The purpose of this study was to measure the possible relationship between Advanced Placement and dual enrollment courses for economically disadvantaged students on 2-year completion rates at public Tennessee higher education institutions. A quantitative, quasi experimental, comparative design was used to analyze secondary data to determine if there is a relationship between Advanced Placement, dual enrollment courses, and 2-year completion rates for students in Tennessee community colleges and public universities. The sample for this study consisted of students who entered a Tennessee community college or Tennessee public university in the Fall of 2015. These students had taken at least one Advanced Placement or dual enrollment course in a Tennessee high school. In addition, the sample for this study was economically disadvantaged using the Tennessee method for direct certification when taking an Advanced Placement or dual enrollment course. The researcher observed that economically disadvantaged students are significantly less likely to attain completion in two years as compared to noneconomically disadvantaged students. The researcher also observed that economically disadvantaged students who receive credit in an AP math or English class are significantly more likely than economically disadvantaged students who did not receive credit in an AP math or English class to complete a degree in two years. The researcher also observed that economically disadvantaged students who participated in a dual enrollment course are significantly less likely to attain completion in two years than noneconomically disadvantaged students, however if economically disadvantaged students receive credit in a dual enrollment course they are significantly more likely to complete a degree in two years.

Having the ability to predict enrollment is an important task for any school's recruiting team. The purpose of this study was to identify significant factors that can be used to predict the spatial distribution of enrollments. As a case study, we used East Tennessee State University (ETSU) pharmacy school, a regional pharmacy school located in the Appalachian Mountains. Through the application of a negative binomial regression model, we found that the most important indicators of enrollment volume for the ETSU pharmacy school were Euclidean distance, probability (based on competing pharmacy schools' prestige, driving distance between schools and home and tuition costs), and the natural barrier of the Appalachian Mountains. Using these factors, together with other control variables, we successfully predicted the spatial distribution of enrollments for ETSU pharmacy school. Interestingly, gender also surfaced as a variable for predicting the pharmacy school's enrollment. We found female students are more sensitive to the geographic proximity of home to school.

This paper provides evidence on the factors that influence the non-resident enrollment percentage for public and private institutes of higher education (IHEs). We find a significant positive correlation between the enrollment percentage and tuition for private IHEs and no significance for public IHEs. Further investigation reveals that the highest-priced public and private IHEs generally attract the highest percentage of non-resident students. This suggests that the more costly IHEs, especially private, may enjoy a special cache that allows them more latitude in setting non-resident tuition. The non-resident enrollment percentage is not appreciably different across a wide range of tuition levels for both IHE types, indicating that these IHEs might be able to maintain their non-resident enrollment percentage levels with marginal tuition increases.

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder, with potentially devastating consequences, and thus, elucidating the etiology bears immense potential for developing methods for early detection and prevention, targeted treatment options, and overall improvements to quality of life for millions of people worldwide. In 2007, the Epilepsy Phenome/Genome Project (EPGP) set out to compile the largest ever, detailed phenotype-genotype dataset to begin to unravel the complex genetic underpinnings of epilepsy. Over the course of five years, the EPGP sought to enroll a total of 5,250 participants consisting of two cohorts: 1,500 pairs of first-degree relatives with idiopathic generalized epilepsy or localization related epilepsy and 750 triads, or individuals diagnosed with Infantile Spasms, Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, or certain malformations of cortical development and their unaffected, biological parents. Enrolling an adequate number of eligible research participants is paramount to any study involving human subjects. Despite this, barriers to participant recruitment and accrual persist in a majority of trials, and literature pertaining to methods for overcoming such challenges remains scarce. Like most clinical trials, the EPGP encountered obstacles to participant accrual, and by the end of its first year, net participant enrollment was only 52% of the projected target for that time. To ameliorate this, the EPGP's central administrative team set in motion a multifaceted, dynamic participant recruitment campaign to bolster outreach and increase enrollment numbers. A systematic, retrospective review of the various participant recruitment methods and their respective outcomes was performed. Data was compiled from the EPGP's reporting server, central recruitment database, and other relevant reports and files compiled by the EPGP's administrative team. The various methods implemented by the EPGP to boost participant enrollment include hiring a full-time recruitment director, implementing a National Participant Recruitment Campaign and centralized eligibility pre-screening process, revising the protocol and eligibility criteria, and nearly doubling the size of the network of clinical centers. The centralized screening process facilitated a mechanism for tracking the amount of traffic each recruitment method generated, and this information was analyzed retrospectively. The most successful recruitment methods were found to be those that involved partnerships with healthcare providers and community organizations who have direct and widespread access to the EPGP's target patient population. Less effective methods, in terms of percent of contacts meeting eligibility criteria, were those that did not specifically target people with epilepsy but rather reached a larger demographic. In total, more than 2,000 individuals or families contacted the EPGP centrally, 80% of those underwent eligibility pre-screening with 242 units (579 participants) enrolled in the EPGP as of February 2014. This accounts for 14% of enrollment study-wide, which is analogous to the individual contributions of the EPGP' top enrolling clinical centers. Beyond the recruitment strategies and methods implemented by the campaign, revisions to the EPGP's protocol, modifications to the eligibility criteria, and network expansion resulted in an increase in participant accrual. The number of clinical centers involved in the EPGP was found to positively correlate with participant accrual. Ultimately, a total of 5,442 participants, or 104% of the total enrollment target, were consented to participate. Of those, 4,099 participants, or 78% of the total enrollment target, remain enrolled as of February 28, 2014. The EPGP enrolled more than 75% of target for five of the seven participant types and managed to enroll no less than 50% of target for all participant types. While the results reported are limited by an analysis of the resources required to initiate and carry out the various recruitment methods, the lessons learned during the course of the EPGP may serve to benefit other multi-institutional trials with similar considerations in their recruitment planning. The EPGP's approach to boosting participant accrual was not only successful but also essential to paving the way towards identifying the complex genetic causes and phenotypic manifestations of idiopathic epilepsy syndromes.

In a Midwest school district, school personnel and students are concerned that the Extra School Time (EST) program student enrollment is declining. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore teacher, administrator, and adult age student perceptions to gain a deeper understanding of the problem leading to declining enrollment in the EST program. Using Lewin's holistic model of systemic leadership and evaluation of programs, teachers', students' and administrators' perceptions of factors, processes for support, curriculum needs, and actions to improve implementation of the EST program were explored. Using a qualitative case study, data were collected via semi-structured interviews and a survey of 9 purposefully sampled participants. Sampling criteria included being a current or former adult age student who attended the EST program, current EST teacher, and EST administrators. Data from semi-structured interviews and surveys were triangulated and analyzed using inductive and comparative coding, and a constant comparative analysis method. Emerging themes were coded using axial coding. Six themes emerged: lack of child care, transportation, work conflict with class attendance, convenience of times classes were offered, and offering courses that were relevant to the student. A 24-hour faculty professional development program was developed to educate EST faculty and staff on the issues influencing declining EST enrollment and develop strategies and actions to improve implementation of the EST program by addressing student and teacher needs. Positive social change from this study may include increased graduation rates, meaningful employment for EST participants, college entrance, and employment growth for the local community.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of the Utah State University concurrent enrollment program to the achievement (GPA), recruitment, and retention of program participants after joining Utah State University. Three administrative approaches to the management of concurrent enrollment programs were identified for the purpose of this study: Level One, Level Two, and Level Three. Level One involved high school teachers who taught and graded the concurrent enrollment program courses. In Level Two, high school teachers taught the courses, but University professors prepared exams and graded the papers. In Level Three, teaching, exam preparation, and paper grading were all executed by university faculty. To determine the effects of the three different administrative approaches on concurrent enrollment programs, four research questions were formulated: (1) For the three different administrative approaches to the management of the concurrent enrollment program practiced by Utah State University, are there different GPAs for comparable selected major courses for program participants? (2) For the three different administrative approaches, are there differences in the proportion of high school students recruited to Utah State University? (3) For the three different administrative approaches, are there different rates of retention for participating students one year after joining Utah State University? (4) For the three different administrative approaches, are there greater GP As and retention rates when compared with Utah State University's regular freshmen population? A sample from the target population of concurrent enrollment program participants from 1988 to 1991 was used. The data were collected from existing Utah State University records. The dependent variables were GPA, recruitment, and retention, while administrative approaches were the three levels of the independent variable. The means for the Level One approach were statistically and educationally significant as compared to the remaining two levels. One year after joining Utah State University, the recruited concurrent enrollment program participants tended to remain with Utah State University. Therefore, it was recommended that the program be supported with the emphasis on encouraging more high school teachers to teach concurrent enrollment courses in the future.

The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of allowing concurrent enrollment in the College of Agriculture to selected high schools in the state of Utah. "Introduction to Agricultural Plant Science" (Plant Science 100 ) was the course being tested. A purposive sampling technique was used to identify four vocational agriculture programs to participate. There were 86 high school students in the study and 38 college students who took the course on campus at Utah State University. In this study, 47.7% of the high school students passed the course with a 70% average or above. Comparisons between high school and college student performance showed a marked difference in percentage points accumulated on exams and the final, with the college students performing more consistently.

Objective: The study assesses the impact of dual enrollment participation on remediation and completion for traditional first time, full-time freshmen at a community college in Northeast Tennessee. Method: This study began with the full population of 1,232 students who enrolled between 2008 and 2012 at a community college in northeast Tennessee the fall semester after finishing high school. The population was required to have American College Testing (ACT) scores, completely fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), enroll full-time as a degree-seeking student, and complete the first fall semester. Propensity score matching was utilized to eliminate self-selection bias and enable parametric comparisons using optimal matching of dual enrollment participants and non-participants while controlling for a range of covariates. Results: The analyses showed that community college students who participated in dual enrollment were (a) 9% or nearly 3.4 times less likely to take remediation, (b) 26% or nearly 2.5 times more likely to graduate in 2 years, and (c) 28% or nearly 1.5 times more likely to graduate in 3 years. Contributions: This study contributes to the literature showing that dual enrollment reduces remediation rates and assists in timely completions for community college students. Policy recommendations are to increase equitable participation, normalize dual enrollment for students academically able to do college coursework, align state terminology with the nation, and improve data for future research.

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