The Dual Credit Admissions Challenge

Bethany Jones

Assistant Director – Bound for Success UT Arlington

TACRAO 2019 Conference

It always starts with few students (and often… their parents.)

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Every day you are in the office, you are researching university policies that students must navigate on their path to matriculation.

Every day you work with students, you are researching populations your university hopes to engage.

A String of Cases

Nancy

Fills out a transfer application and submits a community

college transcript only; wonders why she hasn’t heard

back from admissions

Graham

Gets a denial letter from UTA but has a 2.29 GPA and an

associate’s degree; wonders where he can go when UTA was

his first choice

Shivani

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Struggles on the SAT; 3.65 GPA in her dual credit courses; Phi Theta Kappa; wonders why she has not

gotten a scholarship award

A String of Cases

Parker Iliana

First-gen student; architecture major; attends orientation; finds out she has

more than two years left in her program; leaves orientation early,

crying

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Attends freshman orientation; freshman advisor rejects his advising sheet from his

major advisor and schedules him for several freshman courses he has already taken

It’s just a few confused students…

Why does this matter?

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Dual enrollment/ECHS programs grow annually by 7% nationwide (National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships)

What We Know

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What We KnowUT Arlington Enrolled Freshmen: Dual

Credit (Fall 2019)

Total Number of Freshmen

3,721

Total Number of Freshmen-Dual Credit

1450 (39%)

Number of Dual Credit with Course Credit

1196 (82% transferable coursework)

Average Course Credit Hours Granted

25.85 (one full year of credit)

Course Credit Hours Granted Range

0-130

Community Colleges Immediately Surrounding UT Arlington:

Tarrant County College (Fall 2018)• 6,379 Dual Credit & 2,352 ECHS• 11 Early College High Schools (2 PTECH)

Dallas County College (Fall 2018)• 17,171 Dual Credit• 37 Early College High Schools

Anatomy of a Dual Credit* Student*those with 24+ transferable hours at graduation, such as “Early College High School” (ECHS) Students

“but I’m a junior by hours”

“I started my college transcript in 9th grade”

“universities will take note that I’m special: I had to apply and interview to get into my early college program”

“I’m the first in my family to get a college degree”

“University will be a breeze; I’ve already taken college classes”

“I can’t wait to graduate university in two years with less debt and start making mon

“I’m in Phi Theta Kappa in high school”

“My dual credit homework is more important than the SAT”

“I sacrificed extracurricular opportunities so that I could focus on my college transcript”

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Columbia University Community College Research Center

“Without controlling for any student or institutional factors, more DE momentum was associated with:• Higher rates of college matriculation post-HS• Higher rates of completing any college credential• Less time to degree among completers• Excess credits: About the same (associates) or more excess credits (bachelor’s)”

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Freshman or Transfer Application?

• Students often insist, “I’m a junior by hours”, when that may not technically be true

• Student confusion often leads them to fill out the wrong type of application (transfer)

• Students often think that their college transcript will satisfy HS transcript requirement

Linda

HS COUNSELOR: “I always explain, ‘If they classified you as a transfer, they would be withholding valuable resources

and experiences from you during your first year.’”

Graham

A Case for the Appeals Committee

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HS GPA: 81.25ACT: 18/17 (2 attempts)Rank: 28 out of 36 (bottom 32%)

Associate’s degree, core completeDs in science corePsychology major

UTA’s Transfer Admissions Requirement is a 2.25 GPA –Would you admit this student?

Graham

A Case for the Appeals Committee

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Should a student who is not admissible as a freshman receive a secondary review as a transfer student?

If not, at what point do their hours count toward their transfer admissions GPA?

After HS graduation? After 1 summer course at CC?

How would you explain Dean’s next steps to him?

• Small programs = competitive class rank• Harder courses = lower GPA compared to non-ECHS peers• 1/3 of these students are first-gen, low-income,

underrepresented, or other disadvantage• SAT may not be prioritized at home/school

Know your Holistic Review Process

HS COUNSELOR: “I see many parents and schools place such an emphasis on grades that students

struggle to see the importance of the SAT.”

ECHS students may struggle with admission if you do not have an attentive, holistic individual review process in place

HS COUNSELOR: “Usually, my second quarter, borderline test

score kids suffer most with automatic admissions.’”

Shivani

Merit-Based Scholarships

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What best measures the merit of an ECHS student –rank/SAT/GPA or dual credit GPA?

At UTA,

Not considered for PTK scholarships• Other institutions do offer it – A&M Commerce

Freshman scholarships have a higher value and more renewal terms

Parker

Advising Hurdles

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Avoid the “cattle call” approach to orientation:• Ribbons for marking ECHS kids during event• Co-advisement between freshman and major advisors• Special ECHS session on involvement as an upperclassman• Some universities: special orientation date/session

HS COUNSELOR: “When you come to orientation, you need to be an expert on yourself; know what you

have so you’re not caught taking something you don’t need to”

Students should always be prepared with a copy of their dual credit transcript

Iliana

Breaking the 2*2 Mentality

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Counsel ECHS students with a transfer guide in hand

Emphasize experience over shortened time to degree

What are your best practices for explaining this to students?

Review difference between associate’s degree and transferable credit toward their major

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Additional considerations

HS COUNSELOR: “Many students do not have a college junior level understanding of the financial aid process, because their up to this point they’ve had free or low-cost tuition, paid for

by their school district.”

HS COUNSELOR: “They’re self-advising as early as their freshman year of HS without knowing what major or school they’re interested in. It’s even harder when they’re college freshmen with junior level credit

but they don’t know what they want to major in… ”

What can you do?

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Look for ways to mark these students (CRM!)

Improve communication• Designate an in-house ECHS expert• Dual-credit/ECHS webpage (see Texas Wesleyan)• ECHS resource guide/tailored presentations/communications• ECHS-specific Counselor Luncheon

ECHS Recruitment Event (spring junior year?)• Transfer counselor simulates advising • Career/major fair• Emphasize SAT• Emphasize Campus Involvement

Talk with your local ECHS/community colleges about successful matriculation practices

HS COUNSELOR: “They’re more likely to believe it when they hear it from the

universities themselves.”

Conclusion

Cultivate your curiosity and be observant!

TACRAO Presentations can lead to great conversations!

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Your Turn!

What are the main challenges your dual credit/ECHS students face in your admissions process?

At what point does dual credit becomes transfer credit? What about for scholarships?

Do you have methods/staff that track this population of students through the admissions process?

How do you communicate to this population?

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THANKYOU