Heterogeneity in the Returns to Credits for Public Two-Year College Entrants

Public two-year colleges offer an entry point to postsecondary education for many Americans who might otherwise forgo college. Most students leave college without a credential. A growing body of research examines the returns to higher education among two-year college entrants but primarily focuses on returns to credentials. This study examines the returns to different types of credits, including academic, technical, and developmental credits. In a series of individual fixed effects models, we use state administrative data following a population of public two-year college entrants to understand which college credits yield the greatest returns and how returns to credits vary across degree attainment. Our findings illustrate that average estimates of the returns to credits obscure varied patterns of returns among two-year college students, where sub-baccalaureate credential recipients appear to experience different returns to academic and technical credits compared with their peers.

Predicting Academic Difficulty in Veterinary Medicine: A Case-Control Study

A veterinary education is costly and time-consuming, so it is in the best interests of applicants and colleges alike that admissions processes be fair and select applicants who are likely to succeed. We employed a case-control study to explore whether any of 28 admissions variables used by a veterinary college located in the Midwest region of the United States predicted which students would encounter academic difficulty in the veterinary curriculum. Participants were selected from the veterinary classes admitted between 2008 and 2017. We defined academic difficulty cases ( n = 55) as any students dismissed from the program or placed on academic probation. Controls ( n = 220) were selected at random from the same classes, excluding the academic difficulty cases, students with honor code violations, or any who had exited the program early for any reason other than participation in a concurrent program. Admissions variables included: gender, citizenship, underrepresented status, state of residence, age, interview scores, GPA (science), GRE scores, undergraduate credits, participation in honors courses, community college credits, repeats/withdrawals of required undergraduate courses, course load, and admissions committee review criteria including work experience, animal/vet experience, references, essays, leadership, personal development, special circumstances, and overall committee score. Zero-order correlations for academic difficulty were significant for underrepresented status, age, GPA (science), verbal and quantitative GRE scores, repeats/withdrawals, and references. When combined in logistic regression, only science GPA, verbal GRE, and references significantly and independently predicted struggler status.

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Advanced Placement and Concurrent Enrollment Substitution Effects

Advanced placement (AP) and concurrent enrollment (CE) provide high school students with rigorous coursework and possible college credit. Theoretical modeling predicted students would substitute CE for AP courses conditional on their probability of earning university credit, passing AP tests, and college selectivity despite CE costing more than AP. In the current study, CE costs to families drop to zero and students should be expected to maximize substitution. This study uses multiple years of school-level data from Colorado, a state with a growing CE sector to test substitution effects. Using a school fixed-effect Poisson regression of the most commonly taken AP exams, results indicate limited evidence of widespread substitution. The continued preference for AP may increase costs to families and reduce potential college credits.

Cultural Biases in Transitional Writing Courses and Their Effect on Hispanic Students in Texas

High school students in the United States have the option of taking advanced placement (AP) courses designed to prepare them to take AP exams that will potentially give them the opportunity to receive college credits for first-year undergraduate courses. This chapter examines the cultural biases present in the AP English Language and Composition course and exam, which focus on skills and knowledges typically learned in a first-year composition course. With culturally relevant theory in mind, this work specifically draws attention to the effects of such cultural biases on Hispanic students in Texas, a state where the number of Hispanic students surpasses the number of students from any other cultural background.

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

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

Issues of Developmental Instruction in Higher Education and the Need for Change

Achievement gaps are responsible for low high school graduation rates, low college enrollments, low college graduation rates, and lack of job readiness. Because many of today's high school students are not college ready, there is the need for developmental education in community colleges. Approximately 60% of high school graduates need to take remedial education courses before they can take credit bearing classes, and 76% of high school graduates do not meet ACT college readiness benchmarks. Dual enrollment is one way to address this issue. Opportunities to extend college credits to interested high school students have been increasing as an intervention strategy in preparing students for college, improving graduation rates, and reducing the time of college completion.

EXAMINING SOCIAL PRESENCE IN ONLINE COURSES IN RELATION TO STUDENTS' PERCEIVED LEARNING AND SATISFACTION

Research has demonstrated that social presence not only affects outcomes but also student, and possibly instructor, satisfaction with a course. Teacher immediacy behaviors and the presence of others are especially important issues for those involved in delivering online education. This study explored the role of social presence in online learning environments and its relationship to students’ perceptions of learning and satisfaction with the instructor. The participants for this study were students who completed Empire State College’s (ESC) online learning courses in the spring of 2000 and completed the end of semester course survey (n=97). A correlational design was utilized. This study found that students with high overall perceptions of social presence also scored high in terms of perceived learning and perceived satisfaction with the instructor. Students’ perceptions of social presence overall, moreover, contributed significantly to the predictor equation for students’ perceived learning overall. Gender accounted for some of the variability of students’ overall perception of social presence, while age and number of college credits earned did not account for any of the variability.

Reflections

Born in El Salvador, Williams Guevara Martínez left home at seventeen to escape domestic abuse and seek refuge with family members living in the United States. After a hazardous journey and crossing into the United States in a context of heightened migration, he was immediately apprehended, detained in federal custody, and ultimately released to his brother’s care in Maryland. He found excellent legal representation and was granted legal relief in the form of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Now with formal status, steady work, and college credits he looks back to chronicle the challenges of youth who enter the country alone and without authorization. Guevara Martínez recounts his life in El Salvador, his harrowing journey, experience in federal custody and after release, including personal attachments, educational opportunities and his commitment “to give back” by helping others like himself. He shares the lessons he learned commenting critically on violence, the migration process, human rights, and his hopes for the future..