| dc.description.abstract | As an open-access, public community and technical system located in the southern United States, SCTCS is the largest higher education provider in the state. One of the fastest growing populations within the SCTCS population is Dual Enrollment, where high school students take college classes that will count towards both their secondary and postsecondary credentials. Over the past five years, participation in Dual Enrollment at SCTCS institutions has grown to almost 20% of the system’s overall enrollment. This growth can be attributed, in part, to the availability of a state-funded Dual Enrollment grant in which eligible students are able to take classes at little cost to themselves and their families. If the financial burden is lessened through the grant, SCTCS looked to gain insight into other factors that motivate students and the barriers that they may encounter that would discourage participation and persistence. A mixed-methods approach was used, incorporating institutional enrollment data from SCTCS, population data from the American Community Survey, and interviews of college staff at SCTCS institutions who work with Dual Enrollment students. The aim was to better understand the Dual Enrollment population of students participating at an SCTCS institution, in order to make recommendations on how to expand access and encourage participation and persistence for students, particularly those traditionally underrepresented in Dual Enrollment programs. | en_US |
