CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT (CE) INSTRUCTORS AND THE FALLOUT OF THE HIGHER LEARNING COMMISSION CE CREDENTIALING CLARIFICATION
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) clarified and revised the credentialing standards for concurrent enrollment (CE) instructors of liberal arts courses in 2015 with an implementation date of 2017. With the revised credentialing standards resulting in roughly two out every three CE instructors needing additional graduate level coursework to maintain their CE credentials, HLC created a five-year grace period, followed by multiple extensions, for CE instructors to update their credentials. However, during this period only approximately half of the CE instructors completed the additional coursework. The possible loss of half of the total number of liberal arts CE instructors under HLC accreditation places many CE programs’ sustainability in jeopardy.
This dissertation encompasses two studies that investigated why CE instructors did or did not complete the additional coursework needed to maintain the CE credentials, a topic that has yet to be explored in research. The first study investigated the issue directly from the CE instructor perspective. The second study on the topic was approached through the lens of CE high school administrators. Principal-agent theory was the theorical framework from which data and findings were viewed and produced. Implications for the CE field, future research angles on the topic, and policy recommendations are offered.
History
Degree Type
- Doctor of Philosophy
Department
- Educational Studies
Campus location
- West Lafayette