Summary
Week 18 of the Concurrent Enrollment Tool Kit is designed to help students celebrate all the hard work they have put into their concurrent enrollment course and to look at their next steps.
Discussion Objectives
Continue reflecting on the progress students have made this semester.
Discuss next steps in continuing students’ education.
Celebrate all that students have learned and accomplished.
Materials List
CE Tool Kit, Week 18 (attached)
My Goal handout (from Week 1)
Snapshot
Engage
Explore
Explain
Extend
Evaluate
Topic Focus
Celebrating success!
No matter the outcome of the concurrent enrollment course, it is important to take time to celebrate the work a student put into the course. By celebrating, you are recognizing everything that the student achieved in the past semester.
Celebrating with the student provides them with support and the encouragement they may need to take the next steps in continuing their education.
Guiding Notes
Begin the meeting by greeting the student by name and congratulating them on completing a semester of concurrent enrollment.
Ask the student how they feel about completing the concurrent enrollment course. Inquire about their plans for the future and next steps.
If time allows and if the student has their My Goal handout from Week 1, go over it with them. Reflect on their progress toward their goal this semester and the eventual outcome. If they reached their goal successfully, ask what they think contributed to their success. If not, discuss the decisions they made and the challenges they faced in the process. Remind them that their effort throughout the semester is something to be proud of, regardless of the outcome.
A handwritten note or card is a sincere way to acknowledge the student’s hard work, time, and determination to complete the course. This will also demonstrate to the student you took time to recognize their efforts.
End the meeting by making sure the student doesn’t have any questions and thanking them for allowing you to join them on this journey.
Discussion Starters
Consider starting the discussion by asking:
You have completed the course! Have you taken time to celebrate?
How have you celebrated your achievements?
Discussion Questions
To guide this week’s discussion, consider asking the following questions:
Did you meet the goal you set for yourself in this course?
What are your plans for future concurrent enrollment courses or college?
Have you applied to a concurrent enrollment course for next semester?
You should feel proud about this semester, have you shared your success with anyone?
Next Steps
Remind students to:
Celebrate all the hard work they put into the course.
Turn in any paperwork for next semester’s concurrent enrollment courses.
Schedule necessary meetings with advisors or counselors.
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.
Resources
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.