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The impact of dual enrollment programs on first-year college success for Hispanic students from low-socioeconomic-status communities: a promising practice

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The impact of dual enrollment programs on first-year college success for Hispanic students from low-socioeconomic-status communities: a promising practice

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The Impact of Dual Enrollment Programs on First-Year College Success for Hispanic
Students From Low-Socioeconomic-Status Communities: A Promising Practice
by
Miguel Angel Dueñas

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

August 2021

© Copyright by Miguel Angel Dueñas 2021
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Miguel Angel Dueñas certifies the approval of this Dissertation.

Darline Robles
Marco Nava
Cathy Sloane Krop, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2021

iv
Abstract
Dual enrollment is one of the forms of collegiate exposures and experiences that many high
school students across the United States are participating in (Acevedo-Gil, 2019; An, 2013).
California is ranked 36th out of 41 states that offer dual enrollment (National Student
Clearinghouse Research Center, 2010), this prompted the researcher to study the impact that dual
enrollment has on first-year college success among Hispanic students from low-socioeconomic
status (SES) communities. There are gaps in dual enrollment offering and participation among
Hispanic students, and even lower rates for Hispanic students from low-SES communities (Fack
& Grenet, 2015; Moreno et al., 2020). A literature review was conducted to identify peer
reviewed research to identify if dual enrollment was seen as a promising practice that led to first-
year college success among Hispanic students from low-SES communities. Clark and Estes’s
(2008) knowledge, motivation, and organizational (KMO) gap analysis framework was used to
identify the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that students had as it related
to participating in a dual enrollment program. One college was identified for this study, Inner-
City Community College (ICCC), a pseudonym, and four focus groups were comprised of first-
year and second-year college students that previously participated in a dual enrollment program
at high schools from low-SES communities. The qualitative data collected from the focus group
interviews provided data on the impact that dual enrollment had on Hispanic college students.
The findings identified assets that ICCC had in relation to promising practices of dual enrollment
implementation. There were areas that required continuing needs, which led to recommendations
to increase the accessibility of dual enrollment programs for high school students. The study
demonstrated that through the validation of research and qualitative data, ICCC’s dual
enrollment is seen as a promising practice that positively impacts first-year college success for
Hispanic students from low-SES communities.

v
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my wife, Alejandra Dueñas and my two sons, Miguel
Angel Dueñas, Jr. & Andres Juan Dueñas, for supporting me and cheering me on, throughout the
three years that was committed to accomplish my Ed.D. We did it!!!!

To my family and friends, I thank you for your positive praise and reminder of how important
and impactful this work has been. It truly takes a village!

As I reflect on the time that I was not fully present with my family, I now realize that it was a
significant sacrifice. I understand that all of that time away from my family and all of the long
days and nights of studying and writing were worth the effort to complete my coursework and
dissertation. This has been, by far, the most challenging work that I have done, but it is
rewarding beyond belief!

To my boys, Miguel and Andres, I am fortunate that you were able to witness the work that I put
into getting my doctoral degree. I wish that this serves as an example that it can be done, and I
hope that this inspires you to persevere through adversity and know that you have what it takes
to accomplish anything that you set mind and heart to.

vi
Acknowledgements
I would acknowledge my USC dissertation committee: Dr. Kathy Crop, Dr. Darline
Robles, and Dr. Marco Nava for their willingness to be part of my committee. I truly appreciate
your time, guidance, and support.

vii
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication ........................................................................................................................................v
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................x
Chapter One: Introduction to the Problem of Practice .....................................................................1
Background of the Problem .................................................................................................2
Importance of the Study .......................................................................................................4
Organizational Context and Mission ...................................................................................5
Organizational Goal .............................................................................................................7
Description of Stakeholder Groups and Performance Goals ...............................................8
Stakeholder Group for the Study .........................................................................................9
Performance Goals Related to the Problem of Practice .....................................................10
Purpose of the Study and Research Questions ...................................................................11
Overview of Theoretical and Methodological Framework ................................................12
Organization of the Dissertation ........................................................................................12
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature .........................................................................................14
Dual Enrollment Programs ................................................................................................14
How Dual Enrollment Programs Impact High School Students From Low-
Socioeconomic-Status Communities ...........................................................................17
Partnerships Between High Schools and Post-Secondary Success ....................................23
Clark and Estes’s Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences’ Framework ..28
Summary ............................................................................................................................40
Chapter Three: Methodology .........................................................................................................41
Overview of Methodology .................................................................................................41

viii
Ethics and Role of Researcher ...........................................................................................44
Limitations and Delimitations ............................................................................................45
Conclusion .........................................................................................................................46
Chapter Four: Results and Findings ...............................................................................................47
Participating Stakeholders .................................................................................................48
Results and Findings for Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences ...........50
Knowledge Findings ..........................................................................................................50
Motivation Findings ...........................................................................................................59
Organization Findings ........................................................................................................66
Summary of Results and Findings .....................................................................................74
Chapter Five: Recommendations ...................................................................................................77
Recommendations to Address Continuing Needs of Knowledge, Motivation, and
Organizational Influences ............................................................................................82
Implementation and Evaluation Plan ...............................................................................101
Impact of COVID-19 on This Study ................................................................................108
Future Research Recommendations .................................................................................109
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................110
References ....................................................................................................................................112
Appendix A: Interview Protocol ..................................................................................................131
Appendix B: Data Collection Protocol ........................................................................................134

ix
List of Tables
Table 1: Organizational Mission, Organizational Goal and Stakeholder Group’s Performance
Goal 11
Table 2: Assumed Knowledge Influences 32
Table 3: Assumed Motivational Influences 36
Table 4: Organizational Influences 39
Table 5: Description of Participating Stakeholders 49
Table 6: Summary of Assumed Knowledge Needs 51
Table 7: Support Services That Students Received During Their First-Year of College 56
Table 8: Summary of Assumed Motivation Needs 60
Table 9: Organizational Influences 66
Table 10: Summary of Influences and Needs of the Impact that Dual Enrollment has on First-
Year Hispanic College Students 79
Table 11: Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 86
Table 12: Summary of Motivational Influences and Recommendations 90
Table 13: Summary of Organizational Influences and Recommendations 96
Table 14: Prosci ADKAR Model 103
Table A1: Protocol 132

x
List of Figures
Figure 1: Stakeholder Transfer/Completion 65
Figure 2: Dual Enrollment Information Communication 68
Figure 3: Students That Received Transitional Support 71
Figure 4: Students That Received Information About the Impact of Dual Enrollment Credits 71
Figure 5: Focus Group Interview Themes 82
Figure 6: Three-Year Implementation and Evaluation Cycle 106

1

Chapter One: Introduction to the Problem of Practice
Dual enrollment (DE) programs provide opportunities for high school students to
simultaneously be enrolled in high school and a college. These programs typically have formal
agreements between high school districts and community colleges. When high school students
from low-socioeconomic-status communities are exposed to DE college classes, they have higher
levels of high school completion, college matriculation, and college completion (Howley et al.,
2013; Jobs for the Future, 2018; Lewis & Overman, 2008; Tinto, 1993). Increasing early
exposure to DE classes for low-SES students enriches the positive collegiate experience, which
increases collegiate success and completion (Allen & Dadgar, 2012; Tinto, 1993). Nevertheless,
there are currently many factors that limit access and exposure to DE classes for low-SES high
school students which will ultimately impact their first-year college success (Bailey & Karp,
2003; Bowers, 2016; Tinto, 1993).
The problem of practice to be addressed by this study is the impact that inequitable
access to DE programs has on high school students from low-SES communities, which directly
impacts first-year college success. The purpose of this study is to examine a promising practice
of incorporating DE programs in high schools in low-socioeconomic-status (low-SES)
communities to increase collegiate exposure and access to college courses while students are in
high school. The study will focus on low-SES Hispanic college students at ICCC, a pseudonym,
who participated in dual enrollment while in high school to better understand how DE affected
their first-year college success and how ICCC can best expand the reach of their DE program and
promote student success. The study identified how DE is seen as a promising practice and how
the program has made a positive collegiate impact on high school students from low-SES
communities.

2

Background of the Problem
In the 2002–03 and 2003–04 school year, over 800,000 high school students across the
United States participated in DE college courses, which led to students earning up to 12 college
units (Education Commission of the States, 2016; Hughes, 2010; National Center for Education
Statistics [NCES], 2005). In a 2010–2011 study, NCES reported that approximately 1.3 million
high school students in the United States were enrolled in early college courses (NCES, 2013).
The Community College Research Center (CCRC) in conjunction with the National Student
Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) conducted a study between 2010 and 2016 that tracked
more than 200,000 high school students. Their results demonstrated that 15% of Fall 2010
community college entrants were high school DE students; of those students, two-thirds were
low-income or middle income.
Multiple studies have supported the benefits of DE classes for high school students,
especially those in low-SES communities (An, 2013; Chapman, 2001; Chmelynski, 2004). While
socioeconomically disadvantaged youth do not participate in DE programs at the same rate as
more affluent youth, DE has been shown to have a positive impact for students that are
socioeconomically disadvantaged (An, 2013; Palardy, 2014; Parikh, 2013). When DE is
implemented correctly, it will lead to higher levels of high school graduation, college enrollment
and college completion (Howley et al., 2013; Jobs for the Future, 2018; Lewis & Overman,
2008).
According to a 2010 study by the NSCRC, California’s DE as a percentage of students in
college for the first time was 8%, which placed California near the bottom of the ranking at 36th
out of 41 states that were offering DE programs throughout the United States. Since 2010, there
have been gains made in DE participation in California. Friedmann et al. (2020) found that there
was a 12.6% DE participation in California by high school seniors in 2016–17. This data
3

demonstrated a substantial increase in DE participation, but when the data was disaggregated by
economic and race, African American and Latinx students had lower participation rates at 6.5%
and 8.7%, respectively, compared to their Asian and White counterparts that had rates of 10.1%
and 13%, respectively.
There is higher college persistence for recent high school graduates when students
participate in DE programs (Burns et al., 2019). The unequal access to DE, in particular for low-
SES, Hispanic students, is of particular concern given data on first-year college persistence. High
school graduation rates for Hispanic students in the United States between 1990 and 2013
increased from 59% to 85%, while for African American students increased from 83% to 92%
and White students increased from 90% to 94%. Using the U.S. Census Bureau’s Supplemental
Poverty Measure demonstrates that Hispanic and African American students have the highest
rates of living in poverty, 27% and 28% respectively. In addition, Hispanic students that are
associated with living in poverty have lower academic success rates. Ultimately, this leads to
lower-than-average academic performance and lower rates of school completion and/or
graduation (NCES, 2016).
This has long-term implications for college enrollment and completion. The total college
enrollment rates of Hispanic students aged 18 to 24 years between 2003 and 2013 increased from
23% to 34%. This can be compared to enrollment rates of same age African American students
which rose from 28% to 36% and White students which rose from 39% to 45%, during the same
time range (NCES, 2016). Over this same period, trends in completion rates have increased, and
these increases can be connected, in part, to increases in academic resources (Allen & Dadgar,
2012). DE programs are part of these resources that have made a positive impact on college
enrollment and completion rates for Hispanic high school students from low-SES communities in
the United States.
4

While we see an increase in DE in the United States, there is still a need to increase
equitable access to DE programs for Hispanic high school students from low-SES communities.
By increasing access to DE programs, there will be an increase in student academic gains which
supports high school graduation rates and immediate college matriculation. It is important to
continue to monitor the progression of underrepresented students and increase academic
resources to ensure that they persist to and through college.
Importance of the Study
The problem of having limited access to DE classes for low-income Hispanic high school
students is important to study for a variety of reasons. In relation to the lack of access to DE
courses, Hispanic high school students from low-SES communities have a relatively low rate of
college enrollment immediately following high school. For example, while 81% of upper-income
high school graduates enter college the following fall, only 52% of low-income students persist
to college (Karp, 2015). When Hispanic high school students from low-SES communities are
provided access to DE and other forms of early college exposure, they have demonstrated higher
high school graduation rates and persistence to college (Boswell, 2001; Chapman, 2001; Smith,
2007). Additionally, when Hispanic high school students from low-SES communities are
exposed to DE programs while they are in high school, they develop successful skills that
prepare them to be successful in college, especially during their first year in college (Career
Ladders Project, 2018; Chapman, 2001; Gilbert, 2000).
Hispanic high school students from low-SES communities require additional academic
resources in order to be academically competitive, and DE programs provide students an
opportunity to gain an academic advantage (An, 2013). Depriving Hispanic high school students
from low-SES communities access to DE creates an inequity issue that will negatively impacts
them academically; ultimately creating an achievement gap (Burns et al., 2018; Caplan et al.,
5

2002). When DE courses are designed as part of a career pathway, students are exposed to career
opportunities and trained in those areas. As a result of DE programs design, students have higher
rates of college matriculation and graduation, which increases their ability to enter the workforce
better prepared (Jobs for the Future, 2018). A lack of equal access to DE will have continued
effects on students, beyond high school. The lack of early college exposure will impact their
knowledge and hinder their ability to effectively maneuver through their first year of college
(Brock, 2010; Wang et al., 2015). When Hispanic high school students from low-SES
communities are not provided the same access to experiences and resources as higher-income
students, they are set back, eventually impacting their ability to enter and complete college and
be competitive in the workforce and life (NSCRC, 2018).
Organizational Context and Mission
The DE program at ICCC serves students from various communities, academic levels,
SES, gender, race, and ages. The mission of ICCC is to empower students from all academic
status to successfully pursue their educational goals and ambitions to become better community
and global citizens. ICCC was founded in the early 1940s and is a Hispanic-serving institution
with more than 75% of its approximate 28,000 students of Hispanic/Latina/o descent. A major
service area that ICCC covers is considered to be under the poverty line based on the 2010 U.S.
Census report, with over 20% of the population around ICCC considered to be in poverty. The
approximate average student age range at ICCC is between 20 and 24 years of age. In addition,
35% of the approximate 28,000 students receive financial aid, which includes Pell Grants and
Board of Governor waivers.
The DE program at ICCC was founded in the early 2000s, and it started as an enrichment
program that offered a few college courses to local high schools. The initial program enrolled
6

approximately 1,200 students per year and the most common classes were in child development,
Chicano/a studies, communication studies, engineering, and Spanish.
The DE program at ICCC has grown since the early 2000s, and it currently offers over
200 college courses at 25 middle schools and 60 high schools with an approximate enrollment
count of 8,000 per year. The previously mentioned courses still continue to be some of the highly
requested courses, along with administration of justice, anthropology, art, chemistry, English,
health, political science, psychology and theater. In addition, there has been an increase of career
technical education (CTE) which exposes students to industry sectors that are in high demand or
are projected to be in demand in the immediate future. The CTE program also provides students
an opportunity to earn industry recognized skills certificates, which a student can use if and when
they enter the workforce. Some of the most popular CTE programs are child development,
business, cloud computing, education, engineering, health occupation, and logistics.
The initial program model was a combination of concurrent enrollment/dual enrollment
courses. Both concurrent enrollment/dual enrollment allow a high school student to take college
courses, the only difference is that concurrent enrollment means that a student takes the college
course at the college campus and DE means that the college class is offered at the high school
campus. ICCC’s DE program offers 95% of its courses at the high school campus. There are a
few courses that require a student to take the course at the college campus due to the need to
access highly specified equipment or laboratory materials that cannot be transported to the local
high schools.
In the early stages of ICCC’s DE program, the typical students that participated in DE
classes were students that were in the Advanced Placement (AP) program, International
Baccalaureate (IB) or gifted programs. Today, the program has a more diverse and equitable
7

participation pool of students. The average DE participation rate by student at an individual high
school is 12%. The typical student enrolls in 1 or 2 DE courses per semester.
Another important data set to share is the academic performance of current college
students that previously participated in a DE program while they were in high school compared
to current college students that did not participate in a DE program while they were in high
school. In 2016, the average Grade Point Average (GPA) of a DE student was 2.94 and their full-
time college counterparts were at 2.13. In 2018, there was an increase in GPA in both
populations, DE students had an average GPA of 3.20 and full-time college students had an
average GPA of 2.75 (ICCC, 2016, 2018).
In addition, ICCC has been recognized through a report conducted by Career Ladders
Project (2018) for its promising approach of DE programs and the impact that it made for high
school students and their families. The report shared the strategies applied by ICCC to increase
equitable access for the students and their families, while it sustained the program through
fiscally challenging times. The college’s DE program has also been included in a research study,
conducted by the RPK Group (2019) on the business model and return on investment, along with
best practices for an effective program. The findings for ICCC’s DE program were positive, and
the findings demonstrated that the program generated a 200% return on its investment and
created valuable best practices to support a promising practice.
Organizational Goal
The organizational goal for ICCC is to increase enrollment in the DE program at local
high schools from low-income communities by 25% by Fall 2022 This goal is based on the need
to increase equitable access of DE courses to the local schools. These efforts will increase
college awareness in ICCC’s community and ultimately increase academic success for the first-
8

year college students that transitioned from high schools in low-SES communities that offered
DE. The number of low-SES entrants can be tracked through enrollment document analysis.
The DE program is a vital source for student preparation and recruitment for ICCC, and it
helps with immediate recruitment of part time students and promoting ICCC as their choice upon
graduating from high school. In order to accomplish this goal, ICCC will need to increase early
collegiate exposure to the local high schools. The majority student demographic in ICCC’s local
feeder high schools are Hispanic high school students from low-SES communities, which also
reflects ICCC’s student enrollment demographics. To ensure that this goal is accomplished, there
needs to be an increase in early college exposure and awareness. This will increase student
preparation to ensure they successfully enroll in DE classes, understanding collegiate culture,
and understanding how to navigate through the collegiate system. Nearly half of students that
participate in DE programs immediately matriculate in college, 84% of those students reenroll at
the college where they have taken DE courses (Community College Research Center, 2017). The
efforts made to expose K–12 students to college early will have immediate and future benefits
for the ICCC future students. Other benefits that will arise from early collegiate exposure will be
higher high school graduation rates, increase in college matriculation and an increase in college
completion.
Description of Stakeholder Groups and Performance Goals
The following stakeholder groups are critical to achieving the organization’s goal: First-
year ICCC students that graduated from local high schools from low-SES communities and that
previously participated in a DE program, ICCC’s DE staff, and ICCC’s First-Year staff.
First-year ICCC students that graduated from local high schools from low-SES
communities and that previously participated in the DE program are a key stakeholder group.
This group can help identify the impact that participating in the DE program made on them while
9

they were in high school and how that has impacted them in their first-year of college.
Understanding their perspectives will help develop a more efficient and effective program for the
benefit of future DE students. In addition, ICCC’s DE staff are an important stakeholder group to
the DE program as they have direct access to dually enrolled students. With this access, they
have an opportunity to directly interact with high school students that participate in DE and can
track those who continue at ICCC. For this reason, it is important to understand the impact made
by ICCC’s DE staff in the DE program that the first-year students participated in. Finally,
ICCC’s First-Year Staff are critical to the onboarding of first-year students through college
orientations, development of educational plans, course registration, tutoring, and case
management which ultimately affect their college persistence and success. As such, it is
important to see the impact made by their participation in onboarding first-year students.
Together, these stakeholder groups impact participation in the ICCC DE program and
first-year college success.
Stakeholder Group for the Study
While all stakeholder groups play a role in goal achievement, the stakeholder group of
primary focus of this study were first-year ICCC students that participated in DE programs and
graduated from local high schools that are in low-SES communities. These students were
identified through document analysis of enrollment data of ICCC’s first-year program.
An (2013) stated that students from low-income communities that gain early college
exposure have higher chances of graduating high school and matriculating to college. The
students from ICCC’s feeder high schools that are participating in DE programs are gaining
valuable exposure that will help them transition to college. Their goal of getting an early start
and transitioning to college is aligned with ICCC’s goal of empowering students to become
leaders in their community and taking advantage of the resources that are available. By doing so,
10

they support ICCC’s goal of increasing early college exposure for high school students. Once
these students graduate from high school and apply at ICCC, they will demonstrate that they are
prepared to persevere through a collegiate program and navigate through their first-year at
college with greater ease.
This stakeholder groups’ goal is to successfully navigate their first-year of college
through the impact made by participating in ICCC’s DE program while they were in high school.
This goal is important to their own success and to the success of others as they will set the
example for other students that are currently taking DE courses and will follow their footsteps
after they graduate high school. Aside from setting the example for future students, these
students are moving the needle when it comes to Hispanics that are attending college (Lozano et
al., 2009).
Performance Goals Related to the Problem of Practice
Table 1 presents the mission of the organization of study, the organization of study’s
performance goal, and the goal for the stakeholder group of focus, ICCC students who
participated in a DE program while in high school.

11

Table 1
Organizational Mission, Organizational Goal and Stakeholder Group’s Performance Goal
Organizational mission
The mission of the Inner-City Community College (ICCC) is to provide equitable access to
students in order to empower them to be successful global citizens.
Organizational performance goal
By Fall 2022 ICCC will increase DE by 25% at local high schools from low-income
communities.
ICCC student goal
By June 2023 first-year ICCC students who participated in the DE program will successfully
navigate their first year of college.

Purpose of the Study and Research Questions
The purpose of this study is to explore the impact that DE program participation has on
first-year Hispanic college students from low-SES communities. While a complete analysis
would focus on all stakeholders, for this study, the stakeholder group of focus is first-year
college students that previously participated in DE programs while they were in high school. The
analysis will focus on first-year college students’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences related to participating in DE programs and future college success. As such, the
research questions guiding this study are as follows:
1. How does participating in dual enrollment classes while a student is in high school
impact student success for first-year college students?
2. What dual enrollment resources and services increase college persistence for low-income
first-year Hispanic college students?
12

3. What recommended solutions can be provided to improve equitable access to dual
enrollment and first-year college success?
Overview of Theoretical and Methodological Framework
The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of participation in a DE program on the
success of first-year college students using the Clark and Estes Gap Analysis model (Clark &
Estes, 2008). This model helps identify performance gaps, especially related to knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences on performance. Through this model, this study seeks
to understand Hispanic high school students from low-SES community’s knowledge, motivation,
and organizational influences that may affect their accessing and/or completing of DE courses
and having first-year college success. Once any performance gaps are identified,
recommendations for practice and a related implementation and evaluation plan are established
to ensure that ICCC meets its goal of increasing its DE program at local high schools from low-
income communities to increase first-year college student success. This analysis was explored
through a mixed-methods research approach. Information was gathered through first-year college
student document analysis and focus group interviews of current ICCC students who had
participated in the DE program.
Organization of the Dissertation
This study is organized with five chapters. This chapter provided the reader the
background, overview, key concepts, and rationale of study on the impact that DE programs
have on first-year college students, and low-income Hispanic students, in particular. Included in
Chapter One were the theoretical framework, stakeholders, and organizational goals. Chapter
Two provides a review of current literature on the scope of study. Dual enrollment, equitable
access, college resources, and first-year programs will be addressed. In addition, ICCC’s first-
year students’ assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on college success
13

are identified in Chapter Two. Chapter Three covers the methodology of this study. In Chapter
Four, the data and key findings are presented. Chapter Five provides recommendations and an
implementation and evaluation plan to increase DE participation and college success among
Hispanic high school students from low-SES communities as well as areas for future research.

14

Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
This literature review studies the impact that participating in a dual enrollment (DE)
program, while in high school, has on first-year college success. The review begins with an
overview of the variation of collegiate programs that high school students have, which includes
DE. This is followed by how DE impacts high school students from low-SES communities. The
review continues with examining the process for transitioning from high school to college and
the impact that DE makes, including college readiness and first-year college success for low-SES
students that participated in DE. In addition, the review examines the impact that the partnership
between high schools and post-secondary institutions has on first-year college students. Finally,
the general literature review concludes with the impact that parents and community members
have on high school students while they participate in DE programs and as they continue onto
their first year of college. Following the general literature review, the review turns to the gap
analysis framework (Clark & Estes, 2008). The gap analysis framework examines the assumed
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that may impact student participation in
DE programs and their first-year college success.
Dual Enrollment Programs
What Are Dual Enrollment Programs?
Dual enrollment programs provide high school students the opportunity to take college
courses while they are in high school. Some students are able to earn college credit that may be
used towards a high school diploma (California Community College Chancellor’s Office, 2020).
There are generally two methods in which a high school student may participate in college
courses. Dual Enrollment, which is when a high school student takes college classes at their high
school campus, that are taught by college instructors. The second method is concurrent
enrollment, which is when a high school student takes college courses at a community college.
15

Recently in California, Assembly Bill AB 288 (AB 288) was passed March 2016 and has created
a program that takes DE and concurrent enrollment and integrates career pathways which focus
on specific industry sectors that will have future workforce needs. This program is called the
College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) (California Community College Chancellor’s
Office, 2016). CCAP programs were developed to enhance the partnership between high schools,
community colleges, and industry. The goal is to introduce career opportunities to non-
collegebound and underrepresented high school students from low-SES communities and expose
them to industry sectors that will be in demand in the near future. A part of the goal is to increase
the offering of DE course that are related to the industry sectors that will have future workforce
needs. Many of these courses will lead to industry skills certificates, upon successful completion
of a series of courses. The CCAP has aligned the collegiate CTE programs with high schools that
have specific learning academies that are geared to a specific industry focus (California
Community College Chancellor’s Office, 2016). When high school students participate in these
programs, they increase in college persistence, college completion, and career readiness
(California Community College Chancellor’s Office, 2016).
Dual enrollment programs provide students multiple exposure points that increase college
readiness and preparation (Acevedo-Gil, 2019; Eddy & Murray, 2007; Jobs for the Future,
2018). These programs may resemble a college bridge program, IB program, or an Advanced
Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, because of the college-level preparation that a
student develops as they participate in DE. AVID students, like DE students, have demonstrated
academic success in their first year of college compared to students that did not participate in
either program (Watt et al., 2008). Studies have demonstrated that when high school students
receive collegiate academic preparation, they have increased collegiate success (An, 2015;
Chapman, 2001; Gilbert, 2000).
16

Dual enrollment programs are beneficial as a resource to increase academic progress and
can be a way for high school students to accumulate high school credits. Dual Enrollment also
serves as a way to keep advanced students interested in their high school curriculum and gain a
head start on college (An, 2013; D’Amico et al., 2013). In addition, students that are not
typically seen as college-going, will benefit from DE programs. Dually enrolled students
demonstrated that compared to their non-dual enrolled peers, they excelled academically and
showed higher levels of college entrance right after high school (Bailey & Karp, 2003; Burns et
al., 2019; Hughes, 2012; Karp et al., 2007).
Dual enrollment has also been connected with increasing students’ academic momentum
which helps students’ interest and increases academic success. Students are able to explore their
collegiate potential through a DE programs, which increases collegiate connectivity and
academic success in an inexpensive way (Ma & Baum, 2016; Wang et al., 2015).
Growth of Dual Enrollment Programs
Dual enrollment programs have had increases in recent years; which have increased
participation of underrepresented students of color. In a study conducted by the Community
College Research Center in collaboration with The Aspen Institute, nine DE programs in Florida,
Ohio, and Washington that had high participation of historically underrepresented students of
color were studied (Mehl et al., 2020). The study found that in recent years, DE programs have
had an increase of underrepresented students of color. The study found that one in five school
districts have closed the gap in access to DE by race. At the same time, where, on average, 12%
of white students participate in DE, 7% of Black students and 8% of Hispanic students
participate, suggesting additional work needs to be done (Mehl et al., 2020). Further, Xu et al.
(2019) determined that 19% and 23% of school districts nationally had above the average rates
of Black and Hispanic students participating in DE. Speroni (2011) found that DE programs in
17

Florida had an increase of student participation which led to an increase in matriculating to 4-
year institutions among those who otherwise would have enrolled in a 2-year institution. This
suggests the positive impact of DE programs on high school students from low-SES
communities.
How Dual Enrollment Programs Impact High School Students From Low-Socioeconomic-
Status Communities
Sixty-nine percent of all public high schools in the United States offered DE programs
(U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2018), with an approximate national enrollment
number of 1.3 million students in 2012–13 (NCES, 2013). Among the schools that offer DE in
the U.S., 54% of them are high-poverty schools (Xu et al., 2019). Hughes et al. (2012) identified
that a vast majority of students that participated in a DE program passed their courses with As or
Bs. There was a high level of persistence towards their second year of DE, which demonstrated a
growth in accumulated credits from year one to year two. Aside from increasing collegiate
persistence, DE programs increase high school students’ ability to move into higher paying jobs,
if they participated in CTE courses (Kim & Bragg, 2008; Morgan et al., 2018; Slade et al., 2015;
Zakhem & Loloff-Cooper, 2018).
High school students from low-SES communities have less access to collegiate
experiences and exposure. Some of the reasons for this are due to the inability of accessing
resources that would increase college awareness (Acevedo-Gil, 2019; An, 2013; Berry & Bass,
2012; Fack & Grenet, 2015; Parikh, 2013). An example of this would be a lack of ability of
visiting college campuses due to parental lack of knowledge of the positive impact this would
make or a lack of financial ability to make the actual trip; this action will ultimately create a
deficit in the student’s opportunity for college awareness (An, 2013; Roach et al., 2015). These
social dynamics play a role in what becomes a collegiate exposure deficit for low-SES students,
18

which ultimately requires additional support services from the high schools to make these
students whole (Karp et al., 2007; Roderick et al., 2011). Yosso (2006) revealed that most
Chicano/Chicana students are not guided toward college readiness, instead they are placed in
overcrowded and under-resourced high schools where they are taught by less experienced
teachers and less rigorous curriculum (Yosso, 2006). Students from low-SES communities
highly benefit from early college programs, like DE, which provides them early access to
collegiate experiences (Karp et al., 2007; Venezia & Jaeger, 2013).
According to Krueger (2006), there are links between DE programs and high school
matriculation and post-secondary success among predominantly at-risk and underrepresented
students. Students from New York’s LaGuardia Middle College High School demonstrated 90%
graduation rates with college matriculation after high school. In Georgia, there was an increase
of DE participation from 76% to 91% in 1995 which resulted in a decrease of college
remediation by 40% when a student entered college (Krueger, 2006).
The benefits of increasing access of DE courses for low-SES students have direct links to
academic success and higher levels of college persistence. Understanding where the gaps in
access are is necessary to create an equitable action plan to ensure that low-SES students are
given an opportunity to be college and career ready.
Secondary to Post-Secondary Transition Process for Dually Enrolled Students From Low-
Socioeconomic-Status Communities
Acevedo-Gil (2019) noted that the high school environment plays a major role in the
decision-making process for high school students whether they will be attending college or not.
Culture impacts students’ self-belief and confidence towards college persistence. Low-SES
Hispanic students have demonstrated the lowest levels of college readiness which leads to lower
college matriculation directly after graduating high school (NCES, 2019). This inequity is caused
19

by a lack of college interactions in their high schools, inability to comprehend the college
application process, and economic hardship; which creates limitations to attend a college or
university (Cox, 2016; Yun & Moreno, 2006; Zinth, 2014). The lack of college exposure also
leads many students to develop false beliefs about their worthiness and academic capacity to be
successful in a post-secondary institution (Mehl et al., 2020; Murphy & Murphy, 2018; Verdugo,
1995.) For example, in 2014, 56% of all Latinx undergraduates were enrolled in a community
college, compared to 42% their non-Latinx counterparts (Ma & Baum, 2016).
Even amongst Latinx students there is a disparity between who receives college
resources, exposure, and early college preparation; this is grounded on SES. Latinx high school
students that attend high schools in low-SES communities tend to have less impactful college
awareness and preparation programs, compared to their high-SES counterparts (Morgan et al.,
2018; Palardy, 2014). There is a correlation between socioeconomic composition (SEC) and the
level of 4-year matriculation of recent high school graduates. Students from high SEC schools
are 68% more likely to attend a 4-year university compared to their low-SEC counterparts
(Palardy, 2013).
Venezia and Jaeger (2013) noted that curricular and non-curricular factors impact high
school transition to college. High school curriculum and collegiate readiness programming
impacts student readiness to enter college. This has a greater impact on students that live in
poverty or from underrepresented groups. In addition, non-curricular influences also make a
notable impact on students’ college readiness. This is seen through peer influence, parental
expectations, and academic influencers to persist to college (Covarrubias, 2011; Irmadora et al.,
2020; Latino et al., 2020).
Latinx students are more likely to enroll at a community college at a rate of 56%
compared to 42% of their non-Latinx high school counterparts (Acevedo-Gil, 2019). A large
20

number of Latinx high school students choose to enroll in a community college due to a lack of
confidence and thinking that they are not ready to apply to a 4-year university; which leads to a
large number of Latinx students enrolling in community colleges, where they are overqualified
(Bowen et al., 2009; Chen, 2016).
Dual Enrollment programs increase student success and builds confidence, which
increases the willingness to enroll in 4-year institutions (D’Amico et al., 2013). Students also
gain higher GPAs in their first year of college with greater first-to-second-year retention (Nelson
& Waltz, 2017). When students gain access to collegiate exposure and equitable access to
college services, like DE, when they are in high school, they develop a college-going identity;
they have a smoother transition to college, and have greater academic success (Vargas et al.,
2017).
Aside from developing greater academic progression and increasing college/university
matriculation, DE also increases career readiness for high school graduates that are choosing to
enter the workforce directly after high school (Lewis & Overman, 2008; Morrison, 2008). Bailey
et al. (2002) found that CTE DE programs provide greater career opportunities and early career
development; which produce better prepared workforce entrants. Many students that participate
in CTE DE courses while in high school earn certificates or skills certificates that are industry
recognized and applicable in the workforce (Harnish & Lynch, 2005).
The transition process between secondary and post-secondary requires various levels of
support, and institutions must create intentional, equitable action plans to ensure that they
provide access to collegiate exposure and services to all students, regardless of ethnicity or SES.

21

College Readiness and First-Year College Success
College readiness is important for all K–12 students to ensure a smoother transition and
higher chance of first-year success (Allen & Dadgar, 2012; Bailey & Karp, 2003; Bailey et al.,
2002; Venezia & Jaeger, 2013). The mere exposure of college awareness will enrich a student’s
understanding about the options that they might have. When students are empowered with
information, they will be able to make well-informed decisions about their next steps after high
school (Bandura, 2000; Chmelynski, 2004; Parikh, 2013).
Berkner and Chavez (1997) explained that college readiness programs are beneficial for
students from low-income and/or underrepresented groups because they are less likely to go to
college, participate in college preparatory courses, or enroll in 4-year institutions. Effective
college readiness programs are needed to increase students’ understanding of what they need to
do in order to become college ready and to be successful.
Early college exposure will provide them the foundation to be successful in their post-
secondary educational program. Early college awareness must begin as early as possible; this is a
common practice in high-SES communities, where parents might have a college degree and will
be able to guide their children based on their experiences. This might not be the case for students
from low-SES communities, where parents might not have the prior knowledge to guide
students. Low-SES students will require additional support and resources to increase the
opportunities to develop a college-going mindset and persevere to transition to college (Fack &
Grenet, 2015).
Intervention programs like DE improve college readiness for high school students. When
intervention programs are embedded into a high school’s organizational structure, they increase
college readiness. Resources like DE also provide academic preparation and information about
college that will help students as they transition to college; services like financial aid awareness,
22

psychological and behavioral supports are included as some of the benefits of early college
exposure (An, 2015; Hoffman et al., 2009; Venezia & Jaeger, 2013).
Dual enrollment has been seen as a promising practice for many 2-year institutions,
because it serves as a method to help students get a head start on college and gain college
awareness that will help them become better prepared for a post-secondary education (Hughes,
2010; Hughes et al., 2012). Programs like DE also benefit students that are considering entering
the workforce after they graduate high school; which enables them to be better prepared for their
careers (Waits et al., 2005; Wang et al., 2015). Many students are looking for specified DE
pathway programs, unlike the traditional DE path. Dual enrollment pathway programs are
aligned with career pathways that lead to an associate degree, technical certificates, and
transferability to a 4-year institution (Eddy & Murray, 2007; Leech, 2014; Winograd et al.,
2018).
D’Amico et al. (2013) shared data from The NCES which reported that 1.3 million
students participated in DE programs in 2012–13 with 76% of all DE students completing their
courses at a 2-year college (NCES, 2013). The study found that 98% of the nation’s public 2-
year institutions enroll high school students in college classes. This study discovered that
students that participated in Florida’s and New York’s DE programs had higher GPAs in their
first-year of college. These students also demonstrated a higher rate of second-year college
persistence and degree completion.
There has been an increased interest by community colleges to increase partnerships with
K–12 districts to increase students’ college exposure and awareness; which leads to greater
academic outcomes for high school and first-year college students. These partnerships also serve
as a mechanism to increase students’ persistence to college and college completion (Bailey et al.,
2002; Hoffman et al., 2008).
23

Partnerships Between High Schools and Post-Secondary Success
Partnerships Between High Schools and Post-Secondary Institutions
Collaborations between K–12 and community colleges create a culture of cross-sharing
of support and services for both high schools and community colleges. Even though teaching
pedagogy and organizational protocols are different, these types of partnerships create bridges
for both institutions. High school students benefit from college enrichment and access to
collegiate resources, which includes DE. Faculty, K–12 and collegiate, can benefit from cross-
articulation between teaching professionals to increase student preparation and develop a
smoother transition to college (Eddy & Murray, 2007; Im & Hughes, 2016; Vargas & Santos,
2009).
In California, the Department of Education requires that local educational agencies
demonstrate that they have a college/career readiness program to ensure that upon high school
graduation, students are prepared for college or a career. Acceptable programs included CTE, AP
programs, and DE (California Department of Education, 2019).
One of the most influential positions at the high school is the counselor, because they are
the bridge between high school and college. The partnership between K–12, community
colleges, and universities heavily relies on the efficiency of the high school counselor. They have
to counsel and advise up to 500 students, per counselor, on what courses they need to take in
high school to prepare them to enter college/university or the workforce. One additional role that
high school counselors have taken on is as a quasi-college counselor, because they have to guide
their students on what DE course they should take (Hanson et al., 2015; Lozano et al., 2009;
Witkowsky & Clayton, 2020). In addition to guiding students on their DE selections, the
counselor plays a role of intermediary between high school students and the college, while also
being the go-to person for the community colleges. The high school counselor plays a vital role
24

in the success factor for a dual enrolment program at a high school (Hanson et al., 2015; McCord
& Roberts, 2014).
Another important partnership for the successful implementation of a DE program is the
connection between K–12 Districts and community colleges. These partnerships require formal
agreements and reciprocity to ensure that the DE program is successful and sustainable. The
partnership between the two partners should lead to an increase of offering college resources and
support to help low-SES students in becoming college ready (An, 2013; Vargas & Santos, 2009).
Furthermore, strong partnerships between K–12 and community colleges lead to high-
quality DE programs, that have demonstrated invaluable benefits for low-SES students,
underrepresented groups, young men of color, and first-generation college attendees (An, 213,
2015; Hughes, 2010; Karp et al., 2007). These programs provide students an opportunity to gain
early collegiate exposure which leads to an increase in high school graduation, college
persistence, and college completion. The added benefits of a high-quality DE program are the
increased academic growth, collegiate exposure, and college persistence (CLP, 2018; Moreno et
al., 2020; Rueda, 2011). Another benefit is that most of the DE courses are free for K–12
students and may include books and materials. Overall, these cost-savings increase the
opportunity for high school students to explore courses that they typically would not enroll in
due to lack of funds. Removing some of the barriers that low-SES students face will increase
access to DE courses that will help them graduate from high school and persist to college (Karp
et al., 2007; Vargas et al., 2017).
An example of an effective partnership is Florida’s partnership model which requires that
a K–12 superintendent and community college president implement articulation agreements for
DE programs for high school students. These programs identify all of the program parameters
25

and responsible parties for each task. This creates a transparent process that leads to increased
student access to DE programming for all students (Andrews, 2001).
Another effective example is the College Now program offered between The City
University of New York (CUNY) and the New York Department of Education (NYDOE) where
they have created a program that offers NYDOE students free college transition/DE courses that
count for their first-year at CUNY. These programs increase college readiness and decrease the
need for collegiate remediation (Karp et al., 2007; Krueger, 2006). College Now students earn an
average of 17.31 cumulative credits. This program services 23,000 students, 35% Hispanic, 21%
Black/Non-Hispanic, 17% White/ Non-Hispanic, 22% Asian/Pacific Islander 4% unknown, and
1% American Indian or Native American (College Now, 2019).
Parent Involvement and the Impact on Dually Enrolled High School Students From Low-
Socioeconomic-Status Communities
Parental involvement impacts the students’ decision if they will or will not pursue a DE
course (Hughes et al., 2012). Another aspect to parental involvement is SES and educational
experience; affluent and educated parents tend to have an advantage when it comes to
understanding the benefit of participating in a DE program. In contrast, low-SES parents will
typically be less aware of the benefits of DE and will not be able to guide their children due to a
lack of awareness and experience (Gonzalez et al., 2015; Latino et al., 2020; Zinth, 2014).
Parents and community members play an important role in the educational decisions
made by students. The high level of influence that these groups have on students are factored in
the decisions that a student will make. This impacts the student’s educational interests, access,
and attainment, which have a long-lasting effect on a student’s educational career (An, 2013;
Frances et al., 2018).
26

Nord et al. (2019) explained how education and societal classification have a direct
correlation to upward mobility and educational gains. Social structure is impacted by education,
and it sets parameters as to the level of upward mobility one is able to attain based on the level of
academic exposure one’s family has. Education is seen as a gatekeeper and places people in a
social hierarchy. Social status and educational accomplishments create a greater divide between
communities; students from more prominent social enclaves might have greater exposure to
educational experience and resources which directly benefits students as they navigate through
their K–12 educational path (Caplan et al., 2002; Covarrubias, 2011). Families with less
collegiate exposure or degree attainment will not be able to provide their children with the first-
hand experience to guide them through the collegiate preparation or post-secondary persistence
(Baker, 2014). This social divide increases the educational gap between communities. For
students from low-SES communities, they require additional exposure to increase eligibility and
interest to continue in higher ed (Acevedo-Gil, 2019; Lucas, & Good, 2001).
When parents are aware of educational resources or if they have first-hand experience in
utilizing educational resources, whether it is in K–12 or post-secondary, they create an advantage
for their children (An, 2015; Hughes et al., 2012). Parents are empowered and become an advisor
to their children and are able to provide guidance on how to complete college applications,
financial aid options, and how to select courses and instructors (Useem, 1992; Wells & Serna,
1996). Epstein et al. (2002) explained that when parents, community members, and schools join
efforts to increase student access and achievement, they create a professional learning
community that will create more opportunities for students. Parent and community involvement
are important and influential components in a young student’s life and impacts decision making
(Im & Hughes, 2016).
27

Immigrant and low-income families might not have the same ability to provide post-
secondary guidance due to a lack of personal experience. They came to this country to provide a
better life for their families; even though education is important for them, they must take care of
the primary needs to survive (Lucas & Good, 2001; Martinez et al., 2013). Unfortunately, this
places educational enrichment as a non-essential need, not by choice, but by necessity.
Immigrant and Low-SES families have to gain this exposure through other methods, which
should come from their K–12 schools, but at times the college preparation programs at many
schools in low-SES communities do not have the same level of effectiveness and impact as their
high-SES counterparts (Acevedo-Gil, 2019; Gonzalez et al., 2015).
Martinez et al. (2013) identified that the recent immigrant and Hispanic groups were in
high need of college preparation and awareness through multiple forms of exposure. They found
that the recent immigrant and Hispanic household might not have the same level of post-
secondary exposure to guide their children when it comes to increasing collegiate opportunities.
The study also discovered that the level of college readiness programs in many schools in Texas
were not providing equitable access to students that were not on a college track. Furthermore,
they did not provide additional resources or services to families to create a streamlined process
for college preparation and awareness. Their study did find some schools in South Texas that
participated in programs that did provide additional support for Spanish-speaking families. One
of the programs was “Abriendo Puertas” (Opening Doors). This program provides Latino
families the necessary college information that they will need to guide their children to a post-
secondary institution (Martinez et al., 2013).
Perna and Titus (2005) found that there is a correlation between increased college
persistence for high school students and parental engagement. The study also found that an
effective method to increase parental involvement requires additional resources to be allocated
28

which will lead to increased college enrollment of underrepresented groups. Tierney (2002)
found that low-income and minority students sustained aspirations to persist to college when
there was a strong parental interest. College Board (1999) further explained the importance of
increasing parental engagement programs in low-SES communities, in order to increase Latino/a,
African America and Native American students’ opportunity to attend college.
Concluding the review of literature, there are many benefits to increasing college
preparation programs for low-SES students. Programs like DE support the increased exposure
and college preparation that will help students to be successful in college. Educational partners
must work together in order for these programs to be effective, equitable, and accessible for low-
SES Hispanic students. Educational partners must work together to create intentional programs
that will increase the development and exposure of college readiness programs from early in the
K–12 spectrum and continue to the students’ first-year of college. This will create the college-
going culture in low-SES communities that will transform the next generation of students.
Based on the literature, the next section discusses assumed knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences on first-year student success of former dual enrolled Hispanic students
from low-SES communities.
Clark and Estes’s Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences’ Framework
This study utilizes the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework, a systemic and
analytical method, to examine the impact of the problem of practice. The focus of this study is to
analyze the impact on first-year, low-SES Hispanic college students of participating in a DE
program while they were in high school. The study will also focus on the impact that their DE
experience had on them during their transition to college and during their first year of college at
ICCC. This section focuses specifically on knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences
that may have affected their decisions to participate in DE programs while they were in high
29

school and their success in the transition to and first year at ICCC. In terms of knowledge
influences, the study focuses on factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge.
Motivation is examined through the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 2012) which focuses on
positive affect, social influence, and self-efficacy. This section concludes with reviewing the
organizational influences that may have influenced the social culture around DE and the impact
it made on first-year, low-SES Hispanic college students. The following content will expand on
these influences.
Knowledge and Awareness
The following literature focuses on the importance of knowledge and awareness around
DE and its connection to collegiate success for first-year, low-income, Hispanic college students
that participated in a DE program while they were in high school. There is a connection between
DE participation and first-year college success. In order for students to benefit from these
opportunities, they must have the factual knowledge to understand what DE is and how to access
it (An, 2015; Morgan et al., 2018; Parikh, 2013; Venezia & Jaeger, 2013).
There are four knowledge dimensions in Bloom’s Taxonomy, which are factual,
conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive. Factual knowledge is having the basic knowledge in
a topic in order to be acquainted or familiar. Conceptual knowledge is understanding the
interrelationship between basic elements in order for them to function together. Procedural
knowledge is when the knowledge is derived from procedural techniques or protocols that align
ideas in a practical way. Metacognitive knowledge is having cognitive knowledge of an element
and being able to assimilate to it (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001).
This study also examined the impact to first-year college students when they participate
in DE courses while they were in high school. Bailey and Karp (2003) discovered that this type
of participation demonstrated increases in high school graduation, college enrollment, collegiate
30

completion, and workforce success. In reflecting on this information, it is important to examine
the student’s DE knowledge base and how they can access these courses to increase academic
success in their first-year of college. Students need to know what DE is and how they can access
it (factual). Knowledge on how to transition to college after high school (procedural). First-year
college students must know how to tap into their prior experience to succeed in college
(conceptual), and students must have knowledge on how to integrate their self-knowledge in
order to be successful in college (metacognitive).
Knowledge of Dual Enrollment as a High School Student (Factual)
When students are in high school, they need to know what DE is, how it benefits them,
and how to access it. Dual enrollment helps students be better prepared for college, by providing
them early exposure to college courses and the opportunity to learn how to assimilate with the
collegiate culture (Allen & Dadgar, 2012; Karp et al., 2007). This literature supports the
importance of students having the knowledge of the collaborative efforts between high schools
and colleges to provide DE to high school students. An (2013) found that students from low-SES
communities highly benefited from DE programs, due to the lack of resources in their high
schools and community. These studies focused on the factual knowledge of DE and the impact it
made on students when they participated.
Knowledge of How to Transition to College After Dual Enrollment Participation (Procedural)
When students participate in a DE program while in high school, they learn strategies on
how to access the mechanisms that have been developed to help low-SES students to gain
college exposure and guide them to transition to college. Wang et al. (2015) explained that
students that participated in DE programs had higher chances of transitioning to college to
pursue an academic degree or career certificate. In addition, students who participated in dual
enrollment programs demonstrated a higher conceptual knowledge between collegiate exposure
31

and academic success; to a point that many students that participated in DE programs had higher
GPAs and higher levels of college persistence (D’Amico, 2013; Hughes, 2011; Speroni, 2011).
Knowledge of How to Transfer the Practices Learned From Dual Enrollment Program
Participation (Conceptual)
In addition to knowing what DE is, and how to persist to college, students need to know
how to transfer their learned knowledge to guide them through their first year of college. Clark
and Estes (2008) explain that information and knowledge transfer helps people understand what
they need in order to achieve performance goals. When students participate in DE programs, they
understand the requirements to be successful in college. Students’ procedural knowledge
demonstrates an understanding of collegiate protocols and procedures based on their prior
experiences (CCRC, 2017). An (2013) used national survey data and discovered that students
that previously participated in DE programs had higher bachelor degree attainment when
compared to non-DE participants.
Reflection on Self-Knowledge to Succeed in Their Postsecondary Education (Metacognitive)
In order to maximize the learning gained by participating in a DE program, students must
be able to internalize and apply their acquired content and practices to support their academic
outcomes. Ganzert (2013) found that dually enrolled students had higher collegiate success due
to their ability to apply their self-knowledge to their postsecondary education; which helped
them succeed in college. When low-SES students strategically apply their self-knowledge to
their postsecondary program, they will thrive due to a higher level of preparation; which will
lead to increased college success and expedited degree attainment (Hughes et al., 2012; Venezia
& Jaeger, 2013).
32

Table 2 below shows the four assumed knowledge influences related to achievement of
the goal for first-year ICCC students who participated in the DE program to successfully
navigate their first year of college.

Table 2
Assumed Knowledge Influences
Organizational mission
The mission of ICCC is to empower students from all academic status to successfully pursue
their educational goals and ambitions to become better community and global citizens.

Organizational goal
ICCC has set a goal to increase enrollment in the DE program at local high schools from low-
income communities by 25% by Fall 2022.

Stakeholder goal
First-year ICCC students who participate in the DE program will successfully navigate their
first year of college.
Knowledge influence Knowledge type (i.e., declarative (factual or
conceptual), procedural, or metacognitive)
Knowledge of dual enrollment as a high
school student

Declarative factual
Knowledge of how to transition to college
after dual enrollment participation

Declarative Procedural
Knowledge of how to transfer the
practices learned from dual enrollment
program participation.

Declarative conceptual
Reflection on self-knowledge to succeed
in postsecondary education.
Metacognitive

33

Motivational Influences
In order for students to benefit from DE, which can lead to first-year college success, it
will require that they are motivated to participate in the program while they are in high school
and to persist through college. In order to gain the motivation to pursue their goals, there needs
to be a set of internal and external factors that drive that motivation. Motivational factors may
have a positive or negative impact on a student’s motivation (Mansell, 2006; Rueda, 2011;
Walker et al., Wang et al., 2015). Clark and Estes (2008) explained that there are three
motivational processes: (a) active choice, (b) persistence, and (c) mental effort. These are all
related to increased student motivation. Active choice is when someone chooses to pursue a goal,
even if it was involuntary (Clark & Estes, 2008). An example of this is if a high school student
choses to continue with a DE class if it was scheduled by their counselor. The student did not
initiate this goal, but they will choose to pursue it, which taps into their self-efficacy, or belief or
confidence in their ability to complete it. Persistence, as mentioned in Clark and Estes (2008), is
where the person has to develop a method to differentiate their work to accomplish their goals.
For example, a dually enrolled student must be able to balance their high school and collegiate
class time and homework to ensure they meet their goal. The third motivational process is mental
effort, which is demonstrated when a student shows the ability to understand what is expected of
them, has the ability to complete the tasks, and incorporates prior knowledge and skills to
accomplish their goal (Clark & Estes, 2008).
This research will focus on Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, with a specific
emphasis on the triadic reciprocal causation model, which explains that motivation is influenced
through behavioral factors, environmental factors, and personal factors (Bandura, 1988).
Behavioral factors are molded by the cognitive processing of social interactions and social
stimulants (Bandura, 1988). Environmental factors play a role in stimulating a student’s drive
34

towards academic achievement (Trihardini et al., 2019). Personal factors include self-efficacy
which is achieved when a student produces a desired result (Bandura, 1988). Students’
motivation is also influenced by social factors, which impact academic outcomes. The following
sections will review motivation through behavioral factors, environmental factors, and personal
factors of first-year college students who participated in DE programs while they were in high
school (Bandura, 1988, 2011, 2012; Gore, 2016). These motivational factors will help explain
the motivational behaviors, active choice, individual persistence, and cognitive application of
mental effort.
How Dual Enrollment Participation Influences Drive and Achievement
ICCC first-year college students who participated in DE programs in high school need to
understand how their behavior in high school was influenced by their cognitive reasoning of
external influencers. This will enable them to be aware of these behavior influences while they
are in college. By becoming cognizant and being able to identify these behavioral influences,
they will be able to manage their own behavior. An example of this is if a professor were to
discredit a program, the student might not attempt to participate in it. External motivators, like
peer-to-peer influence or adult-to-student influence, are conducive factors that increase student
drive and achievement (Im & Hughes, 2016; Rueda, 2011; Trihardini et al., 2019).
Belief That Dual Enrollment Participation Will Benefit Their College Success
Environmental factors are external influencers derived from social persuasion (Irmadora
et al., 2020). These persuasions develop students’ perspective of themselves and social
interpretations. This factor may impact the decision that a high school student will make about
participating in a DE course while they are in high school; without thinking of the implications
that it will have on their collegiate experience (McCord & Roberts, 2014; Murphy & Murphy,
2018; Rueda, 2011). If students do not understand the benefits of participating in college courses
35

while they are in high school and see this experience as a form of early college preparation, they
will not be motivated to participate. These implications will ultimately impact their first-year of
college and potentially their retention and completion (Hughes et al., 2012; Xu et al., 2019).
First-Year College Students’ Self-Efficacy Through Participation in Dual Enrollment
Trautner and Schwinger (2020) identified that self-efficacy represents a potential
motivator for success or failure. Walker et al. (2006) discovered that self-efficacy was an
important factor in the correlation between academic identification and academic success. This is
important to note because if students believe in themselves and believe that they can succeed in a
program, they are more than likely to accomplish their goal. Self-efficacy impacts stakeholders’
commitment to the organizational goal due to the nature of increasing their drive (Liao et al.,
2014; Ozmun, 2013). Gore (2016) discovered that academic self-efficacy increases from
semester to semester, which empowers the student to increase collegiate assimilation which leads
students towards personal accomplishment. When students’ self-efficacy increases, it creates
new opportunities for them to increase their self-value and self-perception (Bandura, 2011, 2012;
Bandura & Cervone, 1986).
Table 3 shows the assumed motivational influences that affect ICCC’s first-year, low-
income, Hispanic students’ participation in DE programs while they were in high school and
persistence and success in postsecondary education.

36

Table 3
Assumed Motivational Influences
Organizational mission
The mission of ICCC is to empower students from all academic status to successfully
pursue their educational goals and ambitions to become better community and global
citizens.

Organizational goal
ICCC has set a goal to increase enrollment in the DE program at local high schools from
low-income communities by 25% by Fall 2022.

Stakeholder goal
First-year ICCC students who participate in the DE program will successfully navigate
their first year of college.

Motivational influence Motivational construct
Understanding of external factors as
behavioral influences on drive and
achievement

Behavior factor-Students need to be aware of
how learned behaviors affect their future
abilities.
Belief that dual enrollment participation
will benefit their college success

Environmental factor-Students must
understand how social influences have an
impact on their decisions.

First-year college students’ self-efficacy
through participation in dual enrollment
Self-efficacy-Students need to believe in
themselves through their learned behaviors
and social influence to accomplish their
goals.

Organizational Influences
In addition to knowledge and motivation; organizational influences impact student
success. Knowledge and motivation are part of the required factors for success, but if the
organizational structure is not effective, students will not succeed. Clark and Estes (2008) found
that a lack of effective and efficient organizational work processes and resources lead to
organizational gaps. Organizational influences impact students within DE programs and once
37

they reach college. Berger (2002) identified that student outcomes are impacted by various
aspects of organizational structure at a college campus.
Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) explain that organizational influences can be
categorized into two units of analysis, culture models and culture settings. The cultural model is
comprised of societal norms that represent a community’s ways. These norms are very familiar
to those that apply them, to a point that they become second nature and are unnoticeable, most of
the time (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). Cultural settings are defined as reoccurring actions
that occur between two or more people who come together. They are seen as organizational
practices that are commonly conducted (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). As described by
Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001), cultural settings are interconnected with the cultural model
that is established in an organization. In light of this, this study will examine ICCC’s
organizational culture settings and their influence on student success for first-year college
students that previously participated in DE courses while they were in high school. There is a
specific focus on the following: (a) how the importance of DE in connection to college success is
shared; (b) the setting for onboarding first-year college students that were formerly dually
enrolled; and (c) the organizational support procedures for first-year college students that were
formerly dually enrolled.
Communication on the Importance of Dual Enrollment Participation to Increase First-Year
College Success
When students gain cultural capital of college, prior to college enrollment, they will have
increased academic success (Cole & Espinoza, 2008). Clark and Estes (2008) state that clear and
candid communication increases trust, which leads to an increase of commitment levels to
change goals on all levels. In order for ICCC to increase the level of college readiness of their
future first-year college students, they will need to look at their communication settings with
38

their K–12 partners. There needs to be effective procedures established with K–12 partners to
ensure that collegiate opportunities are provided to high school students. Dual enrollment is one
of those collegiate programs that will increase students’ ability to assimilate with the collegiate
cultural setting and models. This can be accomplished through clear and concise communication
which needs to be done in a method that is relevant to the student in order to gain their interest
(Berry & Bass, 2012; Zinth, 2014 ).
Establish Relevant Cultural Settings for Matriculating First-Year College Students Who Were
Formerly Dually Enrolled
Transitional programs are important for the successful matriculation of underrepresented,
first-year college student (Slade et al., 2015). These types of programmatic systems provide
guidance to transitioning students, especially for low-performing students, which expedites their
academic transformation (Lu & Notebaert, 2018). Having effective matriculation systems is
important for low-SES students who participated in DE as they transition to college. ICCC needs
to create a program that focuses on academic skills, self-efficacy, sense of belonging, and social
skills (Strayhorn, 2011; ). This will help students have greater success as they transition to
college and during their first-year of college. The development of an effective matriculating
program, which creates cultural settings that are supportive and welcoming for students from
low-SES communities, will increase the successful college matriculation and completion. These
programs must have additional support services and resources that will provide students an
advantage to fulfill the college awareness knowledge and experience (Corcoran & Baker-Smith,
2018).

39

Provide Systemic Structure of Support for First-Year College Students Who Were Formerly
Dually Enrolled
As students transition to their first-year of college, they must know how to tap into their
prior knowledge in order to successfully assimilate to college (D’Amico et al., 2014; Tinto,
1993). Karp et al. (2010) found that for many students, community colleges are the primary
mean on college entry, specifically for Hispanic and Black students. Colleges need to provide
additional structured support services for these students, for the purposes of increasing
institutional interest and persistence (Tinto, 1996). In order for ICCC to have a successful first-
year program for formerly dual enrolled students, they will need to develop effective methods of
support for first-year students. Bailey and Alfonso (2005) explained that colleges must create
clear and effective means of communication in order for students to integrate prior learning.
ICCC will need to develop procedural settings that will help students with making cognitive
connections between their prior college preparation and their first-year of college. Table 4
presents the organizational influences by category.

Table 4
Organizational Influences
Organizational influence category Organizational influences
Cultural Setting Influence 1 ICCC needs to communicate the importance of dual
enrollment participation.

Cultural Setting Influence 2 ICCC must establish effective matriculation
procedures for formerly dual enrolled students.

Cultural Setting Influence 3 ICCC needs to develop a systemic structure to
support first-year students in applying prior dual
enrollment knowledge to increase college success.

40

Summary
The purpose of this study is to explore the impact that DE programs have on first-year
Hispanic college students from low-income communities. In this chapter, a review of literature
demonstrated the impact that DE participation has on Hispanic high school students from low-
SES communities. Literature reviewed in this chapter demonstrated the impact that DE
participation has on students’ college awareness and preparation. This was followed by
reviewing literature on the connection between dually enrolled students and college persistence.
This section identified the importance of effective partnerships between secondary and post-
secondary institutions, as well as parents, in order to increase college persistence.
Following the general review of literature, the study continued with the Clark and Estes’
(2008) gap analysis framework which will be used to examine ICCC’s first-year Hispanic
students,’ who participated in DE while in high school, knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences on first-year college success. Chapter Three will present the
methodological approach, data collection procedures, and validity and reliability for examining
the impact of a DE program for high school students from low-SES communities on first-year
college preparation and success.
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Chapter Three: Methodology
This study explores first-year college success of low-income, Hispanic college students
who took DE college courses while they were in high school. Chapter Two documented the
assumed knowledge, motivation, and organization influences on first-year college success for
Hispanic high school students who enrolled in DE courses in high school. This chapter presents
the research design to better understand the assumed influences, methods for data collection and
data analysis, as well as the ethics and role of the researcher and limitations and delimitations of
the research.
The following research questions guided this study:
1. How does participating in dual enrollment classes while a student is in high school
impact student success for first-year college students?
2. What dual enrollment resources and services increase college persistence for low-income
first-year Hispanic college students?
3. What recommended solutions can be provided to improve equitable access to dual
enrollment and first-year college success?
Overview of Methodology
A qualitative study was conducted at ICCC through focus group interviews of its first-
year college students from low-income communities to understand the knowledge, motivation,
and organizational influences on their participation in and success following DE in high school.
Merriam and Tisdell (2016) explained that research is a systemic process where we learn
more about something than we knew before we started. Through this study, insights from college
students at ICCC were sought to develop recommendations for ICCC that will support its efforts
in offering an equitable and accessible DE program for students from low-SES communities.

42

Focus Group Interviews
Focus group interviews are interviews that are facilitated in a small group, with the
purpose to obtain data (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The key concepts for the focus group
interviews for the purposes of this study were to identify how first-year Hispanic college students
from low-SES communities engaged in a DE program while they were in high school and the
impact of their DE experience on their first-year college success at ICCC. The focus groups also
informed improvements that are needed to strengthen ICCC’s DE program to increase equitable
accessibility for greater student success.
Focus Group Participants
Focus group participants were low-SES Hispanic college students at ICCC who had
participated in a DE program while in high school. The preliminary study plan was to conduct
four in-person focus groups of four students each. These would include eight first-year female
students and eight first-year male students who had participated in DE while in two surrounding
high schools; 16 first-year college students in total. Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, a
stay-at-home order was initiated, which restricted students from leaving their homes and required
that they take all classes and receive support services virtually beginning in Spring 2020. The
direct impact that the pandemic had on this study was that ICCC was not able to support students
focus group recruitment as originally planned and students were in the midst of many upheavals
in their lives. In March 2021, ICCC First-Year Center sent an email to approximately 4,000 first-
year students asking for their participation in a focus group for this study. To increase
stakeholder interest in participating in the focus group interview, a $20 Amazon Gift Card was
offered. Even with the incentive, there was a low response of students. Eleven students
responded with willingness to participate in a focus group. This included both first- and second-
year ICCC students who had previously participated in a DE program from a high school in a
43

low-SES community. From the 11 students that were willing to participate in the focus group
interview, only nine were present for the actual focus group interviews. The focus groups were
comprised of eight female and one male students. Of the nine participants, seven were first-year
students and two were second-year students at ICCC.
Focus Group 1, had three participants, Focus Groups 2, 3, and 4 had two participants in each
focus group.
Instrumentation, Data Collection, and Analysis
The focus group interviews were unique because they provided the opportunity to interact
with stakeholders and collect data that might not have been accessible through individual
interviews (Hennink, 2014; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). A standardized open-ended approach was
used for the focus group interviews (Patton, 2002). The reason for this was to control the
conversation and maintain a structured focus on the questions. This approach was helpful in
keeping the interviewees focused within the scope of the research questions.
The focus group interview was composed of 12 open-ended questions which were about
the DE and first-year of college experience (see Appendix A). The data from the focus groups
helped to gain a better understanding of the impact that DE had on first-year college success
among Hispanic college students from low-SES communities; which will lead to improvements
in these programs to better serve these communities.
The focus group interviews took place on Zoom, due to the limitation of social
interaction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Each focus group interview was approximately
60 minutes in length. The participants gave permission for the interview to be recorded through
Zoom, which provided a transcript of the recording. The data collected was desegregated and
coded by research question.
44

The process for effective data analysis is to continually assess your design and evaluate if
it is actually working during the research and if it is being influenced by the context (Maxwell,
2013). The focus group interviews were transcribed from a recorded Zoom session. The
participants were asked to provide consent before the interview was recorded (Creswell, 2014).
The data that was collected from the focus group interviews was coded through the guidance of
the interview protocol (see Appendix A) and based on themes related to the assumed knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences on performance as discussed in Chapter Two
(Creswell, 2014).
In the process of data analysis, the study used member checks and the researcher
continuously reflected on their own positionality to support reliability and validity of the findings
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Member checks were conducted with focus group participants. In
addition, the researcher reflected on their own positionality as data were examined and coded.
The researcher has previously offered DE programs in inner-city schools and has worked with
first-year college students. The researcher was aware of how their positionality may affect
interpretation of the data. The researcher applied these approaches to help ensure that the
conclusions reached from the analysis of the focus group data were valid (Creswell, 2014).
Ethics and Role of Researcher
The research was guided by processes established by the University of Southern
California’s (USC) Institutional Review Board guidelines, timeframes, and parameters. The
focus group interviews were conducted with participant consent and were in alignment with
ICCC and USC guidelines. The participants were told the purpose of the study so that they were
able to decide if they wanted to participate. Rubin and Rubin (2012) discussed the importance of
informed consent to ensure participants are aware of any risks and are not forced to participate.
Interviewees were told that their participation was voluntary, they were told that they were able
45

to withdraw from participating at any time and that there were no risks to doing so. In addition,
no identifying information was collected or kept with the data to ensure confidentiality.
To avoid confusion, all students received a letter attached to their email seeking their
participation which explained the purpose of the study and that the researcher was conducting the
study as a student at USC, and not an employee of ICCC. The email also included the potential
benefits that this study will have on Hispanic high school students from low-SES communities.
The issues of positionality and power were acknowledged and served as a resource that guided
the study to ensure that the researcher’s positionality did not skew the data. Merriam and Tisdell
(2016) shared that when intersecting factors are present, the researcher must be able to maintain
a non-biased approach to ensure that the data are valid and reliable. The researcher engaged in
self-reflection and member checks to work to separate their own biases from the study to not
taint the data.
Limitations and Delimitations
Limitations are influences that the researcher cannot control and delimitations are the
boundaries set by the researcher that need to be addressed (Creswell, 2014). A limitation of the
study was the inability to conduct the focus group interviews in person. This challenge was out
of the control of the researcher due to the COVID-19 global pandemic which limited the
opportunity for in-person interviews. The solution for this was to conduct the focus group
interviews through the Zoom, an online meeting system. Using Zoom presented the limitation of
not being able to observe many of the non-verbal cues made by the participants because Zoom
only showed a portion of the interviewee’s body, and I could not see the non-verbal cues of those
interviewees who did not want to turn their cameras on. The non-verbal cues of those that had
their cameras on provided some data of the interviewee’s level of comfort and served as an
indicator of truthfulness (Vrij, 2019). The use of Zoom also limited the potential rapport and the
46

level of comfort that could have been built among the participating interviewees in the focus
group and would likely have influenced more engagement and fuller responses.
In regards to delimitations, these refer to the intentional constrictions that the researcher
places on the study (Ellis & Levy, 2009). One of the delimitations of this study was that the
stakeholders were limited to students at ICCC who had participated in a DE program while they
were in high school. Additional information could have been valuable from students from the
same high schools who had not participated in a DE program. Another delimitation is the number
of students who participated in the focus groups which is only a small sample from the larger
population of students who participated in a DE program in high school. This was due to time
and resource limitations of the researcher that did not allow the study to be conducted at a later
point when more students may have been able to participate.
Conclusion
Chapter Three provided the methodology of this qualitative study to understand
influences on DE among low-SES Hispanic high school students and the impact on first-year
college success. This chapter discussed the use of focus groups to explore first-year and second-
year college students’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences related to DE
participation in high school and first-year college success. Chapter Three also discussed ethics
and the role of the researcher and limitations and delimitations in the design of the study. The
next chapter will discuss the results and findings based on data collected through the
methodology discussed in this chapter.

47

Chapter Four: Results and Findings
The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of high school DE on first-year
college success for Hispanic college students from low-SES communities. As such, the research
questions guiding this study were
1. How does participating in dual enrollment classes, while a student is in high school,
impact first-year college success?
2. What dual enrollment resources and services increase college persistence for low-income
first-year Hispanic college students?
3. What recommended solutions can be provided to improve equitable access to dual
enrollment and first-year college success?
This chapter presents findings related to data collected from four focus group interviews,
which consisted of nine first and second-year college students (n=9) at ICCC (pseudonym). The
students were divided into four groups, one consisted of three students, the other three groups
consisted of two students per focus group. Focus group participants were asked a series of 14,
open-ended questions. The questions were designed in alignment to Clark and Estes’ gap
analysis theoretical framework (Clark & Estes, 2008) to analyze the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational (KMO) influences that may impact low-income, Hispanic student participation in
DE programs and their first-year college success.
This chapter begins by describing the participants in the study and is followed by an
analysis of the focus group interviews, with a focus on KMO influences on engaging in DE and
implications for first-year college success.

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Participating Stakeholders
The participating stakeholders for this study were seven students in their first-year of
college and two students that were in their second-year of college at ICCC. All stakeholders
previously participated in a DE program at their high school. The stakeholders attended seven
different high schools that are within the ICCC service area. Three of the stakeholders attended
the same high school, HS1, the remaining six stakeholders, attended different high schools. All
of the high schools are located in low-SES communities, based on U.S. Census data (U.S.
Census Bureau, 2010). The method for recruiting participants was through email invitations,
which were conducted by the ICCC First-Year Center staff. The Center emailed approximately
850 students. Out of those 850, 11 showed interest in participating in the focus group interviews.
Out of the 11 potential participants, nine chose to participate in the focus group interviews. All of
the participants were either first- or second-year college students.
The initial target of focus group participants was 16, as stated in Chapter Three. There
were multiple attempts for participant recruitment, which was conducted by staff at ICCC. This
study was conducted in the midst of a global pandemic that caused an extensive lock-down in the
area where the study was conducted. There were a multitude of hardships facing the community
where the study was conducted, which made it difficult to recruit the number of students that was
originally planned. The initial plan was to only include first-year students, but given the
difficulty of recruitment, two, second-year students were also included. These second-year
students were asked to reflect on their first-year college success.
This study had a significantly higher number of female participation, 88.88% of the focus
group interviewees were female. This is not a representation of ICCC’s enrollment
demographics. ICCC has a 50.88% female and 48.93% male student body. ICCC’s gender
analysis by ethnicity demonstrates that Hispanic/Latina/o are the majority; Hispanic/Latina
49

females lead with a count of 42.3% followed by Hispanic/Latino male with a 33.4%
representation (ICCO, 2021). The demographic breakdown for DE students has a closer
resemblance to the stakeholders who participated in this study. The DE demographic analysis by
gender (Table 5) identified that ICCC has 61.26% female DE students and 38.09% male DE
students (ICCO, 2021). This data help explain the greater representation of females in this study.

Table 5
Description of Participating Stakeholders
Participants Female Male First-year Second-year High school
FG1 X X HS1
FG2 X X HS1
FG3 X X HS2
FG4 X X HS3
FG5 X X HS4
FG6 X X HS1
FG7 X X HS5
FG8 X X HS6
FG9 X X HS7
Total 8 1 7 2 7

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Results and Findings for Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences
The findings presented in this section are guided by the assumed KMO influences
gathered through the literature review and researcher knowledge, as discussed in Chapter Two.
These findings aim to help understand the knowledge, motivation and organizational influences
on enrollment in DE, and the impact that DE has on Hispanic college students from a low-
socioeconomic community during their first-year of college at ICCC.
Knowledge Findings
This section focuses specifically on knowledge influences that may have affected the
students’ decisions to participate in DE programs while they were in high school and their
transition to college and their first-year academic experience at ICCC. In terms of knowledge
influences, the study focused on factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge
as outlined in the following table. When considered across all focus group participants, each
assumed influence was determined to be either a continuing need or an asset. An assumed
influence was determined to be an asset if the majority of focus group participants (more than
four) indicated they had the identified knowledge. An influence was classified as a continuing
need if the majority (more than four) of the focus group participants indicated a shortcoming in
the associated knowledge factor. Those influences classified as continuing needs (Table 6) will
form the basis of recommendations presented in Chapter Five to improve DE access and success
for first-year, Hispanic college students from low-SES communities.

51

Table 6
Summary of Assumed Knowledge Needs
Assumed knowledge influence Knowledge type Findings
Knowledge of dual enrollment as a
high school student

Declarative factual Continuing need
Knowledge of how to transition to
college after dual enrollment
participation

Declarative procedural Asset
Knowledge of how to transfer the
practices learned from dual
enrollment program participation.

Declarative conceptual Asset
Reflection on self-knowledge to
succeed in postsecondary
education.
Metacognitive Asset

Knowledge of Dual Enrollment as a High School Student
Two questions were asked of focus groups participants to understand their level of
knowledge related to DE as a high school student. Seven out of nine focus group participants
shared that information about DE was not easily accessible by many students at their school.
Many of the stakeholders learned about DE by siblings, parents, or asking their counselor. FG1,
shared her experience about not being fully aware of what DE was:
I didn't know what dual enrollment really was, my school just portrayed it as like, you
want to take college classes? We have this amount of classes, you can come and sign up
for it. I didn't know the term dual enrollment was, I just knew it was just like college-
level classes. I thought it was like an AP class, because they portrayed it in that way.
They announced it in the morning announcements by saying, “hey you want to take
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classes, these are the classes, that we have, if you are interested just come after school
and we'll help you sign up for them.”
FG7 shared a similar experience about her level of awareness of DE:
So for me, I didn't really know I just knew that I had seen flyers at my high school about
college classes and I wanted to start getting credits, because one of my cousins had told
me that it was good.” These statements suggest the lack of student awareness of dual
enrollment while they were in high school.
While stakeholders demonstrated minimal knowledge of what DE was while they were in
high school, the focus group data verified that self-agency was a factor that led to increased DE
knowledge and clarity. The second interview question identified that six out of nine participants
demonstrated self-agency to gain information about DE. FG9 stated how self-agency was needed
to obtain additional DE information:
So honestly at my high school, it was like they would not inform us about the dual
enrollment it was kind of like you had to go and seek the information yourself. So, we
had this room called the College Corner and that's where all the colleges would go and
like put their information, and it was more like you had to go and find out yourself if you
wanted to take it, and like what courses, they would be offering or like anything to do
with college or dual enrollment, you had to go specifically there they wouldn't go to and
let you know hey we're offering this or that.
FG3 shared how college staff, who are seen as external partners to the K–12 system,
provided guidance on understanding what DE was:
In my experience, it was the same you know they announced it and they also brought
college alumni and they also do like a poll in our school website to see like the
encouraged by you know um giving classes that were more popularized by the students.
53

You know, like, for example, like criminal justice, psychology, sociology, stuff like that
they did that's how they introduced to us in order to have us and be involved with dual
enrollment class.
Three stakeholders identified that peer, friend, and /or teacher influence and guidance was valued
and impactful in gaining knowledge related to DE.
In sum, there is a continuing need for K–12 partners to increase DE awareness for high
school students. Stakeholders demonstrated initiative and drive to obtain additional information
about DE, but there is a knowledge gap within the system.
Knowledge of How to Transition to College After Dual Enrollment Participation
This knowledge influence sought to understand if students who had participated in DE
had gained knowledge on how to transition to college after high school. Through the focus group
interviews, stakeholders expressed that due to their DE participation, they had a greater
understanding of the skills needed to successfully transition to and start their first-year of
college. The focus group participants were specifically asked this question, “Once you graduated
from high school, did you feel that participating in these classes helped you to be ready for
college?” This question generated responses that aligned with current research. Seven out of the
nine participants stated ways in which participation in DE provided them an increased
knowledge base of how to transition to college. FG1 stated the following:
Yes, they did mention that it was going to help later on when you go to a community
college or university. It was going to transfer on to units so that's why, I guess I started
taking them more seriously. I was planning to go to a community college or a university,
so that's when I was like okay, let me take more classes.
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Participants, in general, expressed how impactful their DE participation was on their transition to
college. This particular focus group question had a positive response and generated more
feedback, compared to other questions. FG2 expressed the following statement:
Well, the whole reason for me like taking the dual enrollment classes was to get an idea
what college was like. So I felt like participating and dual enrollment helps you prepare
for college, because, as I mentioned right now, Fall semester was my first college
semester, and I kind of like already knew what to do, read the professor’s syllabus, which
helped me to know all of the assignments. I also knew when I had to turn in everything.
So, I felt like it did really help me have an advantage and know what to expect in college.
Even those students who did not initially know if taking a dual enrollment class would
help them in transitioning to college now recognized that it helped them when they transitioned
to college. FG8, stated, “I really didn't know, I just thought it was another class for high school.
Then later on, I found out that, I had already taken the classes that I needed.” Some students
received guidance from family members or school-site staff, which helped them understand the
importance of DE and how it would help them transition to college. FG3 expressed, “I was told
to take DE classes to get college credits and to help us to get to know how college works.”
Students also mentioned other influential mentors through the DE program in high school that
helped them as they transitioned to college. FG7 mentioned, ”Dual enrollment professors gave
me a lot of advice and that helped me as I transitioned to college.”
Concluding this section, transfer knowledge is seen as an asset for ICCC. The
participants demonstrated that they received the appropriate exposure that prepared them to
transition to college.

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Knowledge of How to Transfer the Practices Learned From Dual Enrollment Program
Participation
According to eight out of nine focus group participants, they had knowledge of how to
transfer the practices learned from the DE program in large part because they received
transitional support from their high school and ICCC staff that would connect with them. When
the stakeholders started their first-year of college, they mentioned the benefits of programs that
provided specific support for them on how to transfer their prior learning and how to navigate
through college. In particular, students mentioned the First-Year Center as being particularly
important to them in transferring practices gained from DE. Stakeholders also mentioned that the
Student Disabilities Office provided onboarding support to them. In addition, stakeholders
mentioned that the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) provided them
counseling, book vouchers every semester and additional support services as long they meet the
minimum program requirements. Moreover, one stakeholder shared that the student clubs helped
with connecting with other students, gaining exposure to mentors that are aligned with their
major, and learning how to network.
One added benefit of participating in the DE program is that the students came into
contact with many college representatives and they had a higher chance of learning about these
services and programs before they graduate high school. Table 7 shows the support services that
students received during their first-year of college.

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Table 7
Support Services That Students Received During Their First-Year of College

Based on the data collected, the majority of the stakeholders received support while
transitioning to college, which helped them to transition to college with less barriers or
challenges. FG9 shared,
So, I joined the First-Year Experience which is a college program and honestly they've
been like a big help since the beginning like my transition from high school to college.
They have been there from the beginning to even now like they still check up on us. We
have our success coaches, which check in with us, like every week. So, I feel like that's
been a big help as well, and any questions and you have, I can go directly to them. I feel
like that's what helped me a lot as well.
The participants provided additional insights on their experience with increasing their
knowledge on how to transfer practices learned from their DE experiences. FG3 added,
Participant Type of support
FG1 First-Year Center
FG2 First-Year Center & Student Club
FG3 First-Year Center
FG4 Disabilities Office
FG5 No answer
FG6 First-Year Center & Extended Opportunity Programs and Services
FG7 Extended Opportunity Programs and Services
FG8 First-Year Center
FG9 First-Year Center
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I am in the first-year program and they did give us a lot of resources and a lot of
workshops, for us to familiarize ourselves with college. Receiving support with
professors and how to understand the curriculum, how to deal with real-life situations or
experiences; they really helped us with this. So, I would say that I did receive assistance
and guidance.
In addition, FG1 shared her experience in DE and how it helped her to be ready to transition to
college, “It was easy for me to manage the time and when it came to attend college full time, I
knew what to expect due to my experience from dual enrollment classes.” FG2 added, “Well for
me I felt like dual enrollment helped to be ready for college, because I felt like I already knew
how to like navigate in college.”
In sum, the data demonstrated that “Knowledge of How to Transfer the Practices Learned
From Dual Enrollment Program Participation” is an asset for focus group participants at ICCC.
The stakeholder had gained knowledge and awareness on how to transfer their skills.
Reflection on Self-Knowledge to Succeed in Postsecondary Education
The learned experience from participating in DE was demonstrated throughout focus
group questions. In particular, the focus group question number seven, “Once you graduated
from high school, did you feel that participating in these classes helped you to be ready for
college?” and question number eight, “Do you feel that your dual enrollment participation helped
you in continuing to study in college?” were intended to engage them in reflection on their self-
knowledge to succeed in postsecondary education. According to the responses given, all nine
stakeholders demonstrated reflective knowledge through sharing some of their DE experiences
and the impact that they had as they embarked in their first-year of college. FG5 stated,
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I'm taking on 19 units right now and have been able to handle that workload because
while I was in high school, I was taking two or three college courses at the same time, so
definitely helped my confidence there.
Similarly, FG4 shared, “Yes, I started off with one class, while I was taking dual enrollment and
now, I'm taking more than 12 units.” These statements demonstrated that the stakeholders were
able to reflect on their self-knowledge and confidence to succeed in their first-year of college.
Another stakeholder reflected on their self-knowledge and identified that they benefited
from an experience gained at the college during their first-year. FG1, stated,
Well for me I felt that dual enrollment did not prepare me for college. I felt that the
counseling 20 course while I was in the first-year program at ICCC, helped me in my
first-year of college. I also wanted to add that, I really felt prepared was because in senior
year, I took AP classes, honors classes, and college classes.
The data demonstrated that ICCC students who had previously participated in DE in high
school were able to reflect on their own knowledge to succeed in postsecondary education.
Summary of Knowledge Findings
Based on the data analysis of the assumed knowledge influences, there are three
knowledge assets of low-income Hispanic college students at ICCC who participated in a DE
program while in high school. The assets are, “knowledge of how to transition to college after
dual enrollment participation,” “knowledge of how to transfer the practices learned from dual
enrollment program participation,” and “reflection on self-knowledge to succeed in
postsecondary education.” These are identified as assets based on the responses given by the
focus group participants’ on how they benefited from their DE experiences.
The data demonstrated that one area showed the need to continue to improvement to fully
leverage the benefits of the DE program for low-income Hispanic youth. That area was
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“knowledge of dual enrollment as a high school student.” This area was identified to have
continuing needs based on the data collected from the focus groups which identified that students
did not have readily accessible information about the DE program that was offered at their high
school.
Motivation Findings
Through an analysis of the data collected in the focus group interviews, this section seeks
to understand the motivational impact of DE participation for first-year Hispanic college
students.
The following types of focus group questions examined motivational influences for high
school students to participate in DE and to matriculate to a college or university.
• What made you decide to take a dual enrollment class? Who helped you, if anyone?
• Did you feel as if you belonged in the dual enrollment program?
• Once you graduated from high school, did you feel that participating in these classes
helped you to be ready for college?
• Do you feel that your dual enrollment participation helped you in continuing to study in
college?
• Now that you are in your first-year of college, do you feel that your dual enrollment
participation helped you?
• What are your feelings now about dual enrollment classes for high schools?
• Are you planning to continue college and transfer to a 4-year university?
Table 8 presents the finding on motivation influences on enrollment in DE and first-year
college success among the low-SES Hispanic college students included in the study. When
considered across all focus group participants, each assumed influence was determined to be
either a continuing need or an asset. An assumed influence was determined to be an asset if the
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majority of focus group participants (more than four) indicated they had the identified
motivation. An influence was classified as a continuing need if the majority (more than four) of
the focus group participants indicated a lack of the associated motivation factor. Those
influences classified as continuing needs will form the basis of recommendations presented in
Chapter Five to improve DE access and success for first-year, Hispanic college students from
low-SES communities.

Table 8
Summary of Assumed Motivation Needs
Motivational influence Motivational construct Findings
Understanding of external
factors as behavioral
influences on drive and
achievement

Behavior Factor-students need to
be aware of how learned
behaviors affect their future
abilities.
Continuing need
Belief that dual enrollment
participation will benefit
their college success
Environmental factor-Students
need to understand how social
influences have an impact on
their decisions.

Asset
First-year college students’
self-efficacy through
participation in dual
enrollment
Self-efficacy-Students need to
believe in themselves through
their learned behaviors and social
influence to accomplish their
goals.
Asset

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Understanding of External Factors As Behavioral Influences on Drive and Achievement
External factors influence students to persist toward a postsecondary education. To
understand the effect of external influences on focus group participants’ drive and achievement
related to DE participation, they were asked the following question, “What made you decide to
take a dual enrollment class? Who helped you, if anyone?” Three out of the nine stakeholders
expressed how they were motivated to participate in DE and continue with their postsecondary
education. FG4 stated, “I felt that my mom motivated me to continue with my college education,
a bit more than my high school counselor.” Even though less than half of the participants made a
comment that external influences played a role in their decision to participate in DE, these
factors are important for stakeholders from low-SES communities. To support this, FG1 stated,
I was informed that by participating in dual enrollment, it would help me when I
go to college or a university. When I found out that it would help me, I began to
take the classes more seriously and began to take more dual enrollment classes.
In addition to external factors, the findings identified additional forms of external factors.
An example of this are parents, counselors, college students, and teachers. FG7 shared a DE
faculty member as an external motivational influence:
When I took Engineering 101, my professor was very inspirational, he kind of changed
my perspective for what I wanted to major in. He would make me think out of the box
and challenge me to not settle for just anything. He would ask me where do you want to
go to college? Why do you want to go to that college? What do they offer? That's why I
feel like he made me realize that I should take baby steps first, then later on, I can go a bit
further.
Stakeholders shared that external motivational influences made a difference in their willingness
to continue taking DE courses.
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In summary, there is an importance of external factors influencing students to drive
towards academic achievement.
Belief That Dual Enrollment Participation Will Benefit Their College Success
Six out of the nine stakeholders shared that they believed that their DE participation
helped them to be ready for college; this drove some of the stakeholders to take more DE
courses. Stakeholders also shared that their DE experience further motivated them to go to
college. In addition, stakeholders shared by participating in dual enrollment, they gained a
confidence boost to continue on taking more DE classes and ultimately, continue in college after
they graduate from high school.
FG6 mentioned, “Like I mentioned before, DE helped me gain confidence. I really did
enjoy DE and I got a lot of my general classes out which helped me focus more of my general
requirements for my major.” FG 7 stated,
Dual enrollment helped me after I graduated from high school because when I was taking
college classes, after school, my professors were not like my teachers that I had during
my day regular school day. They actually gave me a lot of advice and I appreciate it
because I had a better understanding of what I was going to go for in college.
Focus group participants from ICCC’s surrounding area expressed how they have
benefited from taking DE courses, including graduating high school with multiple collegiate
credits, which made transitioning to college a more attainable goal. FG 1 shared, “By
participating in dual enrollment, I definitely felt like I was more prepared for college, compared
to other classmates that didn't take dual enrollment.” Similarly. FG 4 mentioned, “I felt that I was
more ahead and better prepared for college than most of my peers.”
To summarize, participants believed that their DE participation benefited their college
success. For ICCC, this suggests that DE provides students from low-SES communities the
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opportunity to develop a higher sense of belief and increases motivation to continue with their
postsecondary education. Students attributed collegiate success to their participation in a DE
program.
First-Year College Students’ Self-Efficacy Through Participation in Dual Enrollment
Stakeholders identified that their levels of self-efficacy increased due to their
participation in DE while they were in high school. Focus group stakeholders identified that they
developed an increased confidence in their ability to meet the demands of collegiate assignments
and papers. This was found in focus group participants, including FG2 who expressed,
I kind of knew that every professor was different and I really liked how my professor
helped me mentally. I knew college is challenging and there is going to be a lot of work
going on, so I felt like taking the dual enrollment courses to really helped me.
Dual enrollment instructors are a critical component in influencing students, which leads to
increased self-efficacy. Aside from instructors in the DE program, family also were an important
influence on increasing self-efficacy among the participating Hispanic students. FG6 stated,
Dual enrollment definitely helped me to be more prepared than if I hadn't taken a class.
But I was already in route to go to college is because my mom always reminded me that I
needed education to meet my career goal. I was always ready to go to college, but dual
enrollment definitely helped me by having a smoother transition from high school.
Stakeholders also mentioned that the DE courses helped them develop a higher level of
self-belief that they could be successful in college. For example, FG6 stated, “By taking dual
enrollment courses, I learned how to speak to college professors, which helped me to decide to
go to college.” FG 8 shared, “After taking dual enrollment classes, I was not scared of college
classes, and I knew I would be ready to go to college, because I was already preparing for it.”
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For another stakeholder, trying to escape a difficult situation increased her levels of self-efficacy
and motivation to take DE classes. FG1 stated,
For me, during high school, I was having difficult times, especially at home. So, I was
always trying to find a way to stay away from home, as far as possible. So, I decided to
take these dual enrollment classes. I think I started my sophomore year, and little by little,
I started progressing. I started taking more classes each grade-level.
For stakeholders like FG1, their personal experiences and challenges drove them to find
solutions, and DE as one of those solutions, allowed them to increase their self-efficacy and to
thrive. FG1 chose a positive method to help her cope with personal challenges. FG1 added, “ I
can now say that I did have a good amount of collegiate experience.” Stakeholders’ self-efficacy
and increased motivation lead to college success. The direct impact of these motivational
influences developed from DE participation was a higher level of stakeholder willingness to
continue their postsecondary education and transfer to a 4-year university. As shown in Figure 1,
89% of focus group participants stated that they are planning to transfer to a 4-year university
while 11% are planning to only complete their associates of arts degree.

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Figure 1
Stakeholder Transfer/Completion

In sum, the first-year and second-year Hispanic students at ICCC that participated in the
focus groups reported they gained self-efficacy through their participation in DE, an asset to their
college success.
Summary of Motivation Findings
Based on the analyzed data collected from the focus group interviews, stakeholders found
that participating in DE while in high school positively influenced and motivated them to toward
their first-year college success. Assumed motivational influences, “Belief That Dual Enrollment
Participation Will Benefit Their College Success” and “First-Year College Students’ Self-
Efficacy Through Participation in Dual Enrollment” were seen as assets due to the data collected
from the focus group interviews and how the data demonstrated that DE participation provided
motivation to first-year, Hispanic college students from low-SES communities in achieving
college success. The assumed motivational influence, “Understanding of External Factors as
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Behavioral Influences on Drive and Achievement” is an area that may require additional focus
by ICCC to help build the external supports that foster drive and achievement of low-income,
Hispanic college students toward college success.
Organization Findings
The following sections discuss findings related to the three assumed cultural setting
influences that may impact access to DE and first-year college student success, as summarized in
Table 9.

Table 9
Organizational Influences

Assumed organizational influences Findings
ICCC needs to communicate the importance
of dual enrollment participation.

Continuing need
ICCC must establish effective matriculation
procedures for formerly dual enrolled
students.

Continuing need
The findings of ICCC’s systemic structure
to support first-year students in applying
prior dual enrollment knowledge to
increase college success
Asset
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ICCC Needs to Communicate the Importance of Dual Enrollment Participation
The first cultural setting influence examined was how ICCC communicates the
importance of DE to first-year Hispanic college students from low-SES communities. The focus
group interview findings identified that there is a high need to establish communication systems
to share (a) what DE is, (b) its application process, and (c) its benefits.
Figure 2 shows how stakeholders were informed about DE, based on their responses to
the question, “How was information about dual enrollment shared at your high school?” Five out
of the nine stakeholders stated that their high school shared flyers about DE. Two out of nine
participants stated that they were not aware about how their high school promoted the DE
program. Ultimately, they said that they had to figure out, on their own, what the program was
and how to register for DE classes. One out of nine shared that their counselor provided the
information about DE with students in their high school. Finally, one out of nine stakeholders did
not respond to this question.

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Figure 2
Dual Enrollment Information Communication

Note. Stakeholders were asked how dual enrollment information was shared at their high school?
One did not respond, two said “not aware,” one said, “college counselor,” and five said
“announcements.”

Based on these results, there is a need to improve how DE information is being
communicated with students. The use of social media has taken the lead when it comes to
relatable means of communication with youth. ICCC should explore more current methods of
communication with its potential students. This communication should be delivered in methods
that are relevant to students.
Focus group participants consistently expressed a lack of an effective communication or
information campaign regarding DE. FG3 stated, “Information was available for everyone,
people just tend to ignore it and others actually take advantage of the opportunity.” When asked
“How was information about dual enrollment shared at your high school?,” FG2 stated, “Well
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for my case it wasn’t easy available for students, I had to go ask. I felt, if I would have known
sooner, I would have taken more courses.” Similarly, FG5 added,
In my school wasn’t easily accessible to everybody. I felt like the magnet program knew
more about it. Our counselor was kind of not necessarily providing us the information,
which led to many at my school not knowing about it.
These statements suggest that additional communication is needed around DE participation and
the importance of it, as this would benefit low-income Hispanic high school students. While the
students in the focus group knew about DE programs, in many cases it was due to their own
initiative and they may be some of only a few that know about DE in their high schools.
Some stakeholders also suggested that even when there was knowledge of DE in their
high schools, they were advised not to take these courses and to take AP courses instead. FG4
expressed, “Dual enrollment wasn’t really shared in my high school. They wanted us to take
more Aps, but I felt like Aps were too expensive.” FG9 added,
Anyone interested in taking DE classes, or even like applying to college had to go and
figure things out yourself. If you wanted the information you had to go and find it like
they wouldn’t come to you. If you were in AVID or knew about the College Corner, you
would get the information.
These organizational deficits are examples of the need to increase organizational structures that
share DE information with all stakeholders.
In summary, there is a continuing need to increase the communication about the
importance of DE between high schools and community colleges and to provide information to
high school students in an accessible and engaging manner to improve participation in DE
programs.
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ICCC Must Establish Effective Matriculation Procedures for Formerly Dual Enrolled
Students
As noted in Table 7, the stakeholders mentioned various support services that were
available to them which helped them transition to their first-year of college. ICCC’s
organizational structure was impactful for those who had participated in DE to transition to
college by providing targeted support offered by programs like the First-Year Center, EOPS, and
disabilities office. These services provided support that increased the participants’ self-efficacy
during their first-year of college. FG9 mentioned,
I joined the First-Year Experience which covers the college promise program and
honestly they’ve been like a big help since the beginning. They helped me with my
transition from high school to college and even now, they still check up on us. We have
our success coaches, I believe that is what they’re called, and they check in with us, like
every week. I feel like that’s been a big help as well. If I have any questions, I can go
directly to them. So, I feel like that’s what helped me a lot as well.
Similarly, FG7 added, “My counselor for EOPS told me that taking DE classes were good for
me. Because I took them, I would be able to advance and would take a little less time on the
community college.” As shown in Figure 3, eight of the nine former DE students received
transitional support during their first-year of college. At the same time, Figure 4 shows that only
three out of nine stakeholders stated that they did receive information about how their DE credits
impacted their collegiate program. The data demonstrated in Figure 4 identifies that there is a
continuing need in the area of increasing information on the benefits that DE provides related to
college credits and first-year, Hispanic college students’ success.

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Figure 3
Students Who Received Transitional Support

Figure 4
Students Who Received Information About the Impact of Dual Enrollment Credits

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Furthermore, information on the matriculation procedures for formerly dual enrolled
students would help students as they work towards their academic goals. FG6 mentioned,
The First-Year Center was helpful and then, once I got closer to my goal to transfer out,
my counselors said that I had more than I needed to transfer. I mentioned that I took
courses in high school and they said that made it easier for me, because you're closer to
that goal.
Establishing effective matriculation procedures for dual enrolled students would benefit
both current dual enrolled students and those who are considering DE participation, highlighting
its assets. ICCC will need to develop sustainable and scalable matriculation procedures that can
be shared during the time students are still in high school in order to be more impactful.
The Findings of ICCC’s Systemic Structure to Support First-Year Students in Applying
Prior Dual Enrollment Knowledge to Increase College Success
The system structure should guide students in applying their previously learned skills
from taking DE courses and any other form of early college awareness. To better understand the
structure in place at ICCC, study participants were asked, “Once you entered college, did you
receive any organizational assistance or guidance on how to use the experience gained through
the dual enrollment program?” In response to this question, FG7 stated,
I feel that if I wouldn't have taken those dual enrollment classes in advance, I would be
lost, especially during this pandemic. Right now, it has been hard to get more help, even
though there was a lot of programs that could help me out, but I'm more of an in-person
type. I had to learn how to understand something on my own, because I usually like to
ask multiple questions to understand.
FG5 added the following, “I knew there were services available for me, but I don't think there's
anyone that could have particularly helped me besides going to like my professor’s office hours.”
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In addition, focus group stakeholders shared that they experienced challenges caused by
COVID-19, some of them still struggled with the transition. The pandemic impacted the
students’ ability to apply the knowledge that they learned through DE because they had not had
the opportunity to come to campus and be fully emerged as a college student. FG7 shared the
following:
For me, some of the challenge that I faced in my first year was that I didn't get to
experience my first time being in college. Since I was young, I wanted to always wanted
to know how it felt to be in college. Other challenges that I faced was that I couldn't
really concentrate in Zoom meetings, nor do my work as well, because I couldn’t really
focus. Another challenge in remote learning was that I had to do this from my house,
which was challenging because I was also expected to do basic home chores and being
classes at the same time.
In summary, the findings suggest that ICCC has a systemic structure to support first-year
students in applying prior DE knowledge to increase college success; this is an asset for ICCC.
The pandemic created some barriers that were out of the control of ICCC, but ultimately, they
were able to provide the focus group participants sufficient structure and support in order for
them to apply their previously learned skills derived from DE.
Summary of Organizational Findings
The qualitative data analysis demonstrated that ICCC has developed systemic structure to
support first-year students in applying prior DE knowledge to increase college success and is a
current asset. Stakeholders shared that they were able to apply their learned skills during their
first-year of college, but they were limited due to the pandemic, which transitioned all instruction
and student interaction to a virtual setting.
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At the same time, the focus group participants suggested that ICCC needs to better
communicate the importance of DE participation and ICCC must establish effective
matriculation procedures for formerly dual enrolled students. Finally, it was clear from the
participants that there is a need to increase online support to meet the challenges created by
COVID-19, which has caused all instruction and student services to be conducted virtually.
Many students found online instruction to be challenging, especially those with disabilities.
The organizational structure needs to strengthened to support students’ matriculation and first-
year integrational needs. Given the transformation that happened due to COVID-19, the system
must be effective in an in-person and virtual setting.
Summary of Results and Findings
Chapter Four provided an analysis of the data collected through four focus group
interviews with nine Hispanic college students that attended high school in a low-SES
community which participated in a DE program while in high school. Through an analysis of the
KMO assumed influences; the researcher found that there were six current assets and four
assumed influences that were identified as having continuing needs. These assumed influences
are connected to ICCC’s goal of offering equitable and accessible DE programs for Hispanic
high school students from low-SES communities, leading to first-year college success.
The data demonstrated that there were three knowledge assets and one area of continuing
need for focus group participants, who were low-income Hispanic students at ICCC, to
participate in DE while in high school, enroll in college, and succeed in their first year of college.
The assets that positively affected students were their ability to transfer their prior learning,
gained through DE, to their first-year of college. Stakeholders also identified that they learned
how to transition to college through their experience with DE professors and college mentors. An
additional asset was identified through the stakeholders’ own learning of how to connect their
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prior learned skills to their first-year of college. The qualitative data collected through the focus
group interviews also demonstrated that there are factors that ICCC must continue to improve to
increase equitable access to DE opportunities for students from low-SES communities. Some of
those needs are to increase the knowledge and awareness of DE at all high schools. These efforts
would lead to a greater understanding of what dual enrollment is and allow high school students
to make a well-informed decision if they decide to participate in DE.
In review of the motivational influences, there were two assumed motivational influences
that were identified as assets, the “belief that dual enrollment participation will benefit their
college success” and “first-year college students’ self-efficacy through participation in dual
enrollment.” Stakeholders shared that their self-efficacy increased due to their participation in a
DE program through the collegiate experience that they received while they were still in high
school. This led to a better understanding of what they could expect in college. The exposure to
college classes prepared students to be college ready and increased their motivation to persist
through college. Eight out of the nine stakeholders shared that they were going to continue their
collegiate education and transfer to a four-year university.
There was one motivational influence that was identified as having a continuing need for
improvement, “understanding of external factors as behavioral influences on drive and
achievement.” This assumed influence needs to be further examined and addressed to leverage
the impact that external factors have on academic success and motivation to continue in college.
In review of the assumed organizational influences on student enrollment in DE,
continuation to college, and first-year college success, there was one identified asset and two
assumed influences that were identified as having continuing needs. An asset was that ICCC had
a systemic structure to support first-year students in applying prior DE knowledge to increase
college success. The qualitative data demonstrated that students were able to apply their prior
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knowledge through their first-year of college and find resources that they needed to be
successful.
At the same time, two assumed organizational influences were identified as having
continuing needs, “ICCC needs to communicate the importance of dual enrollment participation”
and “ICCC must establish effective matriculation procedures for formerly dual enrolled
students.” These assumed influences were identified as needing improvement to increase
students’ awareness of DE and understanding of the impact that DE can have on their collegiate
success. There was also a need to improve the matriculation process for high school graduates
who previously participated in a DE program and how they can utilize their DE experience to
have a successful transition to college.

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Chapter Five: Recommendations
Chapter Five will present recommendations based on the continuing needs from the data
to support the goal attainment of developing an impactful DE program for high school students
from low-SES communities. These continuing needs include increased DE awareness and
communication, increased accessibility of DE in low-SES communities, increased exposure of
college-going experiences, increased external motivational influences for high school students,
and increased awareness of the impact that DE has on high school students from low-SES
communities.
Chapter Five will begin with an introduction and overview of the problem of practice and
provide evidence-based recommendations, derived from Table 10, with an implementation and
evaluation plan.

Table 10
Summary of Influences and Needs of the Impact That Dual Enrollment Has on First-Year
Hispanic College Students
Knowledge influence Need Evidence
Knowledge of dual
enrollment as a high
school student
Dual enrollment programs
need to be more accessible
to high school students.
Students had to find out what dual
enrollment was on their own.
ICCC needs to develop
materials and resources to
increase dual enrollment
awareness.
Students shared that many of them
did not know what dual
enrollment really was.
Increase the level of dual
enrollment exposure at the
high school through student
mentors, college staff, and
faculty.
Stakeholders demonstrated that
college students, staff, and faculty
help increase dual enrollment
knowledge and awareness.
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Motivation influence Need Evidence
Understanding of
external factors as
behavioral influences
on drive and
achievement

There is a gap of college
graduated role models for
students from low-SES
communities to provide
guidance

ICCC’s service area has 52.1% of
the population 25 years of age and
older do not have a high school
diploma. Of the 47.9% of the
community members that have a
high school diploma, only 10.5%
of them obtained a higher
educational degree (Statistical
Atlas, 2021).

There is a need to increase
equitable access to dual
enrollment programs in low-
SES communities to
increase student motivation
to go to college.
An (2015) found that first-
generation college students are
impacted by intrinsic and extrinsic
forms of motivation. Dual
enrollment has been seen as one
of the ways students from
underrepresented communities
gain collegiate exposure and helps
them to develop extrinsic
motivation to continue in their
postsecondary education.

Motivation influence Need Evidence
ICCC needs to increase the
external influences that may
be provided for high school
students in order to motivate
them to take dual enrollment
classes while they are in
high school.

Three out of the nine stakeholders
expressed how they were
motivated to participate in dual
enrollment and continue with their
postsecondary education.

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Organization influence Need Evidence
ICCC needs to
communicate the
importance of dual
enrollment
participation.

ICCC needs to communicate
the importance and benefits
of dual enrollment to
Hispanic high school
students from low-SES
communities.
In order for a community to
increase access for
underrepresented minority
students from low-SES
communities, they must establish
early college academic
preparation programs, which will
increase the college-going rates
after high school (Adelman, 1999;
Strayhorn, 2011).

ICCC needs to improve
the method in which
they communicate
with students to share
information about
dual enrollment.
There is a need to improve
how dual enrollment
information is being
communicated with
students.
Chen (2018) found that delivering
information in a relevant manner
to today’s youth is vital to reach
more consumers. The use of
social media has taken the lead
when it comes to relatable means
of communication with the youth
of today.

ICCC needs to establish
a support system for
dually enrolled
students.
ICCC needs to develop a dual
enrollment support system
for its high school students
that are taking dual
enrollment classes.
Students struggled with virtual
learning and needed additional
assistance in transitioning from
face-to-face to a virtual platform.

The community that ICCC services is one of great needs. Approximately 20% of the
population are living below the poverty line. The high school graduation rate of citizens 25 years
and older is 47.9% and only 10.5% of them obtained a higher educational degree (Statistical
Atlas, 2021). These data indicate the need for additional services and increased levels of
educational guidance and exposure. The following recommendations will help address the needs
to increase collegiate exposure through a DE program for high school students from low-SES
communities. Chapter Four identified both the impact that these programs have on the college
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success of first-year, Hispanic, college students from low-SES communities as well as the
continuing needs to further that impact.
California Assembly Bill 288, which was introduced in 2016, increased the exposure
levels and access of DE programs in California. The goal of this bill was to increase partnerships
between community colleges and K–12 districts in order to offer DE programs that increase
career preparation, industry certification, and college transferability. AB 288 recommended that
community colleges and high school districts create DE pathways to increase high school student
accessibility to collegiate courses, which would increase their opportunities to transfer to a
university and be career ready. When high school students, especially those from
underrepresented minority groups, are exposed to DE programs, they have higher high school
graduation rates and college matriculation (An, 2013, 2015; Chapman, 2001; Hughes, 2010).
Having effective DE programs for high school students from low-SES communities
increases students’ college awareness and willingness to continue studying in college after they
graduate from high school (Acevedo-Gil, 2019; Careers Ladders project, 2018; Leech, 2014). In
addition, creating strong partnerships between community colleges and K–12 districts increases
the exposure levels of DE programs at high schools, which leads to higher student participation.
The development of these types of partnerships creates a higher level of understanding by all
stakeholders and an increased sense of urgency to improve outcomes for underrepresented
minority groups in both community colleges and K–12 districts. The momentum shift that these
partnerships create helps high school students that otherwise would not be aware of the benefits
of DE.
Chapter Four presented qualitative data that was generated through four focus group
interviews of current first-year and second-year college students who previously participated in a
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DE program while they were in a high school from a low-SES community. The following
research questions guided this study:
1. How does participating in dual enrollment classes, while a student is in high school,
impact first-year college success?
2. What dual enrollment resources and services increase college persistence for low-income
first-year Hispanic college students?
3. What recommended solutions can be provided to improve equitable access to dual
enrollment and first-year college success?
Chapter Four identified five areas of continuing need to improve access and participation
in DE among low-income Hispanic high school students, matriculation into college, and first-
year college success. The five continuing needs were increase DE awareness and
communication, increase accessibility of DE in low-SES communities, increase exposure of
college-going experiences, increase external motivational influences for high school students,
and increase awareness of the impact that DE has on high school students from low-SES
communities.

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Figure 5
Focus Group Interview Themes

Recommendations to Address Continuing Needs of Knowledge, Motivation, and
Organizational Influences
This section presents a set of research-based recommendations that are aligned to the
continuing needs identified in Chapter Four to improve the dual enrollment program at ICCC and
reach their goal to increase dual enrollment at local high schools from low-income communities
and ensure first-year ICCC students who participate in the DE program successfully matriculate
and navigate their first year of college.
Many of the recommendations are focused on high schools as the study looked at the
impact on first-year college success of Hispanic college students who participated in a DE
program while they were enrolled in a high school from a low-SES community. In order to
establish goals that would lead to greater levels of first-year college success, recommended
resolutions are needed before the students start college. Therefore, the recommendations will
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Awareness
Challenge
Support
Preparation
Impact
Resources
Unaware
Transition
Encouraged
Access
Self Agency
Recommendation
Focus Group Interview Themes
Focus Group #1 Focus Group #2 Focus Group #3 Focus Group #4 Total
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ultimately be to promote first-year college success, but implemented while the students are in
high school or even earlier.
Knowledge Recommendations
Chapter Two shared research about the positive impact that DE has on high school
students from low-SES communities. Chapter Four discussed the experiences of ICCC students
who had participated in DE and the impact on their college matriculation and first-year college
success. Through focus group interviews, the researcher gathered data to identify assets and
areas of continuing need. The following recommendations (Table 11) are intended to address the
identified continuing need that students need additional knowledge of DE as a high school
student. These are designed to address the gaps in knowledge and increase the effectiveness of
ICCC’s DE program (Clark & Estes, 2008).

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Table 11
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Knowledge influence findings Reference Recommendation
Students need more
knowledge of dual
enrollment as a high school
student
Low-income and low-achieving
students benefit from dual
enrollment participation and
leads to post-secondary
persistence (Karp et al., 2007).

Increase the level of dual
enrollment knowledge
in high schools from
low-SES communities
Increasing college partnerships
with high schools leads to
increases in college readiness
programs, like dual enrollment,
which prepare student to persist
to college (Fowler & Luna,
2009).

Increase K–12 district
knowledge and support
of dual enrollment.
When students are exposed to
mentors or other role models
that have “college knowledge,”
it increases their habits of mind
and creates a college-going
culture that shows promise
(Venezia & Jaeger, 2013).
Increase the level of dual
enrollment exposure at
the high school through
student mentors, college
staff, and faculty.

In order for high school student to fully understand the impact that DE will have on their
high school and collegiate education, there needs to be clear and consistent communication
between K–12 schools and districts, community college partners, and the students. Multiple
studies found that students from low-SES communities highly benefit from DE programs (An,
2013, 2015; Bailey & Karp, 2003; Burns et al., 2019; Karp et al., 2007).
Key educational institutions like ICCC and local K–12 districts must develop strong
partnerships to ensure that DE programs are available, accessible, and sustainable in order to
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make a true impact in low-SES communities. Low-SES communities have a great need for
collegiate exposure and access due to a lack of high school and college graduates. By increasing
the collegiate exposure levels and making DE more accessible, students will have higher levels
of motivation and willingness to persist to college (Mehl et al., 2020; Palardy, 2015).
Recommendation 1: Increase the Level of Dual Enrollment Knowledge in High Schools From
Low-SES Communities
An increase of DE awareness needs to be developed in order for students to be informed
about the benefits of the program. The qualitative data showed that seven out of nine
stakeholders found out about DE by seeking information on their own. Several stated that they
would have taken more courses if they knew about it earlier in their high school years.
When high school students from low-SES communities are exposed to DE, it increases
their chances to matriculate into college (Acevedo-Gil, 2019; An, 2013; Bailey & Karp, 2003).
Research has demonstrated positive outcomes when Hispanic students from low-SES
communities participate in DE programs. Dually enrolled high school students demonstrate
increases in high school graduation and college matriculation (Hoffman et al., 2009; Karp et al.,
2010).
The recommendation to rectify the lack of DE knowledge by high school students in low-
SES communities will be to increase the awareness levels of DE for all K–12 and community
stakeholders. An example of this is the partnership that ICCC has with one of its local K–12
districts, where they will be creating a college bridge program that will increase college
awareness and college access. The college bridge program will create opportunities for the K–12
district to incorporate DE to its leadership framework, which is used to build administrator’s
capacity. This will lead to an increase in knowledge of DE and will help principals to better
understand DE. There are additional factors to the college bridge, for example, increasing the
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support to the school-site point of contact. There will be additional trainings and meetings to
provide DE updates and share best practices. This program has a goal of offering every student,
from the local high schools, an opportunity to take at least one DE course by the time they
graduate from high school. will be incorporated in increments of 25% per year, beginning in Fall
of 2021 and fully incorporating the plan by 2024. This plan is supported by the K–12
superintendent and school board members. This has a potential of increasing access to DE to
approximately 27,000 students.
Recommendation 2: Increase K–12 District Knowledge and Support of Dual Enrollment
Focus group participants discussed that DE information was not easily accessible for
many students, which challenged them to become help-seekers and find the information on their
own. Currently, high schools are experiencing increasing accountability requirements that are set
by the federal and state government, which reduces their abilities to incorporate additional
programs, like DE (Jackson & Kurlaender, 2016; Yan, 2020). Dual enrollment programs need to
compete with the various high school initiatives, which limits access and opportunity. In order to
have greater access of a DE program, a recommendation would be for ICCC to collaborate with
its K–12 partners and create protocols that provide guidance on how to incorporate DE into pre-
existing initiatives or create guides that will help high schools balance their multiple initiatives
along with DE. This type of collaboration will increase the accessibility of a DE program in high
schools from low-SES communities. This will be incorporated by having leads from each agency
to lead the efforts and provide support to meet the goal of incorporating a DE opportunity to
every high school student by 2024.
Moreno et al. (2021) found that students from underrepresented communities
demonstrated higher levels of postsecondary matriculation after they participated in a DE
program. It is important that there are increases of K–12 district’s knowledge and support of DE.
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The recommendation to increase K–12 district knowledge and support of DE will require that
ICCC collaborate with K–12 districts, possibly through the creation of a joint work group to
create a strategic plan to implementing accessible DE programs at all high schools. This will
require that DE workshops, webinars, and professional development be offered. The targeted
audience will range from executive leadership, school-site faculty and staff. By increasing the
K–12 district’s knowledge base on DE, will lead to higher levels of understanding and increase
the ability to share DE information with` high school students from low-SES communities.
There are two major benefits of this work; (1) high school students will have more
opportunities to access DE; (2) K–12 districts have accountability requirements to increase
college access and develop programs that will prepare students for careers, which is measured
through the College and Career Ready Indicator (CDE, 2019). The collaboration between K–12
and ICCC can be a reciprocal partnership that would increase school site’s knowledge about DE
and increase student’s knowledge and accessibility of the program. Ultimately, students will
benefit from this collaboration and lead to increased access to DE programs, which leads to
higher high school graduation and college persistence (Vargas et al., 2015).
Recommendation 3: Increase the Level of Dual Enrollment Exposure at the High School
Through Student Mentors, College Staff, and Faculty
Three out of nine focus group participants found themselves being influenced by family
members or other adults to take DE. The data results identify that there is a need of increasing
the level of influential external partners, like current college students, college mentors, and
college professors at local high schools. The increase of their presence will transform the high
school setting to one that is more college aligned. Another benefit will be an increased presence
of collegiate experienced adults, which will lead to a greater appreciation of participating in DE
programs, by high school students.
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Studies have demonstrated that family, school-site staff, and community members are
very influential in a young person’s decisions when it comes to college (Hossler & Stage, 1992;
O’Connor et al., 2010). This demonstrates that there needs to be additional efforts made to
increase the presence of adults that may influence students to participate in collegiate programs
like DE. Macro-level influences are demonstrated through opportunity structure, institutional
practices, social interaction and academic attributes (Goldrick-Rab, 2010). These types of
interactions make an impact on the decisions that young students make about K–12 school
completion and college persistence. The value of influence that adults add to a young student’s
decision-making process should be seen as an asset that needs to be developed to guide young
students to make well-informed decisions that will impact their future.
Part of increasing DE knowledge of high school students could be through increasing the
capacity of the adults that are in close proximity of high school students through a parent and
community awareness program that focuses on sharing information about DE and strategies for
them to guide students. The benefit of this would also be an increase in collegiate social capital
in the community where students live and go to high school.
In order to accomplish this recommendation, high schools will need to focus on providing
parents and community members the basic information about college programs that are available
for K–12 students, like DE. The additional benefits of developing these types of resources for
low-SES communities is that it increases “college knowledge” more broadly. The social impact
created by increasing college knowledge within the population of a low-SES community can
create a positive momentum shift and communal-wealth, generating greater understanding and
participation in programs like DE (Kazmi & Naarananoja, 2014; Venezia & Jaeger, 2013).
The next section will present recommendations for the motivation influences on DE
participation, college matriculation, and first year college success.
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Motivation Recommendations
Clark and Estes (2008) defined motivation as the force that gets us going and keeps us
moving. Motivation plays a major part of the high school student’s willingness in taking on
additional college course work while they are fully-enrolled high school. At their age, they might
not be thinking about how to make themselves more competitive when they apply in college.
Most students from low-SES communities are thinking about getting through the K–12
curriculum and potentially graduating; they might be thinking about how they can help their
family get by or how they themselves will get by, at times college is an afterthought (Liao et al.,
2014; Yosso, 2006). The focus group participants are an exception to the rule, they defied the
statistical outcome that has been set for students of color from low-SES communities, where
only 59% of Hispanic students will graduate from high school and only 17% of them would
persist to college (NCES, 2016).
Motivation is an important factor to address if ICCC would like to see an increase in high
school students participating in DE. As a promising practice, DE implementation has been
shown to help increase college persistence and college degree attainment for students from low-
SES communities (Acevedo-Gil, 2019; An, 2015). In order to increase student motivation more
broadly, ICCC will need to expand the work that has been done with DE and transfer that
momentum to the high schools.
Findings from the focus group suggested that while students who participated in DE
while in high school had essential motivational assets, an area of continuing need was in the
motivation influence of understanding external factors as behavioral influences on drive and
achievement.
The following table (Table 12) provides recommendations to address this continuing
need.
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Table 12
Summary of Motivational Influences and Recommendations
Motivation Influence
Findings
Reference Recommendations
Understanding of external
factors as behavioral
influences on drive and
achievement
ICCC’s service area has
52.1% of the population 25
years of age and older do
not have a high school
diploma. Of the 47.9% of
the community members
that have a high school
diploma, only 10.5% of
them obtained a higher
educational degree
(Statistical Atlas, 2021).
Increase the rate of college
graduated role models by
25% for students from low-
SES communities to
increase exposure of
successful college graduates

There is a need to increase
equitable access of dual
enrollment programs in low-
SES communities, to
increase student motivation
to go to college.

Recommendation 4: Increase the Rate of College Graduated Role Models by 25% for Students
From Low-SES Communities to Increase Exposure of Successful College Graduates
There is a need to increase the exposure levels of students from low-SES communities to
adults that are going to college or have completed their collegiate education. Through these
increased exposure levels, high school students will be influenced by the college graduated role
models. A recommendation would be to increase the number of high school graduates, college-
attending students, and college graduates who serve as role models in local high schools in the
ICCC’s service area by 25%. Statistical Atlas (2021) found data of the community the ICCC
services has 52.1% of the population 25 years of age and older do not have a high school
diploma. Of the 47.9% of the community members that have a high school diploma, only 10.5%
of them obtained a higher educational degree. This data demonstrated that there is a gap of
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community role models that have graduated from high school and college, which will reduce the
influential role models that high school students need to be motivated to consider participating in
a DE or influenced to persist to college.
In order to turn college aspiration into college attainment for high school students, there
needs to effective systems in place that will prepare teachers and other adults with the college
knowledge that is needed to provide genuine guidance to support college readiness and college
persistence (Roderick et al., 2009). In order to influence and motivate Hispanic students to
persist to college, there must be more Hispanic role models present at their schools and
communities. By having these mentors and role models, Hispanic high school students will
develop a sense of belonging in a post-secondary program (Verdugo, 1995). This is important for
high school students and first-year college students because they need to see that it is possible to
challenge the dominant ideology which camouflages the stereotypical inequities that are present
in their society (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). By changing the student’s environment to one that
has a greater presence of successful role models, their self-belief will increase, which will
increase their levels of influence to persevere towards college completion and to be career ready.
These actions will also decrease the levels of imposter syndrome among Hispanic college
students. Bravata et al. (2020) described imposter syndrome as a high-achieving individual who
fails to recognize their success as being earned, instead they attribute it to other factors, like
networking, luck, or their charisma.
Bandura (2011) explained that one of the sources of self-efficacy is through a person’s
belief in their capabilities; which is developed through mastery experiences and learning how to
overcome obstacles and failure. In order for high school students, from low-SES communities, to
be able to have more opportunities to establish “mastery experiences” and have the opportunity
to learn from obstacles and from their errors. When high school students are given an
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opportunity like DE, they will have the opportunity to learn skills that will increase self-efficacy.
High school students need to be aware of all of the information that is related to DE, in order for
them to make a decision if they will or will not participate.
The recommendation to increase student’s motivation to participate in DE programs must
begin with having a greater ethnic representation in college programs and in outreach efforts to
local high schools. This can be managed by hiring Hispanic college students to help inform high
school students about DE. There can be an increase in Hispanic or Latino professors that teach
the DE classes at the local high schools. In addition, there can be a greater presence of adults at
the high school level that have graduated from high school and have some collegiate experience.
These recommendations would lead to a social-cultural shift and cultural affirmation of
Hispanics in higher education.
Recommendation 5: Increase Equitable Access of Dual Enrollment Programs in Low-SES
Communities to Increase Student Motivation to Go to College
High schools of low-SES communities need an increase of equitable collegiate resources
to increase the collegiate preparation and college persistence of Hispanic students. There are
gaps in equity when it comes to DE accessibility in many K–12 systems and post-secondary
institutions; but the issues do not begin at the point of collegiate entry, the inequity begins at the
high school level, and earlier, where students do not have sufficient access to information that
will increase college awareness and the college matriculation process (Yun & Moreno, 2006).
The lack of collegiate resources is more prevalent in non-white schools, where 42% of
predominantly non-white schools have a collegiate resource deficit, in comparison to the deficit
of 7% in majority-white schools (IDEA U, 2004). This is why it is necessary to increase access
to collegiate programs, like DE, in high schools from low-SES communities, which will increase
college-going culture and collegiate resources.
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Research suggests that increasing DE programming in high schools from low-SES
communities leads to an increase of a college-going culture and motivation to persist to college
(Muijs et al., 2004). ICCC and its local K–12 district have developed a program that increases
college knowledge from pre-kindergarten through high school, this program will add a college
bridge component that will help high schools increase the level of college access for its students
and prepare them for college.
Dual enrollment provides a rich-level of collegiate exposure, due to the requirements that
a high school student must complete in order to be part of the program:
• College application completion
• College course registration
• Gathering books and materials for classes
• Communicate with college professor
• Navigate the college’s student information system
• Know how to drop courses, if needed.
• Manage their college schedule
• Know how to retrieve a transcript
All of these requirements that the high school student must complete provide a first-hand
college-going experience. When high school students have these types of experiences,
transitioning to college is easier as they will learned skills and strategies that they need in their
first-year of college.
The recommendation to increase student’s motivation to take DE courses by increasing
equitable access of DE courses in low-SES communities. The method in increasing equitable
access is through increasing the accessibility of DE programs for high school students in low-
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SES communities. There is also a need to increase the knowledge of the impact of DE programs
by K–12 leadership, teachers, and staff. By increasing the accessibility and knowledge of DE, it
will lead to an increase in students’ willingness to take DE courses; which will help them learn
the essential skills that will help them to have a successful transition to college. This will be
obtained through increased preparation of high school partners’ college knowledge and ICCC’s
staff and faculty’s high school knowledge. Overall, there will be an increase of cross-institutional
knowledge, which will help increase understanding of how to guide students on how they can
access college resources, while they are in high school and help them to continue to college. This
will be measured by identifying the increase of high school students that participate in DE
programs and those that persist to college.
Organizational Recommendations
The section addresses the findings on the organizational needs to increase DE among
low-income Hispanic high school students and first-year college success. Clark and Estes (2008)
attributes organizational performance gaps to inefficient organizational work processes and
material resources. Consequently, it is necessary to find solutions to any organizational gaps that
limit access to and full engagement in DE programs for high school students from low-SES
communities.
Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) found that creating change through a collaborative
model can lead to change in an organization’s culture, transforming it to become more
collaborative and harnessing a more influential environment to influence student success. In
order to increase the number of students who participate in DE courses, K–12 districts and
collegiate organizations must collaborate to create this influential space for the students to thrive.
For change to happen, leadership must create an organizational culture and climate that
will support change and adaptation (Cherkowski et al., 2021). Part of this change is in the form
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of technology and how to utilize it to increase organizational influence. In order to be able to
effectively communicate with the students of today, an organization will need to know how to
connect with their students (Alt, 2015).
In addition to structural and technological change, there needs to social change, which
will lead to an increase in empathy to the needs of students, especially during difficult times
(Wilson, 2018). Organizations need to be aware of how to meet the social needs of their students
in order for them to commit to the organization. These values are important to build trust among
all stakeholders.
The findings from low-income Hispanic students who had participated in DE in high
school suggested several organizational needs to increase participation in high school DE in low-
SES communities and enable their college matriculation and success The organizational findings
are noted in Table 13 along with recommendations to close the organizational gaps.

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Table 13
Summary of Organizational Influences and Recommendations
Organization influence
findings
Reference Recommendation
ICCC needs to communicate
the importance of dual
enrollment participation
In order for a community to
increase access for
underrepresented minority
students from low-SES
communities, they must
establish early college
academic preparation programs,
which will increase the college-
going rates after high school
(Adelman, 1999; Strayhorn,
2011).

More effectively
communicate the
importance and benefits
of dual enrollment to
Hispanic high school
students from low-SES
communities
ICCC needs to improve the
method in which they
communicate with students
to share information about
dual enrollment
Chen (2018) found that
delivering information in a
relevant manner to today’s
youth is vital to reach more
consumers. The use of social
media has taken the lead when
it comes to relatable means of
communication with the youth
of today.

Improve how dual
enrollment information
is communicated with
students
ICCC needs to establish a
support system for dually
enrolled students
Given the cancellation of in-
person classes and the
onboarding of virtual classes,
educational institutions need to
develop structured resources to
support student learning (Zuo et
al., 2020).
Develop a dual enrollment
support system for high
school students who are
taking dual enrollment
courses

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Recommendation 6: More Effectively Communicate the Importance and Benefits of Dual
Enrollment to Hispanic High School Students From Low-SES Communities.
In order for a community to increase access for underrepresented minority students from
low-SES communities, they must establish early college academic preparation programs which
will increase the college-going rates after high school graduation (Adelman, 1999; Strayhorn,
2011). Focus group participants shared that DE information was not easily accessible and readily
available; students had to search for information and figure out the process on how to apply. This
demonstrated that there is a gap in the formalized system to share information about DE with its
students.
Fowler and Luna (2009) found that in order to increase college persistence of Hispanic
high school students from low-SES communities, K–12 districts needed to partner with
community colleges and create credit-based programs that allow high school students to earn
college credits while they are in high school. Implementing programs like this in high schools
will increase the collegiate exposure levels and college-going culture in high schools from low-
SES communities (Bailey & Karp, 2003). The impact of this type of cultural setting change will
lead to more visibility of DE programs that will increase students’ DE knowledge. Increased
exposure to DE programs will lead to more students becoming aware of the programs and
continue to build increased DE participation.
In order to increase the effectiveness of the communication between ICCC and dual
enrolled students and potential DE students, ICCC must create high school student friendly DE
guide that explains the benefits of the program. The next step will be to increase the marketing of
the guide with all high school students, teachers, staff, and parents. This DE guide will expand
the knowledge base of the benefits of DE which will lead to greater student participation by 25%
per year until we reach 100% by 2024. This will be measured through the student surveys that
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will focus on the level of DE information that was shared with students and if they felt that it was
effective and impactful.
The recommendation to effectively communicate the benefits of dual enrollment
programs requires the development of a formalize and systemic structure at the K–12 and ICCC
levels. This systemic structure would create an effective plan of communication with high school
students, leading to greater program participation. Some of the items that need to be
communicated are
• College application requirements
• Program enrollment dates
• Course registration process
• Process to demonstrate parental permission
• Drop deadlines and withdrawal process
• How to access college resources and support
When program processes are formalized, it creates a reliable culture that establishes trust and
willingness towards program persistence.
Recommendation 7: Improve How Dual Enrollment Information is Communicated With
Students
Only three out of nine focus group participants shared that dual enrollment information
was easily available for students. This gap of information sharing creates an inequity at the high
schools in ICCC’s service area. According to Morgan et al. (2018), in a study conducted of high
school seniors, 38% of 12th graders were college ready and 51.7% of students entering a 2-year
college needed to take remedial courses; and only 9.5% of two-year college students who take
remedial classes graduate within the projected timeframe.
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There is a need to increase the level and types of communication about collegiate
opportunities for high school students. Communication is critical and organizations must be
aware on how to effectively communicate with its students. The days of only sharing information
through word-of-mouth, printed ads, tv/radio commercials are no longer effective (Fay et al.,
2019).
Chen (2018) found that delivering information in a relevant manner to today’s youth is
vital to reach more consumers. The use of social media has taken the lead when it comes to
relatable means of communication with the youth of today. Social media platforms like
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have captured the attention of current youth. There is a new
phenomenon termed fear of missing out, which identifies the low-level basic need satisfaction
when a student is socially connected to their virtual societal community (Alt, 2015). social media
engagement has increased, and with it, the means of intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors.
There are the new ways in which an organization must communicate with students in order to
connect and influence them (Alt, 2015). High schools and higher education organizations must
take this into account as they incorporate and expand the social media engagement to connect
with students. In addition to connecting with students, organizations must be aware of the
psychological influences that are created by using social media. There needs to be a plan to
ensure that there are healthy social media engagement practices. There needs to be
communication strategies to ensure that the information that is being shared leads to positive
influential outcomes and motivation for students (Park & Lee, 2014).
The suggestion to increase the means and types of communication with potential and
current college students will require that schools and colleges create a social media work group
to create marketing materials to target the specific population that they are looking to influence.
The efforts must be conducted through both organizations in order to have a wider range of
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impact and connection, increasing presence and credibility with the current youth (Alt, 2015;
Park & Lee, 2014). Once the presence has been established, a strategic marketing plan could also
include
• Message content accountability
• Messaging time frames
• Programmatic requirement alignment
At the same time, to increase information about dual enrollment and its benefits to
students, new forms of communication will also be needed for K–12 partners, community allies,
and parents. Each demographic will require a strategic plan and consideration of the most
effective means by which to communicate information that can then be shared with students.
Recommendation 8: Develop a Dual Enrollment Support System for High School Students
Who Are Taking Dual Enrollment Classes
Based on the focus group discussions, there is a need to provide additional support
services for dually enrolled students. This service could be provided by both the enrolling
schools and the partner colleges. Colleges have many resources that are available for their
students who attend on the college campus, but these services are often not accessible for dually
enrolled students who take classes at their high school. There is a need to extend these services to
the dually enrolled students, especially while they take the college classes at their high school.
Students demonstrate higher levels of academic achievement when support services are provided
(Dreyer, 2017; Eberhardt, 2016).
The COVID-19 global pandemic, exacerbated the need for student support services for
dually enrolled students and first-year college students. Before the pandemic, students were able
to find support on campus, but during the pandemic, they did not have the same level of access.
This created a gap in services for all students. The COVID-19 impact went beyond student
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support services and impacted academic programs as well. The stay-at-home order forced the
cancellation of in-person classes and transitioned all instruction to virtual instruction.
Education institutions need to develop structured resources to support student learning,
whether in-person or online; the support should be equally accessible and effective (Zuo et al.,
2020). The support services need to be available when and where students are able to utilize
them. High schools could provide the appropriate space for colleges to provide these services for
dually enrolled students. As support services are expanded to high school campuses, the
development of servicing procedures will also need to be developed. This will guide how the
support services will be delivered and how students may access them with greater ease. In order
to identify if these recommendations are effective, there will be a baseline survey to identify
what the level of communication was in Fall 2021and conduct yearly surveys to collect data that
will track the changes in the means of communication. The goal is to increase the participation of
dual enrollment by increments of 25% per year until ICCC reaches 100% participation by 2024.
Implementation and Evaluation Plan
The next section of this study provides an implementation and evaluation framework.
The framework used is the Prosci ADKAR Model. The framework was developed to assist with
organizational change through leadership, change managers, and project managers to effectively
lead organization change. The Prosci ADKAR Model has five milestones or outcomes that must
be achieved to successfully instill change. The five milestones are (a) awareness, (b) desire, (c)
knowledge, (d) ability, and (e) reinforcement. This framework can be applied to educational
organizations to support organizational change. Change will be accomplished by applying the
five milestones through collective drive and team activities (Karambelkar & Bhattacharya, 2017;
Kazmi & Naarananoja, 2014).
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The Prosci ADKAR Model was selected due to the need to create organizational change
at ICCC and partner schools to increase implementation of the dual enrollment program and
expand equitable access to dual enrollment to high school students from high school located in
low-SES communities. The projected outcome from the recommendations above is to increase
student persistence to college and increase first-year college success. This framework may be
used to support the change that is needed within the ICCC and partner high schools to increase
the accessibility of dual enrollment for high school students from low-SES communities.
The use of the Prosci ADKAR Model will help ICCC meet its goal of increasing dual
enrollment programs in high schools from low-SES communities by 25% by Fall 2022 The goal
is to address the areas that were identified as having continuing needs and instill the
recommendations to provide equitable college access and college support for the high school
students.
Table 14 describes the five milestones of the Prosci ADKAR Model Framework.

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Table 14
Prosci ADKAR Model
Milestones Description
1. Awareness There must be awareness of the changes that need to be made in
order to overcome resistance.

2. Desire In order for change to occur, there must be the desire to apply the
change. There might be a need to coach and motivate members to
adopt the change.

3. Knowledge After awareness and desire are established, detailed knowledge of
the needed change will be introduced and taught.

4. Ability After knowledge has been explained and demonstrated, the next step
will be to put the newly acquired knowledge into practice. This
could be done in a formal training or through a hands-on approach.

5. Reinforcement In order to create new habits, there needs to be reinforcement of the
newly acquired change. Monitoring of the application of the new
practice needs to happen in order to ensure that old processes are
not being applied.

The following section explains how the Prosci ADKAR Model can be applied at ICCC
and with its partnering K–12 districts to accomplish the organization’s goal through the
recommendations provided.
Milestone 1: Awareness
ICCC must be able to identify the needs to address in order to increase equitable dual
enrollment and why. Sinek (2011) stated that organizations need to know their “Why.” It is
important that ICCC and its high school partners understand why they need to make changes to
the current programming that they have. The recommendations will provide research-based
guidance to support the accomplishment of meeting this milestone awareness and the
institutional goal.
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Milestone 2: Desire
The willingness to make change will be accomplished by motivating students, staff,
faculty and leaders. The process of increasing motivation of all college stakeholders will be done
through building a sense of urgency through data and emotional connections made through the
student’s need to have additional access to dual enrollment courses. In order for this to be
implemented, there needs to be a high level of desire to accomplish the goal of increasing
participation in dual enrollment programs at the local high schools. To increase the desire to
achieve this, leaders must create the culture that embraces, motivates, and sustains change. The
level of trust must be earned and nurtured to ensure that the recommendations will be embedded
and sustained. Leadership needs to develop a message and system that will help motivate all
stakeholders to work together to accomplish the goal. This will require the establishment of
meaningful trainings, activities, and social events to improve initiative morale and increase the
level of desire to succeed.
Milestone 3: Knowledge
Providing clarity of the needs is important, and this can be accomplished through a
system to increase the knowledge base of all organizational stakeholders. This will require the
implementation of professional development and confidence building. The professional
development sessions can help all organizational stakeholders understand the content of the
recommendations, the changes they require, and how they can be implemented. Organizational
leadership will need to develop professional development to provide on-going guidance as the
recommendations are implemented and instill the ability to scale up, if needed. The need to scale
with the growth of the recommendations is important because as the dual enrollment program
demand increases, the organization will need to train more team members to support the demand.
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Once knowledge is gained by the organizational stakeholders, confidence will increase.
The increase in confidence will lead to an increase in motivation to accept and support the
changes that have been made.
Milestone 4: Ability
As the organization accomplishes ADKAR Milestones 1 through 3, they reach the point
of application of their newly acquired knowledge and skills. They will need to solidify the ability
of teams to understand their roles and responsibilities in the implementation and evaluation
plans. Leadership will need to continue to support the organizational stakeholders’ desire and
momentum by creating an adaptive culture that is willing to thrive under change.
Milestone 5: Reinforce
Once the willingness has been established, content has been learned, and an
implementation/evaluative system has been enacted; it is time to reflect and reinforce. There
needs to be a process to reflect on the changes that have been introduced and applied. Systems-
check will reinforce the implementation and evaluative plan and ensure that it is employed as
designed. Another benefit of these practices is to assure that ineffective practices are not going to
be reintroduced to the organization.
To solidify the dual enrollment program changes, it is important that leadership recognize
the efforts that were made by all organizational stakeholders. A reward system, recognition
program, and celebration of all accomplishments will help reinforce and sustain the new changes
and culture that the organization has implemented.
Implementation Timeline
The implementation and evaluation plan for the proposed recommendations is expected
to take approximately three years to be fully embedded within the ICCC and partner
106

organizations. Figure 6 provides a preliminary breakdown of the 3-year implementation and
evaluation cycle.

Figure 6
Three-Year Implementation and Evaluation Cycle

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Year 1: Preparation
The implementation plan will require a 1-year planning to ensure that the organizations
have sufficient time to gain support and buy-in from leadership and key stakeholders. During this
the planning stage, there will be a need to identify key staff that will provide input based on
personal experiences with dual enrollment. This keys staff will be part of a work group that will
help create surveys, policies, evaluations, and timelines for the implementation plan. There will
be a need to develop a logic model, in order to create short-term and long-term goals.
Another component of the development of the implementation plan will be a marketing
plan. This is important to build communal awareness and gain support. The marketing plan
should be rolled out in phases, this will help in building momentum and acceptance of the
implementation plan.
Year 2: Implementation
By Year 2, the implementation plan should have leadership approval and should be ready
to be made public. The implementation plan will be shared with stakeholders from K–12, ICCC,
and the surrounding community through the marketing plan. This will raise communal awareness
and increase stakeholder buy-in. The marketing plan should share the program information
through local news media outlets, social media, and community partners. Ultimately, these
efforts will increase program momentum and to build awareness.
An additional implementation step will be needed to introduce the plan to the dual
enrollment program practitioners and recipients. There will be various information sessions,
town-halls, and forums to give all stakeholders the opportunity to gain knowledge ask questions
of the dual enrollment program. In order for this to be implemented effectively, there is a need to
introduce professional development for the practitioners and create resources that can be used to
guide the implementation of the dual enrollment program.
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A concluding effort of Year 2 will be to conduct a summative evaluation to identify
assets and areas that need improvements. We will need to conduct a summative survey with the
students, practitioners, professors, and community. This will help guide the program and provide
data to make improvements.
Year 3: Reflection
The summer transition between Year 2 and Year 3, there will be an opportunity to review
the evaluation and survey data. The data collected should drive the summer professional
development sessions that will be provided to practitioners, every year. This will create
opportunities for all stakeholders to provide input and ideas to increase the effectiveness of the
program.
The data and feedback collected, should guide the improvements that will be
incorporated to the implementation plan for the upcoming school year.
Impact of COVID-19 on This Study
As a result of COVID-19, there were many changes that occurred in a very short period
of time for K–12 and collegiate systems. All instruction and student services at ICCC had to
quickly transition to a virtual setting. These changes created major challenges and inequitable
gaps for students from low-SES communities. The students from ICCC were facing the
challenges of transitioning from an in-person class to a virtual class over their Spring Break
2020. This transition exacerbated the digital divide that existed in low-SES communities and
created many barriers for students. Students that would rely on on-campus technological and
academic support services were forced to fend for themselves as they were forced to do
everything virtually. The students needed to find access to computers and internet access,
without being able to go to public locations to access free internet. These barriers created a
greater equity gap in underrepresented communities and created academic challenges for our
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Hispanic students from low-SES communities, including those who had participated in dual
enrollment programs in their high schools.
This research had initially set a goal to interview 16 stakeholders, but due to COVID-19,
11 students committed to participating and, out of those 11, nine actually participated in the
focus group interviews. There were many efforts made by the college staff to help recruit first-
year students. Even with offering a $20 Amazon gift card, there were very few students who
were willing to participate. The focus group interviews had to be conducted online through
Zoom. This created another challenge for collecting data, especially around seeing non-verbal
cues to questions asked and the challenge of having many of the participants not willing to turn
their cameras on. In addition, there were a few that had a difficult time getting a strong internet
signal to have clear conversation or full participation.
Future Research Recommendations
This study focused on two stakeholder group, first-year and second-year low-income
Hispanic college students who participated in dual enrollment while in high school. Additional
research of other stakeholder groups, like high school students who are currently taking dual
enrollment, is recommended. The additional data would identify any current needs and help
validate the data generated from the college students. Another recommendation for future studies
would be to conduct a study on the impact of parent involvement while a high school student is
in the dual enrollment program and its connection to first-year college success. This could help
develop effective programs to engage parents in their children’s high school and college success.
The last recommendation for future research would be to better understand the impact of having
a greater representation of Hispanic college professors teaching the dual enrollment courses in
low-SES Hispanic communities on dual enrollment persistence.

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Conclusion
The impact that inequitable access to dual enrollment programs has on high school
students from low-SES communities, which directly impacts first-year college success, is a
challenging problem of practice to solve. The study utilized the Clark and Estes (2008) Gap
Analysis as the conceptual framework to identify the KMO influences on low-SES, Hispanic
students who participated in a dual enrollment program while they were in high school and the
impact on college matriculation and first-year college success.
For this research, four focus group interviews were conducted with nine first-year and
second-year college students to collect qualitative data on factors influencing participation in
dual enrollment in high school and the impact of dual enrollment as it relates to first-year college
success for college students from low-SES communities. Based on the findings from the focus
groups, recommendations were made to address continuing KMO needs to meet the
organizational goal of increasing high school dual enrollment in low-income communities. The
Prosci ADKAR Model was introduced to guide the organizational change needed to ensure that
the recommendations are implemented, evaluated, and sustained at ICCC and its K–12 partners.
In closing, this study has demonstrated that the promising practice of incorporating dual
enrollment programs in high schools from low-SES Hispanic communities is impactful towards
first-year college success. The multiple, peer reviewed articles and the data collected from the
four focus groups demonstrate that this promising practice helps promote equity and student
success in low-SES communities.
There is a lot of work before dual enrollment is embedded as mainstream, like other
collegiate awareness programs, in high schools, but by creating empathetic and meaningful
partnerships between community partners, K–12 districts and secondary institutions, the dual
111

enrollment can thrive and provide equitable access for Hispanic students from low-SES
communities.

112

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131

Appendix A: Interview Protocol

Research Questions:
1. How does participating in dual enrollment classes while a student is in high school
impact student success for first-year college students?
2. What dual enrollment resources and services increase college persistence for low-income
first-year Hispanic college students?
3. What recommended solutions can be provided to improve equitable access to dual
enrollment and first-year college success?
Introduction

Hello students, thank you for taking the time to participate in this focus group interview.
The conversation that we will have today is completely confidential and will stored securely.
You have the right, at any point, to excuse yourself from answering any questions or excuse
yourself from the focus group interview.

The purpose of this study is to share promising practices about dual enrollment with other
institutions in order to increase access to dual enrollment courses for high school students.

This focus group interview will be recorded for the purposes of transcribing our conversations.
The videos will not be shared with anyone, and will be stored securely while I am transcribing
the conversations.
132

Table A1
Protocol
Interview questions KMO alignment RQ addressed
1. What knowledge did your organization
share with you about dual enrollment
before you attended your first DE class?
Knowledge 1
2. How was information about dual
enrollment shared at your organization?
Knowledge 3
3. Was the information easily available to all
students?
Organizational 3
4. What made you decide to take a dual
enrollment class? Who helped you, if
anyone?
Motivational 1
5. Did you feel as if you belonged in the dual
enrollment program?
Motivational 1
6. While you were in high school, did you
know that participating in a dual
enrollment class would help you prepare
for college?
Knowledge 1
7. Once you graduated from high school, did
you feel that participating in these classes
helped you to be ready for college?
Motivational 2
8. Do you feel that your dual enrollment
participation motivated you feel more
comfortable when you started college?
Motivational 2
9. Once you entered college, did you receive
any organizational assistance or guidance
on how to use the experience you gained
through the dual enrollment program?

Organizational 3
10. Now that you are in your first-year of
college, do you feel that your dual
enrollment participation helped you?

Motivational 3
11. What challenges did you face during your
first-year of college?

Knowledge/Organizational 3
12. Were there any specific organizational
resources or services that would have
helped you with any challenges?

Organizational 3

133

Interview questions KMO alignment RQ addressed
13. What are your feelings now about dual
enrollment classes for high schools?
Motivational 1
14. Are you planning to continue college and
transfer to a four-year university?
Motivational 2

134

Appendix B: Data Collection Protocol

• Participants (sample)
o First-Year East Los Angeles College students that previously participated in dual
enrollment courses while they were in high school.
o All participants will be adult college students; no children will participate

• Recruitment Process (sampling strategy)
o Potential participants will be recruited from East Los Angeles College’s First-
Year Program.
o Recruitment will be done by administrator of East los Angeles College’s First-
Year Center.
o Potential participants will be contacted by East Los Angeles College’s First-Year
Center and provided the recruitment materials.
o Researcher will not receive any identifiable information.

• Enrollment Process
o Consent /Assent Process
§ If potential participants are interested in participating in the focus group
interviews, they will contact the researcher directly via the researcher’s
USC email.
• Methods
135

o A focus group interview will be conducted in a 60-minute time frame. There will
be four focus groups, with four participants in each group.
o An introduction and overview of participation options will be conducted at the
beginning of the focus group interviews.
o The focus group interview will be conducted and recorded through Zoom. The
data collected from the focus group interviews will be analyzed and coded.
• Protection of Data
o All documents will be stored in my personal computer, which is password
protected and locked in a file cabinet when not in use. I am the only person that
will have access to the computer. The coded materials will be stored separately to
ensure the protection of the participants’ identity.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Dueñas, Miguel Angel (author)

Core Title The impact of dual enrollment programs on first-year college success for Hispanic students from low-socioeconomic-status communities: a promising practice

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Degree Conferral Date 2021-08

Publication Date 08/05/2021

Defense Date 07/14/2021

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag dual enrollment,early college,early college program,first-year college success,Hispanic high school students,OAI-PMH Harvest

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Krop, Cathy Sloane (committee chair), Nava, Marco (committee member), Robles, Darline (committee member)

Creator Email maduenas@usc.edu,miked90255@google.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC15709201

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