Implications for policy and for practice were made, along with recommendations for future research.