Abstract

This qualitative study sought to address the problem of lower enrollment of students from Jones High School in Orlando, Florida than is desired by the University of Central Florida (UCF). The university has new developments in the community near Jones High School and this dissertation in practice seeks to develop recruitment practices to increase enrollment of this population. Alumni from Jones High School who currently attend UCF were selected for a qualitative study including a survey and interview to examine the phenomenological experiences regarding their decision to enroll and the path of enrollment they selected. Multiple paths of enrollment exist for this population which includes entering directly from high school, transferring from other institutions, as well as a guaranteed admission program from local state colleges called Direct Connect. This qualitative study revealed that the Direct Connect program is the most common path of entry for participants followed by those enrolling from high school. Experiences that influenced decisions to enroll at UCF included convenience factors such as location, the ease of enrolling through the Direct Connect program, and the financial savings associated with a public university and the state colleges. It was also revealed that deficiencies existed in UCF's current recruitment presence on the campus of Jones High School as compared to other institutions of higher education making a more lasting impact. Implications for future practice were offered to encourage existing paths of enrollment and increased UCF recruitment presence on the Jones campus.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2016

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Cox, Thomas

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Department

Teaching, Learning, and Leadership

Degree Program

Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0006423

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0006423

Language

English

Release Date

August 2016

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Included in

Education Commons

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