Student Interest and Performance in Dual Enrollment Engineering Courses

Abstract

Dual enrollment is a mechanism for high school students to take courses for college credit while still in high school.  Through purposeful development and implementation, engineering courses required of all first year engineering students at the University of Cincinnati were made available to regional high schools.   This program has allowed the university to develop authentic and meaningful relationships with high schools and increase students’ interest in studying engineering. Participation more than doubled in the first six years the program was available and continues to increase.  There is little in the education literature regarding engineering dual enrollment program so this paper seeks to provide a benchmark upon which other research can be measured. Student data was analyzed using an independent samples t-test to compare academic performance of high school students to university students.  Analysis shows that students who took engineering courses in high school perform just as well as traditional students do in those courses.  Students who took the first course in a two-course sequence in high school perform just as well on the second course as students who took the first course in college.