Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
11-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Andrew Lumpe
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Christie Bledsoe
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Javier Flores
Abstract
Access to higher education remains a fundamental principle of the community college mission. Community colleges provide a critical starting point for many traditional and nontraditional students who enter higher education. Yet, in recent years, community colleges have endured public criticism for low graduation rates and the extended time students take to graduate. Many community colleges adapted long-held practices by implementing student success initiatives, including offering time-compressed courses to address concerns. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of time-compressed courses on course retention rates and fall-to-spring semester retention rates of students. Quantitative methods were used to compare retention rates of students enrolled in standard 16-week and time-compressed general education courses at a community college in the southwestern United States. Results of the study revealed significant differences in course retention rates of students enrolled in time-compressed courses compared to those enrolled in standard 16-week general education courses as well as significant differences in retention rates between academic divisions. There was also a significant difference in fall-to-spring retention rates for first-time college students who took three or more time-compressed general education courses in a 16-week semester.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Dixon, Michael Lee, "Do Time-Compressed General Education Courses Increase Course and Semester Retention Rates?" (2022). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 532.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/532