Goal
To help low-income youth in California who are academically underperforming and underrepresented in higher education to complete high school and successfully transition to college by providing rigorous, supportive and career-focused dual enrollment opportunities.
Initiative Description
The Concurrent Courses initiative was created to demonstrate the feasibility of using dual enrollment to strengthen college and career pathways for students. The initiative provides funding and technical assistance to support partnerships between high schools and community colleges. These partnerships will expand supportive and challenging career-focused dual enrollment opportunities for students who are historically underrepresented in higher education. The Concurrent Courses initiative is managed by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University. Read more about the Concurrent Courses initiative.
Evaluation
The evaluation for Concurrent Courses, conducted by a separate research team at CCRC, will focus on program implementation and student outcomes. By managing both the initiative and its evaluation, CCRC will be able to provide ongoing feedback to sites to improve the program implementation.
Objectives:
This evaluation is designed to help participating high schools and community colleges improve their dual enrollment pathways so that they include rigorous academics, challenging technical education and strong student support. It will also gather data on student outcomes to show whether career-focused dual enrollment can improve transitions into college and career. CCRC plans to share the results with educators and other stakeholders. Its reports will highlight the challenges and rewards of using a dual-enrollment strategy to strengthen college and career pathways for a broad range of students.
Time frame:
2008 – 2010
Participating Grantees:
A list of the eight Concurrent Courses partnerships funded through this initiative, and information about the selection criteria for these partnerships, is available here.
Methods:
This evaluation uses multiple methods. Site visits, interviews and site reports will all be used to gather data about the implementation of dual enrollment pathways for each partnership, including program costs. Student focus groups and surveys will provide information about their motivation for participating in dual enrollment programs and experience with supportive services. Through collaboration with Cal-PASS, California’s student data system, CCRC will also collect data on student outcomes.
Related Materials:
Evaluator:
Prof. Thomas Bailey
Community College Research Center
Teachers College, Columbia University
http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/
|
