Utilizing a lottery-based natural experiment, this study assessed the longer-term impact of early colleges on postsecondary degree attainment. It found that early colleges significantly increased the overall degree completion and associate degree completion rates within 10 years of expected high school graduation. While the impact on bachelor's…

While about three-fourths of all public school districts offer dual credit opportunities in Career Technical Education (CTE) courses, many programs face gaps in alignment between secondary and postsecondary CTE programs that lead to quality and equity inconsistencies in early postsecondary opportunities (EPSOs) across career pathways, ultimately…

Background: Early Colleges (ECs) are a type of rapidly growing dual enrollment program proven to be successful in helping underrepresented students get a jumpstart on their postsecondary education. To date, the most rigorous evidence on the impact of ECs has come from two lottery-based natural experiments conducted by the SERVE Center (Edmunds et…

Following up on a previous impact study of Early Colleges (EC) based on retrospective admission lotteries, this study assessed longer-term impacts on students' postsecondary outcomes with 4 more years of data. The study found that students who won EC admission lotteries were significantly more likely to enroll in college, enroll in 2-year…

Utah SB 196 from the 2015 General Session challenged the State Board of Regents with increasing the number of students who complete their General Education Quantitative Literacy (QL) requirement senior year of high school. One thing needed to meet this goal: more Concurrent Enrollment Mathematics instructors. Utah System of Higher Education (USHE)…

The annual "State Policies Impacting CTE: Year in Review" report is released every February to report on developments in CTE-related legislation and other actions enacted nationwide for the previous calendar year. The report examines how CTE and career readiness initiatives are connected and advanced in states through 2024 state policy…

In Utah, public education is a community endeavor. It is shaped by the dedication and service of teachers, the curiosity of children, the commitment of families, and the support of policymakers and partners. This annual report reflects the collective effort that makes Utah's education system unique. The data and stories within shows the challenges…

Career and Technical Education (CTE) is a key ingredient in meeting the needs of Utah's economy. Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) institutions offer CTE programs in all regions of the state, working closely with local business and industry leaders to develop and deliver programs specifically tailored to local workforce needs. This report…

The question of course rigor is often raised in connection with Concurrent Enrollment courses when compared to their on-campus equivalents. Over one-third of all Utah high school juniors and seniors enroll in at least one concurrent enrollment course, courses in which students earn both high school credit for graduation and college credit…

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association's (SHEEO) "Communities of Practice" project builds upon SHEEO's ongoing efforts to measure the capacity and effective use of state postsecondary data systems and provides states with opportunities to develop solutions to common issues with those systems. The sixth Community of…

This report includes data on a diverse and broad array of Career and Technical Education (CTE), credit and noncredit offerings, provided by the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) institutions that prepare people for employment in current or emerging occupations that require postsecondary credentials other than a baccalaureate or advanced…

A substantial and growing body of research indicates that, all other factors being equal, students who dually enroll are more likely than their non-dually-enrolling peers to finish high school, matriculate in a postsecondary institution and experience greater postsecondary success. Spurred by this, states are increasingly viewing dual enrollment…

When the nation shut down in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, states had to figure out what education would look like for the remainder of the academic year. These abrupt changes affected not only students' ability to learn but also their access to the support system that would help prepare them for steps beyond high school. This Policy…

Policymakers at the state and national levels have identified college completion as a key policy priority. The proportion of adults with a college credential has decreased and the equity gap in college completion is expanding. Given this policy context, there is an interest in the extent to which degree pathways are inefficient and how these…

In spite of the well-paying, in-demand jobs that many STEM degrees can lead to, just 18 percent of the 1.9 million bachelor's degrees awarded in the U.S. in 2015-16 (the most recent data available) were in STEM subject areas.3 Given that about 5 percent of workers with a non-STEM undergraduate degree work in a STEM field, a large proportion of a…