Date of Award

Summer 2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Foundations & Leadership

Committee Director

Mitchell R. Williams

Committee Member

Dana D. Burnett

Committee Member

Tony C. Perez

Abstract

The five-year college completion rate for students of color can be 15-20% lower than it is for White students (Fink, Jenkins, & Yanaglura, 2017). Dual enrollment courses have been researched as a predictor of college completion (Taylor, 2015), but fewer racial minority students enroll in dual enrollment courses; this enrollment disparity affects their college preparedness skills and may lead to lower college persistence and graduation rates (Evenbeck & Johnson, 2012). Despite the benefits dual enrollment courses could provide to racial minority students, few studies have examined the differences in college completion outcomes between racial minority and majority dual enrollment students (An, 2013; Pretlow & Wathington, 2014).

Participants in the current study included 292 dual enrollment students who attended one of five Virginia community colleges and completed an associate’s degree or certificate. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression to calculate the impact that the number of dual enrollment credits had on racial minorities’ college completion time. Control variables included gender, socioeconomic status, rural or urban college location, first-generation college status, and college degree program.

Dual enrollment students expedited their completion time by 1.706% for every dual enrollment credit completed. Students completed an average of 10.817 credits which decreased their college completion time by 18.45%. There was a not a significant difference in completion time between the racial majority students (White and Asian students) and racial minority students (Black, Hispanic, and students of more than one race) who dual enrolled (b = 19.600, p = .111).

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DOI

10.25777/76tt-1m75

ISBN

9780438538153

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