Summary
Week 12 of the Concurrent Enrollment Tool Kit is designed to help guide students in thinking about the end of their semester. By encouraging thoughtful questions and early reflection, students will be able to gauge the grade they can expect while also considering whether or not to withdraw from the course if they expect to receive a low grade.
Discussion Objectives
Assist students in identifying a realistic end grade based on their current progress.
Assist students in identifying the benefits and drawbacks of taking a W on their course.
Guide students to determine whether or not to drop the course with a W.
Materials List
CE Tool Kit, Week 12 (attached)
Topic Focus
How are things at this point in the semester?
Similar to the Week 7 discussion, this week focuses on guiding students in thinking about the end of their semester. Reflection at this point of the semester not only involves predicting a grade, but also considering whether withdrawing with a W makes sense for some students.
Guiding Notes
Begin the meeting by greeting the student by name and inquiring about their classes and how they are going.
As the end of the semester nears, consider how you might best approach the conversation of a final progress check and any necessary problem solving with the student.
If it seems unlikely that the student will be able to turn things around before the semester ends, consider suggesting that the student withdraw from the course and receive a W on their transcript. They may be uneasy about this idea or not know what it means to withdraw. Explain what it would mean for them and their transcript and explore possible implications of a withdrawal for concurrent enrollment students.
Before concluding the meeting, make sure the student does not have any outstanding questions.
Discussion Starters
Consider starting the discussion by asking:
Now that we’re in Week 12, how do you think this semester has been going?
How are you feeling about things in your course so far?
Have there been any unexpected challenges in terms of the assignments you’ve completed since we last talked about it?
Discussion Questions
To guide this week’s discussion, consider asking some of the following questions:
How are you feeling about your class and the grade you expect?
Is this different from what you predicted in Week 7?
Is this the kind of grade that you want on your transcript?
If not, have you considered withdrawing with a W instead of receiving a lower grade?
When is the withdrawal deadline for your course?
Have you considered the benefits and drawbacks of taking a W?
Next Steps
To prepare for next week, ask students to:
Consider which steps they need to take to finish out their semester strong.
Start planning for big assignments and thinking about the grade they want to receive on them.
Research Rationale
Research shows a clear and strong link between concurrent enrollment and increased student academic performance (Jones, 2014; Dingess, 2018). Several studies have also found that students who participate in concurrent enrollment have time to acclimate to the college environment and thus earn higher grades in their postsecondary careers (Allen & Dadgar, 2012; Dingess, 2018). This opportunity to build momentum also provides an avenue for those students who might carry complex social and educational challenges from high school as they transition into the university setting (Wang et al., 2015). A consistent concern with students as they transition from high school to PSE is that many of them might have difficulty in fully acclimating to the rigor and expectations of university-level coursework (Taylor, 2015; Vargas et al., 2017). This is especially apparent when looking at students who identify as first-generation college students, as they might feel overwhelmed by everything from student support to the specifics of financial aid (Lee et al., 2022). Concurrent enrollment offers a bridge between the familiarity of high school and the frontier of higher learning, building on the initial benefits of concurrent enrollment in high school to build toward greater academic momentum fueled by a smooth transition from high school to university (Wang et al., 2015).
To expand on the inherent benefits associated with concurrent enrollment programs, these programs are most successful when students are provided with extra guidance in how to navigate this new academic environment (Witkowsky & Clayton, 2020). Though students in concurrent enrollment programs might be high-performing, it is helpful to remember that they are still high school students and stand to benefit from “wraparound” services that counselors can provide as a bridge between high school and university-level expectations (Witkowsky & Clayton, 2020). Whether partnering directly with specific higher education institutions as part of the concurrent enrollment program or not, wraparound services can still be designed with the university course expectations in mind.
These tool kits are designed as conversation starters to provide the kind of ongoing support that allows concurrent enrollment students to be most successful (Johnson et al., 2021; Lile et al., 2018). Spanning a range of topics between goal setting and writing expectations, each conversation serves as an opportunity for relationship building and mentoring with students. For students who might not know which questions to ask or which resources to look for, these tool kits can help concurrent enrollment coordinators set a foundation for success for students to draw on after high school.
Works Cited
Allen, D., & Dadgar, M. (2012). Does dual enrollment increase students’ success in college? Evidence from a quasi-experimental analysis of dual enrollment in New York City. New Directions for Higher Education, 11-19.
Dingess, E. (2018). The impact of the number of dual enrollment credits on racial minority students' completion time at five Virginia community colleges. ODU Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/efl_etds/68
Johnson, J. M., Paris, J. H., Curci, J. D., & Horchos, S. (2021). Beyond college access: An exploration of the short-term impact of a dual enrollment program. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, & Practice, 1–23.
Jones, S. (2014). Student participation in dual enrollment and college success. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 38(1), 24-37.
Lee, J., Fernandez, F., Ro, H. K., & Suh, H. (2022, January 4). Does dual enrollment influence high school graduation, college enrollment, choice, and persistence? Research in Higher Education, 63, 825-848. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11162-021-09667-3.pdf
Lile, J. R., Ottusch, T. M., Jones, T., & Richards, L. N. (2017). Understanding college-student roles: Perspectives of participants in a high school/community college dual-enrollment program. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 42(2), 95–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2016.1264899
Taylor, J. L. (2015). Accelerating pathways to college: The (in)equitable effects of community college dual credit. Community College Review, 43(4), 355-379. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552115594880
Vargas, J., Hooker, S., & Gerwin, C. (2017, November 1). Blending high school and college can sharpen the focus of each. Phi Delta Kappan, 99(3), 13-18.
Wang, X., Chan, H., Phelps, L. A., & Washbon, J. I. (2015). Fuel for success: Academic momentum as a mediator between dual enrollment and educational outcomes of two-year technical college students. Community College Review, 43(2), 165–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552115569846
Witkowsky, P., & Clayton, G. (2020). What makes dual enrollment work? High school counselor perspectives. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 44(6), 427-444.