<p> The researcher conducted a mixed study to determine whether or not a Talent Search program in a metropolitan area in North Texas was successful in enrolling students in post secondary education during 2011 to 2014. The <i> Program Evaluation Model 9-Step Process,</i> design was used to evaluate and guide the study. Additionally, the researcher designed a conceptual framework <i> College Enrollment Evaluation Steps</i> which was used to help analyze Talent Search performance. The researcher collected and analyzed data for the quantitative component of the study. The researcher conducted interviews to collect information for the qualitative component of the study. Three main themes emerged from coding the interviews. </p><p> The quantitative component of the study answered the study’s subresearch questions directly and provided evidence to show Talent Search achieved all of its college enrollment objectives and goals from 2011 to 2014. The quantitative component also answered the study’s Subresearch Questions 6 to 8 directly and provided evidence to show Talent Search had a higher rate of college enrollment than the Talent Search target independent school district, Texas, and the United States from 2011 to 2014. </p><p> Three main themes emerged from the qualitative component of the study; College Enrollment Barriers, Talent Search Intervention and Areas in Need of Improvement. The qualitative component of the study showed that Talent Search intervention was instrumental in helping seniors overcome college enrollment barriers (especially barriers pertaining to financial aid) that would have otherwise prevented the students from enrolling in post secondary education. </p><p> Furthermore, the quantitative and qualitative components of the study synthesized together to emphasize that the financial aid application completion step was the most challenging college enrollment step for students. The quantitative component showed the financial aid completion rate for 2011 to 2014 was lower than all the other college enrollment steps completion rates. Likewise, lack of knowledge on the financial aid application emerged as the greatest college enrollment barrier in the qualitative component. The results of the study provided evidence to conclude Talent Search was successful in helping students enroll in postsecondary education from 2011 to 2014.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10264676 |
| Date | 02 June 2017 |
| Creators | Jogie-Cregger, Deborah |
| Publisher | Tarleton State University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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