Student attributes related to dual enrollment baccalaureate degree outcomes in a rural state

A decrease in West Virginia in-state college-going and graduation rates and a need for additional postsecondary degrees in the workforce in the state by 2020 require the support and implementation of an evidence-based intervention to ameliorate the pressing issue. This study considers the outcomes in regard to persistence and completion of West Virginia students enrolled in public baccalaureate degree granting institutions in the state who entered as first-time, full-time freshmen during the 2010 academic year with dual enrollment credit. The population of the study was drawn from preexisting data provided by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. Propensity score matching and statistical analyses, including chi-square, ttest, and logistic regression were used to address the research questions. The study’s findings indicate a significant relationship between dual enrollment and persistence, and also with graduation. These findings also support that among socioeconomic status, college readiness, rurality, sex, and minority status, dual enrollment presents significant models in both persistence and graduation. At the variable level, however, neither sex nor minority status were found significant for persistence or graduation. Further analysis determined that dual enrollment increased the average number of credits earned by the second fall semester by one three-credit course on average and further determined that the dual enrollment students were more likely to graduate based on the number of credits accumulated that same semester