The impact of dual credit programs on college students: A comparative study of dual credit participants and non-dual credit participants in one Ontario college

Dual Credit Programs were introduced to the province of Ontario in 2005 as part of an educational reform initiative designed to help more students graduate high school and transition to college. The number of Ontario Dual Credit Programs has grown tremendously over the years but research has not kept pace with program expansion. This study was conducted to help fill that research gap. This study investigated the impact of Dual Credit Programs on college students by focusing on a group of students who participated in dual credit courses and activities and subsequent postsecondary programs at Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (Humber College) in Toronto, Ontario. The study also included a comparison group of non-dual credit participants who attended postsecondary education at the same institution and at the same time as the dual credit participants. Best described as a retrospective longitudinal study, this mixed methods research involved three data sources: college student records, college students, and college faculty. The data used in this study was derived from the student records, an online student survey, student interviews, and faculty interviews. College students who were previously enrolled in dual credit courses and comparators with no dual credit experience were found to differ in college preparation, college engagement, and college success but not college persistence. However, independent analyses of the college records of dual credit participants showed them to differ on college persistence depending on the number of dual credit courses they completed. The findings of this study have implications for policy and practice, theory development, and future research in the dual credit area.