Date of Graduation

5-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Adult and Lifelong Learning (EdD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Counseling, Leadership, and Research Methods

Advisor/Mentor

Michael T. Miller

Committee Member

Kit Kacirek

Second Committee Member

Kenda S. Grover

Keywords

Adult Education; Associate Degree; Community College; GED; High School Equivalency; Time to degree

Abstract

Community colleges face enrollment declines, student performance, and accountability metrics, the need to support nontraditional students' career paths, and constraints imposed by limited resources. Community college leadership would benefit from empirical data on students with nontraditional GED credentials and the effects of remedial education on the time required to complete an associate degree. This information is crucial for administrators to make informed decisions to implement targeted strategies to support students, improve time to degree completion, and enhance cost-effectiveness measures for the college. This study investigates the relationship between students in Arkansas with traditional and nontraditional secondary credentials and the impact of college and career readiness on the time to complete an associate degree. Two research questions were pursued: “Do nontraditional students in Arkansas with GEDs complete their associate degree in more time than traditional students with high school diplomas after controlling for student characteristics?” and “Does being college and career ready decrease the time to completion of an associate degree after controlling for student characteristics?” Employing Bean and Metzner's (1985) model of nontraditional undergraduate student attrition as a theoretical basis, this study conducts a cross-sectional regression analysis using Arkansas Higher Education Information System (AHEIS) data. Specifically, the study looks at Arkansas community college graduates who completed an associate degree in 2021-2023 to determine if a relationship exists between secondary credential type, college and career ready status, and time to associate degree completion.

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