The Effects of Dual Enrollment on Students' Beliefs and College Aspirations

• In Event: 61.026 - The Productive Tensions of Dual Credit: Reenvisioning Dual Credit Instruction, Postsecondary Readiness, and Success

Abstract

In addition to providing students with the opportunity to earn college credit during high school, dual enrollment can be understood as a form of anticipatory socialization (Karp 2012). By experiencing the rigor of college-level coursework before beginning college, students can develop the social skills, learning strategies, and behaviors needed for success in college and strengthen their identity as a future college student. Despite these potential benefits of dual enrollment, researchers have highlighted that eligibility policies often restrict participation to high-achieving students who are likely college-bound regardless of their participation in dual credit (Zinth & Barnett, 2018). But while reducing eligibility requirements may increase access and equity in dual credit participation, and potentially increase the motivation and perception of academic competence for students who excel, academic unpreparedness could result in students performing poorly in dual enrollment courses. This may in turn reduce their college aspirations and academic self-efficacy.
The purpose of this study is to better understand the interplay between students’ demographic and academic backgrounds, their experiences in dual enrollment courses, and their evolving beliefs and college aspirations. The study draws upon data from OnRamps, an innovative dual enrollment program created by the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) in 2011. Unlike traditional dual enrollment courses, OnRamps students are simultaneously enrolled in two courses: a high school course taught by their high school instructor and a UT Austin course taught by a UT Austin instructor of record. Students receive separate grades for each course and can choose whether to claim the grade and credit for the UT Austin course. This program design allows students to experience the rigorous coursework of a leading research university without the risk of receiving an unsatisfactory grade on their college transcript. Critically, students are eligible to participate in OnRamps even if they have not yet demonstrated college readiness, a precursor to enrollment in other dual enrollment courses in Texas.
Using data from surveys administered to OnRamps students at the beginning and end of the year, preliminary results from the 2017-18 OnRamps cohort of high school juniors (n=1173) enrolled in their first OnRamps course show that over 90 percent of students report stability or an increase in college aspirations at the end of the year. However, the remaining students experienced declining college aspirations. This study examines how a variety of factors, including students’ demographic and academic backgrounds, the OnRamps courses they enrolled in, high school characteristics, and their performance in OnRamps, shape their evolving college aspirations and beliefs using structural equation modeling.
Thus far the literature has not examined how dual enrollment courses may shape students aspirations and to what extent their demographic backgrounds, school characteristics, learning strategies, academic performance, and experiences in the course contribute to aspirational change. Sharing research on these affects will allow policymakers and educators to better understand who should participate in dual credit, the potential benefits and risks of dual credit, and how can dual credit programs be designed to maximize the benefits while minimizing the risks.

Authors

• Rachel Martin, The University of Texas at Austin

• Shruti Khandekar, The University of Texas at Austin

• Matt Giani, The University of Texas at Austin