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An Analysis of Enrollment Patterns in Required General Education Courses and the Related Success, as Measured by Grade Point Average, of Technical-Occupational Students in a Multi-Campus Urban Community College

This study investigated the following with regard to technical-occupational students in a multi-campus urban community college: The enrollment patterns in required general education courses at specific intervals of course work; the relation between successful completion of certain required general education courses (English and mathematics) and academic success as measured by grade point average; and the profiles or basic characteristics (age, GPA, sex, and high school graduation status) of (a) the student who had completed a specified amount of general education course work and (b) the graduate who had attained a higher grade point average in technical course work than in general education course work. The data was obtained from the academic records of 328 current student, selected by established criteria, and 284 graduates of six technical-occupational programs. The six programs were chosen by pairs to represent white-collar, technical-skilled, and blue-collar oriented occupations. Data on enrollment patterns were analyzed according to percentage in frequency distributions. Differences in mean grade point averages for completers and non-completers of English and mathematics were analyzed using the t-test. Significant variance among the groups representing types of occupations was analyzed using the chi-square test for independence. The Pearson Product Moment test was used to investigate correlations between grade point average and amount of general education work completed. Among the major findings were the following: over 57 per cent of the current students had completed general education requirements at a level proportional to their total program enrollments; current students tended to avoid enrollment in English more than in mathematics; current students who had completed mathematics had a higher mean GPA than those who had not completed mathematics; graduates who completed mathematics during the first half of the program had a higher mean GPA than those who completed mathematics later; a negative correlation was detected between GPA and the amount of general education course work completed; and more than 81 per cent of the graduates had a higher GPA in technical course work than in general education course work.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc331326
Date12 1900
CreatorsHines, Linda Kay, 1942-
ContributorsKingery, Dwane, Holder, A. Doyle, Smith, Howard Wellington, Eddy, John, 1932-, Palermo, Donald Charles
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
Formatvi, 164 leaves, Text
CoverageUnited States - Texas - Tarrant County - Fort Worth
RightsPublic, Hines, Linda Kay, 1942-, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

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