Poster #50 - Navigating Dual Admissions: A Mixed-Methods Study of Student Experiences and Academic Success in California

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

Despite a decade of efforts in California to improve vertical transfer and BA attainment, less than 20% of community college students whose stated goal is to transfer and earn a BA have transferred to a four-year college within four years (Johnson & Mejia, September 2020). Therefore, the state implemented a dual admissions policy to strengthen the transfer pathway for community college students. Dual admissions provides a conditional guaranteed acceptance as a transfer student to one of six University of California (UC) campuses to students who enroll at a California Community College (CCC) and have earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher in high school. The policy was developed for the explicit purpose of  improving access to the UC system for students with underrepresented backgrounds, those who experienced curricular limitations in high school, and those with geographic or financial barriers.

Using administrative data from 26 CCC campuses actively tracking their dual admissions students in combination with 16 interviews with participating students, my research examines how students perceived the dual admissions policy, and whether the policy is serving its intended student population. My quantitative findings indicate that few students opted to use the policy and that the students who did take advantage of the opportunity were much less likely to be first-generation college students than other students who were eligible for dual admissions. The racial demographics of students who opted into dual admissions were also different from the overall eligible student population. Asian students were overrepresented among students who opted into dual admissions. All other groups were underrepresented; Hispanic students in particular, were highly underrepresented, comprising almost 29% of the overall eligible population but only 16% of the dual admission enrollees, and Black students, while only 3% of the overall sample, comprised merely .3% of dual admission students. In addition, the community colleges engaged in implementation were more likely to be located in a large metro area, in close proximity to a UC campus, despite the policy’s intention to serve students with geographic barriers, such as rural students. 

Even among students who participated in dual admissions there were a range of perspectives. Some students found the guarantee encouraging or said that it was a stress reliever. Other students found that it was not the guarantee that was helpful to them but rather the extra layer of support and advising provided. More than half of the students I interviewed, however, did not take advantage of these resources. These findings suggest that there are many more students who could be served by this policy and its benefits could be made clearer to eligible students. The UC and CCC system offices should consider ways to increase access. For example, the dual admissions opportunity could be promoted by high school counselors once they know which of their students are attending community college and would be eligible to participate.

Author

• Melissa L Herman, Teachers College, Columbia University
  Presenting Author