Big qualitative data (Big Qual), or research involving large qualitative data sets, has introduced many newly evolving conventions that have begun to change the fundamental nature of some qualitative research. In this methodological essay, we first distinguish big data from big qual. We define big qual as data sets containing either primary or…

States rely on data from both the K-12 and postsecondary sectors to inform policy discussions; chart the progress of students, schools, districts, colleges, and the state; pinpoint best practices and areas of need; allocate scarce resources; and make other important education decisions every day. However, states need to securely link limited, but…

Excessive college course withdrawals are costly to the student and the institution in terms of time to degree completion, available classroom space, and other resources. Although generally well quantified, detailed analysis of the reasons given by students for course withdrawal is less common. To address this, a text mining analysis was performed…

The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) is constantly working to provide and extend educational opportunities to all of the state of Nevada. With the rapid population growth experienced in Nevada, there are an increasing number of students eligible for and participating in some form of higher education. The NSHE employs many successful…

This report presents two large tables showing trends in the financing of public higher education since 1977-78. Introductory information explains how to use the tables, the data-time relationship (whether fiscal year, academic year, or calendar year), and includes a sample chart constructed from one state's data. The raw data used for these…

A feasibility study conducted by the California Postsecondary Education Commission to evaluate alternative means of developing cost-of-instruction data is presented. Five areas of legislative interest in cost-of-instruction information are identified, and issues pertaining to the comparability of cost data and to the accuracy of the data in…