ERIC Number: ED653254
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 128
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3827-4811-5
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Juxtaposing the Drive to 55 to Non-Traditional Student Completions at Community Colleges
Deirdre Michelle Wilson
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Tennessee State University
For the purposes of this study, criteria for non-traditional students were: adults ages 25 and older, race/ethnicity, gender, entry date or transfer to a community college in Middle Tennessee during fall 2015 through summer 2021, and Pell/Grant eligibility. The problem is that non-traditional students have lower completions than traditional students. Former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed the Drive to 55 Initiative, also called the Tennessee Reconnect Grant (TN Reconnect) that proposed the first program in the nation that allowed adults without a postsecondary credential to be able to obtain one for free. This intervention became effective fall 2018. As such, the focus of this study was to assess the likelihood that more non-traditional students enrolled at community colleges in Middle Tennessee would complete either a certificate or associates degree within three years after TN Reconnect intervened (experimental group) as compared to non-traditional students that graduated three years before TN Reconnect intervened (control group). The research involved a quasi-experimental design that used generalized linear models on a year-group comparison from 54,692 random samples of secondary data from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission's longitudinal database. Findings were that the number of completions in the experimental group were higher than in the control group. The strongest predictors of completions were term hours and entry type; Pell Grant eligibility was not statistically significant to completions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Community College Students, Adult Students, Graduation Rate, Nontraditional Students, Intervention, Program Effectiveness, Education, Time to Degree, Control Groups
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges; Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Tennessee
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A