Dual Enrollment and Postsecondary Outcomes: Enrollment and Persistence in Higher Education and STEM Major

• In Event: College Access Through STEM Opportunities

Abstract

This study intends to explore dual enrollment’s potential to close shortages in under-supplied STEM fields. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between dual-enrollment participation and students’ major decisions in college. We draw upon a statewide sample of 2018 high school graduates from Texas (n = 301,629) and explore their initial college enrollment in 2018-19 and persistence into 2019-20. Our focus is on a sample of students who participated in the University of Texas at Austin’s signature dual-enrollment initiative known as OnRamps. Using linear probability models, preliminary findings suggest that students are more likely to enroll in postsecondary education and persist in a STEM major, but no more likely to enroll in a STEM major.

Authors

• Matthew S. Giani, University of Texas at Austin

• Madison E. Andrews, The University of Texas - Austin

• Shruti Khandekar, University of Texas at Austin