Research Projects and Reports

Dual Enrollment (2003-2007)

This project was conducted in four phases to study the effects of dual enrollment on students and education systems (high schools and technical colleges) in Georgia. The essential question of the study: Do credit-based transition programs facilitate college access and success for students who participate in them? The study focused specifically on dual enrollment of high school students in technical colleges, their transition into a public college or university and/or the labor market, policies and processes used in administering the program, benefits and challenges, and how dual enrollment affects the students, high schools, and colleges who participate.

Several research methods were used to conduct the study. Qualitative data from program administrators, teachers, and students in dual enrollment programs collected during on-site visits were reported in a series of case study reports. Data sets provided by the Georgia Department of Education, the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, and the Georgia Department of Labor were examined to learn about the characteristics and demographics of students who initially dual enrolled and then transitioned into the labor market and/or a college (i.e., either technical, one affiliated with the state university system, or both). Survey instruments were administered to dual enrollment administrators at each of the 34 DTAE and four USG schools with technical divisions, a sample of high school administrators and counselors whose schools participated in dual enrollment, and to a sample of dual enrollment instructors to obtain information and data from individuals at the local level who were most directly involved with the administration, operation, and instruction of dual enrollment.

Client: Office of Technical Education, Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education

Reports

Lynch, R. L., Harnish, D., Fletcher, G., Thornton, G., & Thompson, J. (September 2006, modified 2007). Dual enrollment in high schools and technical colleges of Georgia: Final report. Occupational Research Group, UGA.

Lynch, R. L., Harnish, D., Fletcher, G., Thornton, G., & Thompson, J. (September 2006, modified 2007). Dual enrollment in high schools and technical colleges of Georgia final report: Executive summary. Occupational Research Group, UGA.

Lynch, R. L., Harnish, D., Fletcher, G., Thornton, G., & Thompson, J. (2007). Dual enrollment in high schools and technical colleges of Georgia: Employment of student participants in high school-technical college dual enrollment programs in Georgia. Occupational Research Group, UGA.