College Persistence of Dual-Enrolled High School Students When Considering Modality of Dual-Enrollment Course Delivery

Abstract

Dual-enrollment programs are a fixture in American secondary education and allow high school students the opportunity to receive college credits while attending high school. However, whether the location of a dual-enrollment course encourages college persistence is not fully understood. Student Integration Theory and Psychological Theory are applied to various modes of dual-enrollment course delivery. The College Persistence Questionnaire (CPQ) measured college persistence of 101 dual-enrolled high school students taking college courses at either a high school or at a community college. An ANOVA revealed a significant difference (p < .01) in college persistence based on course location with students taking courses on the college campus having higher persistence. The researchers concluded that location of a dual enrollment course is a significant factor when evaluating college persistence. Implications for practice are offered.

Keywords

dual-enrollment college persistence mode of delivery postsecondary

Introduction

Dual-enrollment programs have enjoyed widespread growth in recent years, and while these programs have been in existence for more than 60 years, relatively little research exists to evaluate the impact of these programs on student persistence and postsecondary success (Taylor, 2015). In national terms, Marken et al. (2013) estimate over 1.2 million students completed a dual-enrollment course during academic year 2010-2011, with 46% of all two- and four-year postsecondary institutions offering dual-enrollment. According to the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (n.d.), dual-enrollment programs have continued to grow at a rate of about 7% annually since the 2002-2003 school year. Dual-enrollment programs can be found on the campuses of high schools, community and technical colleges, and four-year universities (Mealer, 2015). While the setting of dual-enrollment programs varies, the core concept is universal: High school students completing college courses and receiving high school and college credit simultaneously (Hofmann, 2012). Several variations of course modalities are typically offered to students participating in dual-enrollment programs. In some instances, students take classes at a local college or university while in other settings college professors provide instruction at the high school itself (Gross, 2016).

Dual enrollment programs are often believed to prepare students for college success by eliminating barriers between the two levels of education (Edmunds, 2012). Among other benefits, participation in dual enrollment is believed to encourage high school students to pursue a college degree, and it is not uncommon for state departments of education to incentivize dual enrollment opportunities. For example, the Move On When Ready program in the state of Georgia provides funding for tuition, textbooks, and transportation to encourage high school students to get started on college coursework (Mealer, 2015). Student retention is an important factor for colleges, many of whom strive to incorporate practices that support student persistence (Hunter & Wilson, 2018). Hence, in addition to positive learning outcomes and general college enthusiasm among attendees, dual-enrollment programs are often of benefit to post-secondary institutions themselves. Alternatively, research has also pondered whether high school instructors teach with the higher rigor needed for quality dual-enrollment courses and whether college professors lack the training and desire to work well with younger students (Day et al., 2020). These issues rightly bring into question several key elements of the quality of dual-enrollment options overall.

With the rapid growth and variety of available modalities for dual enrollment instruction, it is critical that decision makers ensure these programs are truly preparing high school students for all aspects of the college experience (Giani et al., 2014).

Overview of Related Literature

Theoretical Framework

Psychological Theory (Bean, 1980) and Student Integration Theory (Tinto, 1975) provide insight into student persistence in postsecondary education. Tinto (1975) showed the majority of existing research surrounding the phenomenon of dropping out of secondary education was inadequate for pinpointing individual characteristics of drop out in higher education. Subsequently, research had failed to assist higher education in adequately addressing the issue of student retention (Tinto, 1993). Tinto (1975) began to examine individual characteristics of college dropouts based on Durkheim’s Typology of Suicide theory. Tinto (1993) speculated that just as suicide was the result of a lack of societal fit—resulting from either a lack of moral integration or collective affiliation—dropping out of college could be related to a lack of integration into an educational setting. According to Tinto (1993), college campuses are segments of society, and as such, may be partly responsible for an individual’s departure from college should he or she fail to integrate.

Among other factors related to the lack of college integration, Tinto (1975) identified two issues contributing most strongly to the likelihood of dropping out: A lack of personal interaction and a failure to adopt the values of the college’s subculture. In essence, the decision to drop out of school is largely a product of social and intellectual events occurring after a student enters college. Tinto (1993, 1997) delved into identifying specific social and academic aspects of college disengagement and isolated classroom experience, social integration, and level of student persistence as key factors in the decision to leave school.

Similarly, Bean (1980) believed research in student dropout failed to address individual characteristics and was overly-focused on institutional phenomena. Drawing from occupational research, Bean (1980, 1982) contrasted known factors of dropping out with indicators of workplace turnover. Bean (1982) revealed a wide range of factors—such as perceived value, institutional loyalty, course offerings, family approval, and transfer opportunities—as strong contributors to the decision to withdraw from school.

Lack of Fit

An overlapping construct in the theoretical work of Tinto (1997) and Bean (1982) is the concept of student fit, first discussed by Tinto (1975) in a synthesis of research on college dropouts. Tinto (1993) believed many theories surrounding student departure from postsecondary institutions failed to explain lack of student persistence. Both Bean (1980) and Tinto (1975) discussed student fit as a partial explanation for a student’s college persistence, or lack thereof. A lack of fit can arise from a combination of social and academic issues, yet college persistence and overall student satisfaction are related to an alignment between institutional attributes and the students’ interests and needs (Bowman & Denson, 2014). According to Tinto’s (1997) Student Integration Theory, a mix of both academic and social integration is required to fully assimilate a student into college life. This lack of fit is most often a matter of a student’s individual perception of institutional culture (Tinto, 1993). Additionally, for a student to persist he or she first must desire to do so, and that desire can be impacted by personal experiences at that institution (Tinto, 2015).

Tinto (1993) suggested most college students will experience some degree of a lack of fit, yet those who come to feel they belong an institution are more likely to persist to a college degree (Bean, 1985). A proper fit tends to occur when a student has accurate and realistic expectations of the social and intellectual character of the institution (Tinto, 1993). Whereas a mismatch between institution and individual may result in poor and uninformed choices (Tinto, 1993), and quite often students do not fully grasp the social and academic mores of an institution until after enrollment (Bean, 1980). Building strong peer connections and social networks is critical to a successful experience during a student’s first year of college (Kaighin & Croft, 2013), and because college affects both academic and social domains, it is important to distinguish between first-year student needs in both aspects (Tinto, 1975).

Mode of Course Delivery

While research has shown positive learning outcomes for dual-enrolled students (Lile et al., 2017), relatively little empirical research has identified factors of dual-enrollment programs that lead to specific outcomes in student success in college. One such area that merits further understanding is the effect of various dual enrollment modalities on the likelihood of students persisting to college. Beyond merely helping students accumulate college credits, many higher education institutions offer dual enrollment opportunities in order to attract students to the college campus after high school.

Mode of delivery for college courses has been studied recently at the postsecondary level. Vella et al. (2016) found college students who were enrolled in a hybrid modality—with a mix of classroom and online instruction—received higher grades and were more likely to complete the course than those enrolled in the same course offered entirely online. In a study of more than 40,000 community- and technical-college students in a northwestern state, Xu and Jaggars (2014) found students who participated in online-only instruction had lower college persistence and lower achievement than those participating in traditional face-to-face courses. It is uncertain whether these trends hold true for high school students taking college courses.

While options continue to increase, dual-enrollment programs tend to fall in to three general categories of modality: College courses taken completely online, face-to-face college courses taken at a high school campus, and face-to-face college courses taken on the campus of a local college or university (Gross, 2016; Mealer, 2015). While each mode of course delivery has both distinct benefits and disadvantages, further research may determine which modalities help students—and colleges—achieve the best results. Specifically, additional research is needed to examine how the effect of course modality influences students’ postsecondary outcomes (Giani et al., 2014).

College Courses Online

The first common mode of dual-enrollment programming involves college courses taught in an entirely-online format. This mode of course delivery has expanded dramatically over the last few years and is a common option for students enrolled in many dual-enrollment programs (Mealer, 2015). While little research has focused on high school students taking dual-enrollment courses entirely-online, this mode of delivery has been studied at the postsecondary level. Vella et al. (2016) found college students who were enrolled in a hybrid modality—with a mix of classroom and online instruction—received a higher course grade and were more likely to complete the course than those enrolled in a class offered entirely online. In a study of more than 40,000 students enrolled in Washington State community and technical colleges, Xu and Jaggars (2014) found students who participated in online-only instruction had a lower persistence rate than those who participated in traditional face-to-face courses. Additionally, the average student typically performed lower in an online format than in face-to-face instruction (Xu & Jaggars, 2014).

In addition to academic performance, student interactions are a major concern with online instruction. Jaggars (2014) found while some students preferred online courses because of the flexibility and convenience, other students shied away from online courses because of weaker, less-engaging instruction and lower peer-to-peer interaction. This lack of interaction has been found to be detrimental to the success of online students and often damages a student’s sense of community. Some students’ sense of classroom community is negatively affected by a fear of criticism or an unwillingness to criticize or give honest feedback (Rovai, 2002). Jaggars and Xu (2016) found while course organization and use of technology are desirable features in an online course, only interpersonal actions on the part of the instructor—such as using a variety of methods to quickly respond to students’ questions and to provide feedback—played a significant role in predicting student success in the course. Some online students begin to feel isolated and often question if others in the course are genuinely engaging with content the student has posted (Rovai, 2000b).

College at the High School

A second common mode of dual-enrollment programming involves college courses taught at the high school either by a college professor or by a qualified high school teacher. This mode of dual-enrollment course is offered at a growing number of high schools across the nation (Lile et al., 2017), and this modality may be advantageous for students who lack transportation to a local college but desire the face-to-face format (Roach et al., 2015). Advantages of this modality include greater feelings of being prepared for the challenges of college-level studies as well as stronger overall writing skills (Williams, 2015). However, for students taking dual-enrollment courses at the local high school, researchers have identified several disadvantages. In terms of performance, students who take dual-enrollment classes at the high school do not typically achieve at a higher academic level than students taking regular high school classes (Speroni, 2011). There is also speculation as to whether these courses are of lower rigor than those offered on the college campus (Dixon & Slate, 2014; Vargas et al., 2017). Whether students are truly performing at the college level has been questioned.

Despite the goal of promoting feelings of college awareness and persistence, students taking dual-enrollment courses at the high school have reported lower attitudes in these areas (Lile et al., 2017). These lower sentiments may indicate that the setting rather than the content of dual enrollment courses plays the larger role in perceptions of persisting to college. In keeping with Tinto (1993), it may be likely that the aspect of fitting in at college is necessarily limited when the dual course enrollment course does not take place at the college itself. When high school students face less pressure to adjust social routines and interactions—as with taking dual enrollment courses in a familiar social milieu—the likelihood of developing a strong sense of college community may be lessened (Lile et al., 2017). Additionally, high school counselors often perceive dual-enrollment courses on the college campus to be of great student benefit and have utilized courses taught at the high school as stepping stones to transition students to dual-enrollment courses at the college campus (Witkowski & Clayton, 2019). More research is needed to help determine if there is a difference in the college persistence of students who take dual-enrollment courses at the high school compared to those who take them on the college campus (Vargas et al., 2017).

Instruction at the College Campus

The benefits of face-to-face instruction identified in the literature bolster Tinto’s (1997) Student Integration theory, suggesting college-classroom experiences cause students to cognitively bridge personal experiences with course content while experiencing a diverse range of viewpoints when nested among classmates. This aspect of institutional life—formal and informal experiences with fellow students and professional faculty—is key to establishing feelings of fitting in, which in turn influences retention, academic performance, and perception of the school’s academic quality (Tinto, 1993, 1997).

Whereas there are divergent opinions about the overall effectiveness of online instruction, perceptions of face-to-face instruction seem to be rather uniform. Jaggars (2014) found college students prefer face-to-face courses for more difficult subjects—such as math, science, and foreign language—due to opportunities to receive immediate feedback and assistance. High school students regard the ability to ask an instructor questions in real time as well as the structure of the classroom setting to be tangible benefits of traditional classroom instruction (Burgess, 2015; Porter et al., 2014). Likewise, in regard to dual enrollment in a face-to-face setting, Speroni (2011) found courses taught at the college campus caused higher perceptions of college-experience exposure among high school students. Additionally, dual-enrollment students taking courses at a college campus have been shown to be more likely to persist to college than students who took dual-enrollment classes at the high school (D’Amico et al., 2013). In an era of ever-increasing online options, it may be arguable that there is no replacing the intimate, engaging interaction afforded by many traditional classrooms (Burgess, 2015). Alternatively, students have also reported several drawbacks to face-to-face instruction in dual enrollment settings. For example, students sometimes view traditional meeting times and inflexible class schedules as inconveniences and may feel time-starved when balancing other responsibilities (Moody, 2004; Porter et al., 2014). Some students also feel they miss out on high school events and interactions with peers while others may find difficulty striking a balance between college and high school social expectations (Wecker & Wilde, 2020). Also, high school students participating in classes at a college campus have reported feeling looked down upon because of youth and non-traditional status (Kanny, 2015). More than other modalities, dual enrollment on the college campus has returned mixed results in regard to outcomes, and whether the advantages outweigh the perceived drawbacks is uncertain. In short, perceptions of the on-campus mode of course delivery especially warrant further research into their ability to affect short and long-term success of dual-enrollment students.

Summary

This review of the literature examined the frame work of Tinto’s (1975) Student Integration Theory and Bean’s (1980) Psychological Theory, specifically how student fit (Bean, 1980; Tinto, 1975) can explain how student persistence may vary based on the mode of course delivery. The review then provided an overview of dual-enrollment programs and compared three modes of course delivery: college classes offered at the college campus, college classes offered at the high school campus, and college courses offered in an entirely online format.

Method

A causal-comparative design was used in this study to determine whether the location of a dual-enrollment course impacts the college persistence of high school students. The independent variable was mode of dual enrollment course delivery and had two levels: dual enrollment on a college campus and dual enrollment on a high school campus. Dual-enrollment was defined as the earning of college credit for a course while still enrolled as a high school student (Grubb et al., 2017). The dependent variable of postsecondary persistence was measured with the College Persistence Questionnaire (Davidson et al., 2015).

Participants

A convenience sample of 11th and 12th grade students from Georgia was used for this study and drew from a population of high school students served by a technical college in a rural area. The technical college offers dual-enrollment courses on its campus, through courses taught by instructors at the local high school, and completely-online courses. This study focused on the college-campus and high school-campus modalities in response to calls for further research on the effect of dual-enrollment location on various learning outcomes (Dixon & Slate, 2014; Giani et al., 2014; Grubb et al., 2017).

The study took place during the fall semester of the 2018-2019 school year, during which time the technical college served a total of 410 students through dual-enrollment offerings. Students from six high schools were invited to participate in this study. The total number of potential participants was 410 and a final sample size of 101 was obtained. Participants who were enrolled in or had recently completed a course on the college campus were included in the college-campus dual enrollment group (n = 42). Participants who were enrolled in or had recently completed a course on the high school campus but not the college campus were included in the high school-campus dual enrollment group (n = 59). This sample included 42 males and 59 females (Table 1).

Instrument for Data Collection

The College Persistence Questionnaire developed by Davidson et al. (2015) was used in this study to measure the dependent variable, postsecondary persistence. The instrument contains 32 questions scored on a 5-point Likert scale, and the instrument was administered electronically through an online survey tool. The College Persistence Questionnaire has been used by more than 40 postsecondary institutions worldwide (Davidson et al., 2015). The instrument measures responses on a 5-point Likert scale and asks the participant to differentiate between two extremes, such as very satisfied to very dissatisfied or very much to very little (Davidson et al., 2009, 2015). An example question from the questionnaire is, “How often do you miss class for reasons other than illness or participation in school-related activities” (Davidson et al., 2015). Scores on each question range from -2 to 2, and several questions are reverse-worded. The 32 questions are shuffled so as not to easily be identified with any certain construct, and the constructs are not revealed on the survey instrument.

The instrument was designed to predict student attrition from postsecondary institutions and measured college persistence on six factors: institutional commitment, degree commitment, academic integration, social integration, support services satisfaction, and academic conscientiousness. Factor rotation established the instrument as a stable measurement of these six components (Davidson et al., 2009). More recently, the authors expanded the instrument to measure a participant’s level of institutional commitment, stress created by the college environment, financial pressures, learning motivation, and self-efficacy (Davidson et al., 2015). Factor rotation again confirmed the strength of this instrument in measuring postsecondary persistence. The College Persistence Questionnaire has been used in multiple studies as a reliable measure of a persistence among college students (Betts et al., 2017; Muller et al., 2017).

Procedure

After obtaining Institutional Review Board approval, the researchers contacted Georgia Association of Technical Colleges and the superintendents for area high schools to obtain permission to conduct the study among high school students taking dual-enrollment classes. Recruitment letters and parental consent forms were provided to all potential participants and collected from those who elected to participate. Participants were provided with a link to complete the instrument in an online format.

The online survey provided introductory information about the study and asked the participant to provide basic demographic information. Participants were asked to self-report on modes of dual enrollment instruction in which they had participated. Based on responses, participants were placed into groups. Participants who were currently enrolled in or had previously completed a dual enrollment course on the college campus were included in the college-campus dual enrollment group. Participants who were currently enrolled in or had previously completed a dual enrollment course on the high school campus were included in the high school dual enrollment group. The scores of survey-takers who did not have experience in either of these modalities were excluded from the analysis. An ANOVA was conducted using SPSS statistical software to compare the two groups on the survey scores.

Results

Scores from the College Persistence Questionnaire had the potential to range from -2, indicating very low postsecondary persistence, to 2, indicating very high postsecondary persistence. The means and standard deviations for the College Persistence Questionnaire are provided in Table 2.

Table 1.

Participants by Group and Gender.

Mode of instruction	Male students	Female students	Total students
College campus	19	23	42
High school campus	24	35	59
Total	42	59	101

Table 2.

Postsecondary Persistence Scores.

Mode of instruction	N	M	SD
College campus	42	0.829	0.591
High school campus	59	0.535	0.422

Analysis of Variance

Survey scores from the College Persistence Questionnaire were used as the dependent variable. A one-way ANOVA was conducted to determine whether a significant difference existed between groups on the dependent variable. A statistically significant difference was found in college persistence between the college campus dual enrollment group (M = 0.829, SD = 0.591) and the high school campus dual enrollment group (M = 0.535, SD = 0.422) where F(1,99) = 8.175, p < 0.01 and partial η² = 0.078. This result indicated the difference in the mean for the college campus group was significantly higher than the mean for the high school campus group.

Discussion and Conclusion

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant difference existed between the level of postsecondary persistence of dual-enrolled high school students based on mode of course delivery. This study answered calls for additional research on the topic of mode of course delivery for high school students. For example, Giani et al. (2014) suggested additional research was needed to examine how the relationship between mode of course delivery–online instruction, college courses taught at the high school, and college courses taught at the college campus–might influence a student’s postsecondary outcomes. Grubb et al. (2017) suggested future research into dual-enrollment programs, including course location, may help further the understanding of the benefits of dual-enrollment programs. The study identified a statistically significant difference in the level of college persistence based on mode of course delivery. This outcome differs in one regard from Wallace (2017) who compared self-efficacy scores of 181 college students who had previously completed dual-enrollment courses. Wallace (2017) found no significant difference in self-efficacy scores based on course modality.

This outcome supports the findings of related studies that have shown the tendency of students who take dual enrollment courses at the high school campus to be limited in perceptions of fitting in at college. This lack of fitting in has been attributed to the absence of early socialization with college students amidst early ventures into collegiate academic pursuits (Lile et al., 2017). The different modes of dual enrollment course delivery do not necessarily offer the same level of integration into the college experience. Speroni (2011) and D’Amico et al. (2013) found dual-enrollment courses taught at the college campus better exposed high school students to both the social and academic aspects of the college experience, thus increasing the likelihood of persistence to college. In a recent study of high school counselors, some counselors felt taking courses on the college campus helped students gain confidence and life skills but also served as a good transitional step to the university level (Witkowsky & Clayton, 2019). A balanced blend of both academic and social integration is more likely to cause greater integrating of a dual enrolled student into college life, thus increasing postsecondary persistence.

The findings in this study inform both Student Integration Theory (Tinto, 1993) and Psychological Theory (Bean, 1982) as the study took into consideration the influence of various factors of fitting in at the college setting. Tinto (1975) concluded that dropping out of college may occur despite high academic performance due to an individual’s lack of meaningful interactions with college peers. Bean (1980) originally theorized that there were 23 variables that had the greatest impact on whether a student dropped out of college. However, Bean (1982) revised this list down to 10 variables including: intent to leave, practical value, certainty of choice, loyalty, grades, courses, educational goals, major and job certainty, family approval, and opportunity to transfer. In a study of high and low confidence for college, Bean (1982) found the variable that had the greatest impact on the likelihood of a student dropping out in all four groups was intent to leave. Both Bean (1980) and Tinto (1975) discussed the concept of student fit as a partial explanation for a student’s level of persistence, and Tinto (1993) surmised that a lack of fit can arise from a combination of social and academic issues. The pressure to leave college is further increased when a college student fails to adopt the values of the college subculture (Tinto, 1997). As in this study, when students do not integrate early with the college subculture in the dual enrollment experience, it remains unlikely that those students will increase in postsecondary persistence. The awareness and experience of the actual college classroom is a key component of the intention to persist to college (Tinto, 1997). Ironically, one of the apparent outcomes of participating in a dual-enrollment program may be to not attend college at all.

Conclusion

Dual-enrollment programs have become a common element of American secondary education. These programs provide high school students with the opportunity to complete college courses while simultaneously attending high school, receiving both college and high school credit (D’Amico et al., 2013). Dual-enrollment programs have expanded rapidly over the last several years, yet the growth of these programs in many instances has placed a strain on state budgets, causing many to rethink the wisdom of these programs. As an example, the state of Georgia recently moved to limiting the rising costs of dual-enrollment programs (Dunlap, 2020). Legislation in this and other states has worked to limit not only the number of semester hours students can take but also the grade-level of the students who are eligible to participate (Stirgus, 2020). Considering these proposed and potential future budget reductions to dual-enrollment programs, it is imperative that school leaders thoroughly analyze programs and policies to ensure students gain the greatest possible benefit.

This research provides school leaders and educators with information that could potentially affect decisions concerning modes of dual enrollment options offered to high school students. There is much literature that points to the importance of dual-enrollment programs, and research has found positive benefits are realized by dual-enrolled students regardless of course modality (Lile et al., 2017). The present study identified a significant difference in the overall postsecondary persistence scores of dual-enrolled high school students based on modality. However, several additional similarities were found between the groups. Whereas the mean postsecondary persistence scores of those enrolled on the college campus was higher than those enrolled at the high school campus, both groups scored highest on the same factors of the College Persistence Questionnaire: Degree commitment and scholastic conscientiousness. Degree commitment refers to respondent feeling in the areas of their intention to persist in pursuit of a degree, family support and encouragement, level of uncertainty about overcoming obstacles, and the level of disappointment from their significant others if they were to quit school (Davidson et al., 2015). Scholastic conscientiousness refers to the respondent’s history of tardiness to classes or in submitting assignments, unexcused absenteeism, and propensity to forget important responsibilities (Davidson et al., 2015). The high levels in these two areas are in line with the body of research on dual enrollment. Cowan and Goldhaber (2015) found students who enroll in a dual-enrollment program are 8% more likely to complete a degree than students who did not participate in dual-enrollment. Grubb et al. (2017) found that more than 30% of students who participated in a dual-enrollment program graduated with a 2-year college degree within two years of high school graduation compared to 15% of those who did not take part in such programs. Participation in dual-enrollment courses has also proved more beneficial to postsecondary outcomes than enrollment in Advanced Placement courses (Giani et al., 2014), and those who have participated in dual enrollment are less likely to require remediation work upon entering college (Grubb et al., 2017). While the present study does not question the benefits of dual-enrollment programs, its findings suggest some modes of instruction may have greater effects on the level of college persistence than others.

Limitations

The present study examined the college persistence scores of dual enrolled high school students taking courses through a two-year technical college in Georgia. The results found may not be like those for students taking dual-enrollment course through a four-year institution. The present study also did not consider student achievement or school ability as a factor in the level of postsecondary persistence. Additionally, many of the participants in the study had taken college courses in more than one mode of instruction or had taken multiple courses within the same mode of instruction. Whether the number of experiences in dual enrollment courses plays a role in postsecondary persistence is unknown.

Recommendations

The results of the study raise several recommendations for future research. In the present study the researcher only considered 11th and 12th grade high school students. However, some states now allow students as young as ninth grade to participate in dual-enrollment programs. Future research could expand the literature base by including high school students in all grade levels as well as considering student age as an additional variable. In this study the researcher also did not consider the rigor of the courses being taken as a factor in student persistence. Future research could consider the rigor of college coursework on postsecondary persistence.

The courses taught at the high school in the present study were either taught by instructors sent from the technical college to the high school or by high school teachers contracted by the technical college. Future research could examine the impact of instructor background and qualifications on postsecondary persistence dual enrolled students.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Philip Alsup

Author Biographies

Philip Alsup is a professor of education at Maranatha Baptist University and an adjunct professor of educational research at Liberty University. His research is focused on education in K12 Christian schools. He serves as a principal at a parochial academy in Wisconsin. 

Joseph Depenhart is a principal at a career academy that provides career technical and agricultural education to high school students grades nine through twelve. His research is focused on the impact of dual-enrollment programs.

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