10 Years

Celebrating 10 Years of Dual Credit

The winter of 2016 marked the 10 year anniversary of Dual Credits at Algonquin College. In celebration of this achievement, Academic Partnerships commissioned a comprehensive student voice study.

The research captures the authentic student perspective on their experience in the Dual Credit Program as funding by the School-to-College-to-Work Initiative (SCWI) in the Province of Ontario. Building on the work of Rudduck and Flutter (2004), student voice was used to achieve a widely supported coherent understanding of the student experience. This study explores the degree of effectiveness through 35 participant interviews and the analysis of 6552 pieces of survey data. Results represent a sampling of the 6000 students who have participated in the program since its inception in 2006.

Significant changes have taken place between launching in 2006 and the past current academic year ending 2016. Today, Dual Credit Programs are offered in most schools across the Province. Today, with increased awareness, improvements in communication, flexible scheduling, provided transportation, and the establishment of Team Taught Dual Credits; over 6000 students have participated in the Dual Credit Program.

Through the results of this research project, Academic Partnerships and our District School Board partners will be able to continue evolving the Dual Credit Program in a way that honours the existing best practices while building on the recommendations of our students.

This website provides a multidimensional exploration of the findings through both qualitative and quantitative methods. Using this tool, you can explore the student voice in segments of delivery type, geography, grade, and specialized pathways. These unique views of the student voice re-enforce that students of all learning pathways at various times can become disengaged, and that simply because one becomes disengaged it does not mean that there is not a viable post-secondary opportunity for them. The Dual Credit program means fundamentally more to these students than simply a college credit; it is an opportunity to participate in an adult learning experience.