This study evaluates dual enrollment programs through the eyes of North Carolina's community college chief academic officers (CAOs). Grounded in Tinto's theory of integration and the transformational leadership construct, a mixed methods approach was utilized to evaluate the perceptions of CAOs regarding the integration of high school students into the college environment and the support services available to dual enrolled students and the faculty who teach them. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through the implementation of a survey and personal interviews respectively. Eighteen CAOs responded to the survey, and four of those CAOs participated in phone interviews. Findings suggest that North Carolina community college CAOs are proponents for dual enrollment programs and, overall, they feel that dual enrollment opportunities improve college persistence and completion. Results also show that the CAOs are confident they can impact policy and procedure around dual enrollment, although most of them report they could benefit from additional training on how to support faculty and students participating in the program. In terms of the integration of dual enrolled students into the college environment, most of the CAOs believe that high school students possess the maturity, academic preparation, and critical thinking ability to be college students. Several of the CAOs note that participation in dual enrollment programs should be selective. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]