Examining College Readiness in an Early College Program that Focuses on Health Careers: Perceptions of Graduating Students

Abstract

College readiness is the foundation for student success in college. Conley (2007a) offered an operational definition of college readiness with four interconnected facets including student acquisition of cognitive skills, comprehension of content knowledge, positive academic behaviors,and an understanding of contextual skills or college processes. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to analyze the perceptions of students graduating from an early college program regarding their experiences of rigor, relevance, and relationships within the program and how these experiences have impacted their college readiness skills using Conley’s framework. The early college in this study focuses on health careers. Perception data were collected from a convenience sample of 15 graduating early college students using semi-structured interviews. Four early college teachers were also interviewed to provide triangulation. Students perceived that the early college program had prepared them to succeed in college courses through implementation of rigorous content and adequate preparation in high school courses. Students indicated that they effectively used cognitive skills in college and revealed that their interest in learning content knowledge was enhanced by their teacher’s passion in facilitating content. Students perceived an ability to develop academic behaviors and to adjust to a college pace and apply for universities. However, student ability to adjust to the social demands of the college culture was limited. Implementing purposeful hands-on experience and building supportive relationships while providing rigor can be promising for developing meaningful experiences for high school students and may lead to reducing student attrition in health professions.