Retention rates in higher education continue to be a prevalent issue especially for community colleges and will become a bigger issue in the current climate of enrollment loss. Much literature regarding student retention focuses on broad, overarching findings, but it is important to understand institution-specific retention factors. The purpose of…

Academic advisement, one of the most important support services provided by institutions, creates teaching relationships between advisors and students that have longlasting lessons in goal setting and time management, and enhances student connections with the institution. It is with academic advising that institutions have the most impact on…

This study uses data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and Delta Cost Project to identify institutional predictors of bachelor's degree completion rates for Pell Grant recipients and nonrecipients at public and private not-for-profit 4-year institutions. Descriptive analyses show that Pell recipients are relatively…

Parent PLUS loans are a growing concern due to their limited income-driven repayment protections and their potential to maintain longstanding racial wealth gaps. Previous research has examined factors associated with student debt burdens of college graduates, but no research has examined factors related to parent borrowing for college. In this…

Financial aid is an ever-growing topic of interest to researchers as well as policymakers in understanding the impact and relationship to student success. Aid comes in many forms, from merit-based or need-based scholarships and grants, loans, tuition waivers, and other. Federal and state aid programs alike are typically designed to assist students…

This Summary highlights the findings from the First Look full report. The findings in this report provide the first national estimates of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on postsecondary students. Researchers have previously collected and reported data at institution, state, and international levels (Aristovnik et al. 2020; Aucejo et al. 2020;…

This First Look report presents basic findings about undergraduate student experiences during COVID-19 in spring 2020. These findings are based on preliminary data from the 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20), a national survey of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled any time between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020,…

Objective: The purpose of our study was to identify the factors associated with federal loan default among a nationally-representative sample of community college students. The guiding research question was: For community college students who borrow federal loans, to what extent do demographic, academic, and enrollment characteristics relate to…

A large gap exists between the percentage of teachers and of students who are Hispanic. To better understand this gap, we compared Hispanic and White preservice teachers' motivations for becoming teachers and perceptions of the teaching profession during their application to a large traditional teacher certification program at a Hispanic-serving…

In order to inform and improve policies and programs designed to assist low-income students, policymakers and academic scholars seek to understand the characteristics of this student population, how these students fare in college, and the challenges they face in persisting and completing a degree (Choy 2000; Perna 2015; Watson 2017). Recent…

This document presents statistics about higher education in Maryland for 2020. The tables in this document are presented according to the following categories: (1) Students; (2) Retention & Graduation; (3) Degrees; (4) Faculty & Staff; (5) Revenues & Expenditures; (6) Tuition & Fees; (7) Financial Aid; (8) Private Career Schools;…

Objective: Increasing rural community college degree attainment is very important to foster rural areas' economic and social well-being. Rural community colleges differ greatly from their suburban and urban counterparts in financial aid patterns and student bodies. However, existing literature is vacant with respect to student financial aid and…

This longitudinal study evaluated the efficacy of a summer bridge program (SBP) and other support services on college graduation rates at a small liberal arts school in Purchase, NY. Financially disadvantaged students (n = 136) receiving a scholarship and a summer bridge curriculum within the Manhattanville Achievement Program were compared to…

This document presents statistics about higher education in Maryland for 2021. The tables in this document are presented according to the following categories: (1) Students; (2) Retention, Graduation, & Transfer; (3) Degrees; (4) Faculty & Staff; (5) Revenues & Expenditures; (6) Tuition & Fees; (7) Financial Aid; (8) Private Career…

This document presents statistics about higher education in Maryland for 2020. The tables in this document are presented according to the following categories: (1) Students; (2) Retention & Graduation; (3) Degrees; (4) Faculty & Staff; (5) Revenues & Expenditures; (6) Tuition & Fees; (7) Financial Aid; (8) Private Career Schools;…