A Comparison of How First-Time Freshmen, Who Have Earned Substantial College Credit Hours and Those Who Did Not, Perceive Their Transitional Experience to College From High School

摘要

Today, millions of high school students are taking the opportunity to gain higher education credits as well as a sample of the college experience through dual or concurrent enrollment, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or middle and early colleges. Essentially, dual or concurrent enrollment, as well as AP and IB courses, allows students to earn college credit while still in high school. These programs are often housed at the local high school. However, middle and early colleges allow students the opportunity to be 100% submerged into the college campus atmosphere by taking a course load of 3-19 college credit hours that concurrently fulfill high school requirements for graduation. In past studies conducted on first-year student success in colleges and universities, many different facets of the experience have been observed, recorded, and analyzed to determine how well a student transitioned into the college setting from high school. Some studies have considered statistical data generated directly from student performance and reflected on their academic transcripts. There have also been studies conducted that inquired administrators regarding how they determined or facilitated the preparedness of students for their transition from high school into college. However, there is a gap in empirical information directly from students' perspectives about how they interpret their own unique transitions into the collegiate world. This study is designed to obtain information about the individual perceptions of student transitions from high school into college. It focuses on how students felt about their academic, social skills, and life skills preparedness. Participants include students who attended a middle college and students who attended a regular high school but may have participated in AP, IB, or traditional dual credit.