PERCEPTIONS OF FORMER DUAL ENROLLMENT STUDENTS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

This qualitative study investigated the perspectives of current college students who participated in dual enrollment while in high school. This qualitative study explored how students perceive and understand the impact of dual enrollment on postsecondary experiences. Few studies have used qualitative research approaches to focus on dual enrollment. Many dual enrollment programs may not have qualitative information about the college norms and skills students experience and how their experiences impact their higher education participation. Incorporating a phenological research design, 14 interviews were conducted using purposive sampling. Data was collected from two single-district community colleges located in southern California on 2-year college students who previously participated in at least two courses between fall 2014 and spring 2018 during high school. This study confirmed that students found purposeful benefits from their dual enrollment experiences as community college students. Students described the impact that dual enrollment had on their high school experience, such as improved high school GPA, satisfying high school graduation requirements, and overlapping curriculum of high school courses. Students also described how dual enrolment courses facilitated greater college preparedness compared to high school AP courses. Students also described increased collegial persistence once attending their community college following their dual enrollment experience.