The Relationship Between Credential Attainment and Resources for Americas College Promise Students in a Midwest Study

Abstract

This qualitative study set out to understand the lived experiences of Americas College Promise (ACP) graduates from two technical colleges in the Midwest. Five participants were selected through a random sampling method that represented rural and urban areas in the state of Wisconsin. Employing a semi-structured interview captured the individual stories of ACP graduates. Through a thematic reduction technique each story illuminated their individual experience, which resulted in their collective experience themes. The themes reveal that the most significant driver that helped students persist was having positive relationships with the teachers. When their teachers genuinely cared about them and their goals, they were able to build the self-efficacy needed to persist. Looking at this through the phenomenological lens of a lived experience, these ACP graduates all had barriers; however, relationships with caring teachers supported a sense of belonging and feeling positive about moving towards their end goal.