Chapter 1

In today’s economic times, a baccalaureate degree is essential to achieve success in the highly competitive workforce of the 21st century (Cantu, 2003). The techno-logical revolution in the current workforce places a premium on employees that posses both technological skills and academic attainment (Hecker, 2001). Employers are therefore not only seeking employees that possess technical skills, but, in most cases, they must also complete a four-year baccalaureate degree to meet the minimum acceptable employment requirements. Hecker has stated that to attain a high level, high paying position in today’s marketplace, one must hold a bachelor degree at a minimum (2001). Thus, many students face an almost insoluble dilemma, namely, the acquisition of technical skills required for a highly technical workplace, and attaining the academic credentials of a bachelor degree in order to meet minimum requirements of a highly competitive marketplace. A part of the answer has been found at the local community college with its technical programs that prepare students for immediate

entry into the workplace while also providing academic preparation for further education at the university level.

Technical education has long been left up to the community colleges. Community colleges emerged in the 1940s as a way for service men and women to access the educational opportunities that were available to them through the G.I. Bill. President Truman wanted to rename these schools as community colleges because of the nature of the terminal degrees (Vaughn, 2000).

As junior colleges, the mission was to reduce the number of university students by providing a proving ground for students to begin their postsecondary educational experience. These students attended the junior college to complete their basics before transferring to the university to pursue a bachelor degree (Monroe, 1992).

The community college, however, provided students the opportunity to complete a two-year terminal, associate of applied science degree (AAS) in specific technical areas and then transition into the workforce (Vaughn, 2000). These degrees were considered terminal because universities typically would not apply technical transfer credits from the community college toward a four-year academic degree plan. Therefore, if a student wanted to transfer from an AAS degree plan at the local community college to a local university, in most cases, the student would have to start over at the university since the technical courses were not transferable.

As the economy continued to demand more highly skilled workers in the 1990s, community colleges began to relate more closely to local business and industry. These relationships began to drive the technological programs at local community colleges (Levin, 2001). Thus, the mission for the community college became clear, namely, to develop stronger and more vital communities and to improve the local labor force (Vaughan, 2000).

Parnell (1985) coined the phrase “Neglected Majority,” to represent the middle 50% of students at the secondary institutions that were not being effectively educated for the current workforce. These students were neither considered to be university bound nor expected to have any viable plans for their futures. Parnell stated that it was vital for the educational system to address the needs of these neglected students. Moreover, Parnell believed that the main reason these students were academically under performing their peers was that they were “contextual learners,” and the system was not designed to address the needs of such learners. Likewise, Hennigan (2001) and Johnson (2003) indicated that technical students’ learning style was the major factor in their educational success. Most technical students learn better with integrated or contextual curriculum, which provided the opportunity for hands-on learning and more clearly related the classroom experience to the real world of work.

Bragg and Williams (2002) discovered in a national evaluation that technical students found greater success in contextual learning environments than in non-contextual learning settings. Therefore, Parnell (1984) determined that students in this neglected majority needed a pathway that would focus on their needs and abilities.

In early 1990s, Congress decided to fund a national initiative known as Tech Prep (Technology Preparation). Congress provided funds from the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act to fund Tech Prep. Tech Prep, established under Title III, Part E, of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act, was intended to meet two objectives: 1) The implementation of four-year technical programs of study at the secondary level that would lead to two-year associate degrees; and 2) The establishment of links between the secondary schools and the postsecondary degree granting institutions in the form of articulation agreements. These articulation agreements established the course connections between the secondary and postsecondary institutions (Hull and Grevelle, l998).

Therefore, Tech Prep was established as a program of study that provided secondary students the opportunity to begin a career pathway in a specific technical discipline. They could then pursue postsecondary education and earn a technical certificate or an AAS degree at the community college (Kwasny, 1992).

Tech Prep students were also limited in their ability to receive bachelor degrees since their programs terminated in a two-year AAS degree. A few community colleges initiated local agreements with surrounding universities that would allow the application of certain technical coursework toward specific baccalaureate degree plans. These agreements, however, were few and far between, and would only allow for the transfer of a minimal number of the technical credit hours. Students were left with the choice of retaking similar courses at the university, or not pursuing a four-year degree.

Unfortunately, many in higher education regarded technical students as less capable than their academic counterparts. This belief was based in part on the ideology of many institutions that used secondary technology courses as holding cells or rooms for troubled students (Boesel, Rahn, and Deich, 1994). Boesel and McFarland (1994) reported that 55% of teachers believed there was a serious problem with difficult students being dumped into technical courses, even when there was no practical, educational reason for these students to take those courses. This implied that these courses were remedial and not academically rigorous. Many uninformed educators also believed that technical students, unlike their academic counterparts, were destined to work in business or industries in positions with low pay and limited opportunity for advancement. Therefore, transfer of community college technical credits to universities was severely limited and in most cases almost impossible.

Academic students have always been able to transfer most of their academic core credits to four-year institutions. Technical students, however, have been required to forgo the transfer of their community college technical credits except for their academic educational core credits. Thus, these students often found themselves loosing more than 30 hours of technical credit, not withstanding the loss of time and money that it took to achieve these credits.

The UTA/Community College Transfer Consortium: Texas TWO-STEP Project was created in 2001 by representatives from the University of Texas at Arlington (UT-Arlington) and five local community colleges (Collin County Community College District, Dallas County Community College District, Navarro College, Tarrant County College, and Weatherford College)toaddress the transfer barriers faced by community college technical students (Russell, 2004).

The Texas TWO-STEP (Technology Workforce Opportunities through Seamless Transitions and Educational Partnerships) Project offers students the opportunity to receive an AAS degree at one of the participating community colleges in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and then transfer a specified number of technical hours, plus the academic core, into the Interdisciplinary studies program at UTA toward academic baccalaureate degrees. These students may complete either a bachelor of arts (BA) or bachelor of science (BS) degrees. Students may also transfer a specified number of technical hours into UTA’s College of Science. These academic degrees were previously unavailable to technical transfer students. Moreover, the Interdisciplinary Studies Program allows students to build their own individual degree plan to fit their career goals (Russell, 2004).

The program is essential for technical students in today’s workplace since they must posses at least a bachelor degree to be marketable. Statistics show that 95% of high school sophomores stated that they would go to college after high school, and that 85% would pursue at least a baccalaureate degree (Gray, 1997).

The Texas TWO-STEP Project is funded under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998. The Project was established to achieve seamless, no-penalty, transitions for Tech Prep students from the high school to the community college and AAS degreed students to the university (Russell, 2004). Any student that completes an AAS degree at one of the participating community colleges is eligible to participate in the Project.

Step one of the TWO-STEP Project involves sending outreach coordinators from the TWO-STEP Project office to local high schools to enlighten students regarding the opportunities now available through this Project. Outreach coordinators address all students, but they focus on Tech Prep students in order to help them understand the wide range of academic possibilities now available to technical students. Students, technical faculty, and administrators also receive information on programs and coursework at their school that articulate to one of the local community colleges through Tech Prep programs. Parent events are also held to apprise parents of the new potential of technical education. Step two involves the ability of students who completed their AAS degrees to transfer their community college technical credits to UTA (Russell 2004).

Dr. Shirley Chenault, Dean of Resource Development at WeatherfordCollege, said that the success of the Texas TWO-STEP Project was tied directly to the effectiveness of the outreach coordinators (S. J. Chenault, personal interview, June 23, 2005). Likewise, Dr. Faye Murphy, one of the founding TWO-STEP representatives and Program Director of Tarrant County College District, remarked that the outreach coordinators were permitted direct access to college classrooms for the specific purpose of informing targeted populations on the importance of the Texas TWO-STEP Project. Outreach coordinators also worked with faculty, counselors, and administration, and maintained the articulation agreements. Dr. Murphy (2005) affirmed that,

The colleges involved in the UTA/Community College Transfer Consortium have worked many years with universities in the area and have written bundles of articulation agreements. Yet, never have we had the acknowledgement and awareness of articulated plans that the Texas TWO-STEP has provided because the TWO-STEP articulation agreement was written to accommodate more than one community college. The Outreach Coordinators were not only allowed direct access to college classrooms and faculties, but they also worked with more than one community college, which provided a broad-based knowledge of articulation. (G.F. Murphy, phone interview, July 29, 2005)

At the university level, TWO-STEP Project students may pursue a BA through the Interdisciplinary Studies Program at UTA in one of five broad degree plans or pathways (business, technology, health sciences, public service, and human services). Students may also elect to earn a BS from UTA’s College of Science. Students must complete 128 hours to graduate, 24 of which would be technical transfer hours, and 44, core curriculum with 60 hours devoted to their degree plan. The students design their own degree plan by selecting hours from any college on campus (up to 18 hours), as long as the selection relates directly to their career goal.

In the first three years since the TWO-STEP Project’s inception, 10 additional community colleges have joined the Project: TexasStateTechnicalCollege, Harlingen, VernonCollege, CentralTexasCollege, College of the Mainland, GraysonCountyCollege, HillCollege, HowardCollege, LaredoCollege, McLennanCollege, and TempleCollege. Additionally, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has funded Stephen F. Austin University, UT-BrownsvilleUniversity, and TarletonStateUniversity to create TWO-STEP Consortia. The UTA/Community College Transfer Consortium recently became the “Community College to University Transfer Consortium: Texas TWO-STEP Project” with the recent addition of TexasA&MUniversity—Commerce. Several other universities have expressed interest in creating TWO-STEP Projects. Interestingly, several universities are utilizing this program to promote technical transfers into their bachelor of applied arts and science (BAAS) programs. The BAAS degree programs have long permitted AAS transfers, but have not been regarded by many to be as rigorous as academic bachelor programs. As a result, Project leaders hope that the success of the Project at UTA will encourage other universities to create or modify their programs to accept technical transfers into their academic degree plans.

The ultimate goal for the Texas TWO-STEP Project is to replicate the model statewide and eventually, throughout the nation. According to the 2003-2004 Comprehensive Technical Programs Texas TWO-STEP Project Grant, the purpose is to further the development and implementation of the seamless transitions education model. This seamless transition model would involve Tech Prep pathways, Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM) transfer, and inverted degree plans. The uniqueness of the project, as originally conceived, was to allow the transfer of technical coursework into rigorous academic BA/BS programs. Furthermore, this Project provided a needed contribution to the future workforce, namely, a technically proficient employee with the appropriate academic credentials. Russell (2004) states, “The Texas TWO-STEP Project has demonstrated the importance of cultivating educational partnerships that enhance the quality of employees in the workforce and to ensure that all qualified students have an opportunity for career success.” Russell also observed that the success of the Project will help change attitudes of higher education toward technical students, thus helping to achieve an authentic seamless transitions model for all qualified students (Russell, 2004).

Statement of the Problem

In order to replicate this model, substantial evidence must exist to validate the Project’s success. The primary focus is the success ratio for students that have been part of the Texas TWO-STEP Project during its first three years compared to their counterparts at UT-Arlington. If the Project were considered successful, then it would be feasible to replicate this Project.

Purpose of the Study

The intent of this study is to evaluate the first three years of the Texas TWO-Step Project. In a program evaluation, practical significance is the standard that should be met when evaluating results. The results of this evaluation will be used as baseline data for following evaluations. Furthermore, other universities and colleges interested in participating in this project will be able to use this study to justify participation. The following seven research questions must be addressed in order to evaluate this Project effectively:

  1. Do the Texas TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies majors at UT-Arlington achieve grade point averages equal to or better than those of the Non-TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies majors at UT-Arlington when segmented by age?
  2. Do the Texas TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies majors at UT-Arlington achieve grade point averages equal to or better than that of the UT-Arlington general student body when segmented by age?
  3. Do the Texas TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies majors at UT-Arlington achieve grade point averages equal to or better than those of the Non-TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies majors at UT-Arlington when segmented by gender?
  4. Do the Texas TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies majors at UT-Arlington achieve grade point averages equal to or better than those of the UT-Arlington general student body when segmented by gender?
  5. Do the Texas TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies majors at UT-Arlington achieve grade point averages equal to or better than those of the Non-TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies majors at UT-Arlington when segmented by ethnicity?
  6. Do the Texas TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies majors at UT-Arlington achieve grade point averages equal to or better than those of the UT-Arlington general student body when segmented by ethnicity?
  7. Do the Texas TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies majors at UT-Arlington achieve graduation rates equal to or better than those of the Non-TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies majors at UT-Arlington?

When the data for the above mentioned research questions are evaluated, the standard that is to be achieved will be at the level of practical significance, not statistical significance. Borg (1963) stated that program evaluation required a less rigorous evaluation of measures than did scientific research. Although Borg does not specify what level practical significance represents, this writer has determined for this study that practical significance will be met when the Texas TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies students achieve results equal to or greater than Non-TWO-STEP Interdisciplinary Studies students and the UT-Arlington student body.