Two-year public colleges serve roughly one-third of undergraduate students in the United States, and, like other types of colleges across the country, they face shifting population demographics. Additionally, completion rates at two-year institutions have received political and scholarly attention within states and across the nation in recent…

This study investigated the relationship between institutional graduation rates of students with Pell grants and institutional/financial aid characteristics. Study findings suggest that increasing the proportion of Pell recipients was related to a decrease in Pell student graduation rates, while increasing institutional grants was associated with…

Because of increased opportunities for social interaction, undergraduate students living on campus are more likely to persist and graduate than their counterparts. Residence hall design also contributes to student interaction. This study explored the relationship between campus apartment design and graduation rates of a sophomore cohort attending…

Graduation rates and degree completion have always been a concern for students, students' families and universities. Moreover, many consider college degree completion rates to be among one of the most important indicators of institutional quality according to a report from the Higher Education Research Institute published in the United States of…

This study examined the impact of collegiate recreation participation on academic success as measured by grade point average, course credit completion, and persistence or graduation. Logistic and multiple regressions were run to explore the relationship between total recreation contact hours and outcome variables. Results indicated a positive and…

Over 40% of undergraduates in the United States attend a community college; however, fewer than 50% complete a degree or certificate within 6 years. As a result, national and state leaders have endorsed completion agenda initiatives, including performance-based funding (PBF). Texas implemented a form of PBF for the 2014-2015 Academic Year (AY)…

What is the relationship between school spending and student achievement in Michigan? That is the question this paper attempts to answer. The bulk of the research on this question has typically shown that there is little correlation between spending and achievement, but it is possible that Michigan's public schools are an exception to this…

The purpose of this study was to identify specific external factors including family composition, pre-college environment, and college preparation that contribute to why some African American males playing basketball at the NCAA Division I level graduate and persist while others do not. Despite an aggressive advertising campaign from the NCAA…

Philanthropists, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners are increasingly focused on a college completion crisis in the United States. Collectively and independently, they have called for increasing the number of adults with postsecondary certificates and degrees as a national imperative. Using the 2007 administration of the Community College…

In this study we investigated determinants of the graduation rate of public alternative schools by analyzing the most recent, nationally representative data from Schools and Staffing Survey 2007-2008. Based on the literature, we built a series of three regression models via successive block entry, predicting the graduate rate first by (a) student…

Education is pivotal to a better life for many individuals. Unfortunately, a large number of adolescents in poverty fail to complete high school; thereby limiting their opportunities for better employment options. However, there are adolescents who live in poverty and successfully complete high school, despite the adversities. This study, using…

We analyzed data from 65 schools that are U.S. members of The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS) to estimate how TABS member school graduates who enter college compare with college entrants from non-boarding schools on several long-term quality-of-life estimates. Although TABS students are more likely to graduate college than the population of…

This study examined the influence of the student mobility rate on the high school graduation rate of schools in the state of New Jersey. Variables found to have an influence on the graduation rate in the extant literature were evaluated and reported. The analysis included multiple and hierarchical regression models for school variables (i.e.,…

The current study examined whether it is possible to increase college students' intention to earn a four-year degree with the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Three research questions were examined: (1) Can the TPB predict traditional undergraduates' graduation intention? (2) Does graduation intention differ by traditional students' year of…

Previous research has shown that the Meyerhoff Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, is an effective intervention for high-achieving underrepresented minority (URM) students; African-American Meyerhoff students are significantly more likely to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) PhD programs…