Comparison of the Three Major Administrative Approaches to the Management of Concurrent Enrollment Programs at Utah State University from 1987 to 1991

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of the Utah State University concurrent enrollment program to the achievement (GPA), recruitment, and retention of program participants after joining Utah State University. Three administrative approaches to the management of concurrent enrollment programs were identified for the purpose of this study: Level One, Level Two, and Level Three. Level One involved high school teachers who taught and graded the concurrent enrollment program courses. In Level Two, high school teachers taught the courses, but University professors prepared exams and graded the papers. In Level Three, teaching, exam preparation, and paper grading were all executed by university faculty. To determine the effects of the three different administrative approaches on concurrent enrollment programs, four research questions were formulated: (1) For the three different administrative approaches to the management of the concurrent enrollment program practiced by Utah State University, are there different GPAs for comparable selected major courses for program participants? (2) For the three different administrative approaches, are there differences in the proportion of high school students recruited to Utah State University? (3) For the three different administrative approaches, are there different rates of retention for participating students one year after joining Utah State University? (4) For the three different administrative approaches, are there greater GP As and retention rates when compared with Utah State University\u27s regular freshmen population? A sample from the target population of concurrent enrollment program participants from 1988 to 1991 was used. The data were collected from existing Utah State University records. The dependent variables were GPA, recruitment, and retention, while administrative approaches were the three levels of the independent variable. The means for the Level One approach were statistically and educationally significant as compared to the remaining two levels. One year after joining Utah State University, the recruited concurrent enrollment program participants tended to remain with Utah State University. Therefore, it was recommended that the program be supported with the emphasis on encouraging more high school teachers to teach concurrent enrollment courses in the future