Experiences of High School Equivalency Graduates transition to Community College Postsecondary Coursework

Transition of adult learners to college has become a growing interest for education policy makers and leaders over the past two decades. The emphasis on increasing adult student success and college completion stems from several factors including equity gaps in educational attainment and a changing workforce and global economic needs. The purpose of this research was to understand the experiences of high school equivalency (HSE) graduates who enroll in postsecondary coursework at a community college. This dissertation documents the perspectives of college students who completed high school equivalency classes at the college, achieved their HSE credential, and whose educational background is defined by a nontraditional path towards postsecondary education. By exploring the experiences and perspectives of HSE graduates who have transitioned to college classes, this study gives a voice to these students and shares the challenges they face in persisting in and completing a college credential. Through a qualitative case study approach, this research focused on nine participants’ stories to capture their experiences as nontraditional students with an HSE credential who successfully transitioned to college. Methodology included a case study approach and interviews were the primary source of data collection with observation and document analysis as secondary sources. From the data analysis process, several themes emerged about the factors that have a positive and negative impact on the participants’ transition to and persistence in postsecondary classes. Factors outside the community college included educational and career goals/
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aspirations, overcoming past barriers, individual characteristics, family support, and work. Factors within the community college included a network of pathway to postsecondary support, financial support, college faculty and advisors, and socio-academic integration. Additional findings included institutional barriers such as college culture and lack of information about college enrollment.
This study gave voice to an often “invisible” population on college campuses in order to help inform college administrators, adult education faculty and staff, and other decision makers about the factors that support or deter HSE graduates in their transition to and persistence in college.