The Middle College program, developed by the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), allows high school dropouts (herein referred to as "out of school youth"), ages 18 to 24, to increase their income and employability by pursuing a General Educational Development certificate (GED®), community college certificate or degree, and a workforce credential within a college campus environment (VCCS, 2010). The investigation presented herein analyzes selected factors related to community college success of Virginia Middle College completers who earned the GED® via the Middle College program at eight Virginia community colleges from 2006-2013. Initial foundational information was provided by the Virginia Community College Student Information System (VCCSIS) dataset. Quantitative research methods including contingency table and logistic regression were used to analyze selected factors leading to Virginia Middle College program completion and subsequent community college success, including attainment of a community college career studies certificate, a community college applied sciences degree, a community college transfer degree to a four-year college or university, and a workplace credential such as the Virginia Career Readiness Certificate (CRC). Virginia Middle College completers who achieved community college success in 2006-2013 were then administered a survey instrument to investigate the completers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the community college support services offered within the respective community college. Results indicate that age played an important role in GED completion within the Middle College program and that the younger aged participants were more likely to complete GED on time (within one year of enrollment in Middle College). A greater number of Middle College completers earned a community college career studies certificate than any other credential earned and different community colleges have statistically significant different proportions of earned degrees and certificates. With Middle College participants closely connected with staff in the program, the results of this study also suggested that coaching and mentoring further promoted success and completion of postsecondary pathways. Another finding was that attendance on college campuses apparently motivated students to complete their GED and transition to and complete a postsecondary certificate or degree. / Ed. D.

abstract: The purpose of this action research study was to determine the effectiveness of two online college success courses: CPD 150 (College Success, 3 credits) and CPD 115 (Success Strategies, 1 credit), at Rio Salado College, a Maricopa Community College in Arizona. The goal of these courses is to prepare students to be college-ready by examining college readiness and learning skills. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire measured students' perceptions of their own college readiness in a pre-test/post-test format. Understanding students' perceptions of their own college readiness is the college's first step in understanding the effectiveness of these courses. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to compare the pre- and post-tests to determine whether the average student scores changed after completion of the college success course. Paired samples t-tests (or repeated-measures test) were conducted on 2 scales consisting of 13 subscales of the MSLQ of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. Data analysis revealed that students reported that they had better study skills after the course than before completing the course. Particularly, learning strategies, test anxiety, self-efficacy, effort regulation (self-management), control of learning beliefs, study skills, and time and study environment stand out as showing substantial improvement for the students.   / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Higher and Postsecondary Education 2012

The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative study was to evaluate the relationships between completion of high school dual enrollment courses and subsequent success of first-time, full-time community college students as measured by completion of an associate degree and time to completion of the degree. In addition to comparing dual and non-dual enrollment student performance, the effects of the number of dual enrollment courses completed and the subject areas of those courses were evaluated. Student subgroups reviewed included gender, race, socioeconomic status, and prior academic preparation (ACT score). Archival data from Tennessee community colleges used in this study included 62,644 students across four years (2015-2018) comprising 11,949 dual enrollment students and 50,695 non-dual enrollment students. Six research questions were answered from these data utilizing independent samples t tests, twoway contingency tables using crosstabs, Pearson correlations, logistic regression, or descriptive statistics. Findings revealed that completing just one dual enrollment course significantly increased the probability of completing an associate degree, and this finding was consistent across all subgroups studied. In addition, dual enrollment students completed associate degrees in significantly less time. Completing more dual enrollment courses tended to further increase the probability of completing a degree and further reduce the time to completion.