Clayton State University-[node:field-date:custom:Y]--MOWR/Dual Enrollment/Joint Enrollment program

High-impact strategy

Participation in dual enrollment or joint enrollment programs for high school students from local counties.

Related Goal

Shorten time to degree completion through programs that allow students to earn college credit while still in high school and by awarding credit for prior learning that is verified by appropriate assessment.

Summary of Activities

Clayton State’s dual enrollment program serves students in Henry, Clayton, Fayette, and Coweta Counties. Enrollment has shown increases each year for the past five years, with the latest increase from 430 in fall 2013 to 544 in fall 2014.

Most recently, Clayton State’s dual enrollment program has been restructured under the umbrella of the Move On When Ready (MOWR) program. Under the revised structure, dual enrolled or MOWR students are no longer required to pay for tuition, books, or mandatory fees. This change in policy is expected to contribute to further enrollment increases.

Baseline Status

The dual enrollment program (or MOWR) has been active, in some form or another, for over five years. In 2012, the University began a concerted and focused effort to increase the number of dual enrolled students through collaborative efforts with the local high schools. One of the primary focuses of the program has been the credit hour completion rate of the dual enrolled students. The completion rate figures provide an interim measure of how successful the students are as they progress through the program. Baseline data for the year prior indicates a credit hour completion rate of 94.8%.

Fall 2011 Credit Hour Completion Rate*

*All MOWR students

Fall 2011 MOWR to Clayton State University Enrolled Degree-Seeking Students

*Awarded credit hours and attempted credit hours are from the cohort's first semester.

** Number of MOWR students who subsequently enroll as degree-seeking University students are counted for any semester after original cohort term.

Interim Measures of Progress

Clayton State has increased dual enrollees and credit awarded to dual enrollment students over the past three years. Significant growth occurred beginning with the fall 2012 cohort, which grew from 225 students in 2011 to 270 in fall 2012 (20% growth).

From fall 2012 to fall 2014, the University monitored the credit hours awarded vs. the credit hours completed to determine successful completion rates for the dual enrollee/MOWR students. A total of 2143 credit hours were awarded in fall 2012 compared to 3887 in fall 2014. These figures represent an 81.3% increase in the number of credits awarded. The successful credit hour completion rate increased to 96.1%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points, during this same time period.

As above, these completion rates provide an interim measure of students’ progress through the program and towards potential admission to and graduation from Clayton State.

Credit Hour Completion Rates For Continuing MOWR Students*

*Figures include all dual enrolled/MOWR students whether they were first time enrolled or continuing.

**Successful completion rates were calculated based on attempted credit hours compared to completed credit hours.

Measures of Success

Clayton State’s primary success goals are:

successful college-level credit completion by dual enrollment/MOWR students,

conversion of dual enrollment/MOWR students to Clayton State enrolled degree-seeking students, and

Clayton State University on-time graduation for previously enrolled MOWR students.

A total of 2864 credits were awarded, which represents a successful completion rate of 98.2% for the most recent fall.

Credit Hour Completion Rates for New MOWR Students

* Awarded credit hours and attempted credit hours are from the cohort's first semester.

MOWR Conversion Rates

Beginning in fall 2015, Clayton State is switching to using a conversion rate to track the number of MOWR students who matriculate to the University. The fall 2014 semester conversion rate of 5.0% (n=20) will be used as baseline.

Of the 415 new MOWR students (fall 2014), 134 students were retained within the MOWR program. Factors impacting conversion trends will continue to be examined and the program would like to increase the conversion rate by 20%.

Lessons Learned

The main challenge for the MOWR program is student, family and the high schools’ awareness regarding the advantages of dual enrollment compared to AP. Clayton State dual enrollment students have a 95% success rate compared to the Georgia AP average pass rate of 55% for 2014. There can be resistance by local schools as well. To address these challenges, Clayton State works closely with the schools and counselors to facilitate the registration process. To mitigate transportation issues in Henry County, Clayton State offers courses at the Henry County Academy for Advanced Studies.

The SAT eligibility requirements are also suspected to have an impact on the distribution of student participation from within the region. An analysis of the SAT scores of MOWR students from Henry, Fayette, and Clayton counties will yield data that may elucidate this question. Further focus will be directed to MOWR students who subsequently transfer to other USG institutions. Specific efforts will be geared towards reducing the MOWR transfer numbers and increasing MOWR student enrollment at Clayton State University. As the program continues to move forward efforts will continue to address advisement and course selection for students in the program. Effective advisement processes will better drive students’ success and enrollment and on-time graduation at Clayton State.