Advantages of Advanced Standing Programs in Ohio

Date of Award

Summer 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Committee Chair

Kim Campbell

Committee Member

Larry Hughes

Committee Member

Eric Parker

Abstract

Students continue to seek ways to reduce the cost and time required to earn a bachelor's degree. Ohio offers several Advanced Standing programs that allow students to earn college credit while enrolled in middle or high school, including Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College Credit Plus (CCP), and Early College High School (ECHS). This correlational study was to examine whether students who entered an Ohio public four-year university with Advanced Standing credit experienced reduced time-to-degree completion and lower educational costs compared to students without earned credit. Although the study was designed to examine all Advanced Standing programs, the final dataset provided by the participating institution contained only AP credit data. Therefore, this analysis focused on the relationship between AP credit attainment, time-to-degree completion, tuition costs, and selected demographic variables. The findings indicate that students entering college with 1 to 6 AP credits experienced modest benefits related to degree completion and educational costs; however, higher levels of AP credit did not consistently yield additional benefits. The results suggest that participation in AP coursework may help students complete a bachelor's degree within four years, compared to the national average of approximately 5.1 years, while supporting efforts to improve college affordability and educational efficiency.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS