Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to help fill the knowledge gap on stand-alone transition-to-college courses for adult students in an institutional setting where such courses have been extensively utilized via different delivery mediums. The ultimate goal was to use the knowledge obtained to aid personnel who work with nontraditional degree programs to determine if the implementation of a transition-to-college course had benefits, and if so, in what ways. The research investigated if there was a difference in college grade point averages and the number of semester hours taken to graduation for adult students who participated in a transition-to-college course versus those who did not. The findings indicated the students who participated in the transition course had significantly lower GPAs at the end of the first semester versus those who did not take the course. There was no difference in semesters to graduation for the two groups. The research also investigated if there were differences in performance based upon the delivery method of the course (weekend format versus distance-education delivered). The findings indicated that there was no difference for GPA but that students who took the distance course completed their degrees in significantly more semesters than those who took the course in the weekend format. Reflections on these collective findings in light of the control variables suggested helpful opportunities for program design as well as future research.

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