The purpose of this study is to identify determinants of student persistence and degree completion in Louisiana. Currently, the state ranks second to lowest in the nation with individuals who experience higher education and obtain a college degree. Recognition of influential factors on student persistence and degree completion allows legislators…

Nathanael Okpych and Mark Courtney review barriers to completing a college degree for young adults with foster care histories seeking post-secondary education. Their longitudinal approach evaluates students with foster care histories attending 2- and 4-year colleges and compares outcomes with low-income first-generation college students over a…

This paper provides the first quantitative analysis on 'first in family' (FiF) university graduates in the UK. Using a nationally representative dataset that covers a recent cohort in England, we identify the proportion of FiF young people at age 25 as 18%, comprising nearly two-thirds of university graduates. Comparing groups with no parental…

By providing program completers a two-plus-two tuition scholarship to attend a Florida postsecondary institution, the Monroe County Take Stock in Children (Take Stock) program has been promising high-performing low-income children access to a college education for over twenty years. This study tracks the college attendance and attainment paths of…

Previous studies have shown that state performance funding policies do not increase baccalaureate degree production, but higher education scholarship lacks a rigorous, quantitative analysis of the unintended consequences of performance funding. In this article, we use difference-in-differences estimation with fixed effects to evaluate performance…

Online course delivery continues to grow as a viable means of providing increased educational access to more students, but low student retention rates remain a major challenge. In this study, key institutional characteristics that influence student retention in postsecondary education are analyzed. These are student-faculty ratio, graduation rate,…

Lack of financial resources to pay for postsecondary education--perceived and actual--has been cited as a barrier to student access and persistence, particularly for Latino students. This study investigates the following question: "To what extent does financial aid affect the educational attainment of Latinos enrolled in Associate's degree…

Public undergraduate higher education institutions face a number of seemingly intractable problems. Among those problems are cost, accountability and access. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award process is designed to help organization of any type address problems of organizational performance. This process has been used by manufacturing,…

Research universities throughout the world are part of a larger effort by nation-states to bolster science and technological innovation and compete economically. The US remains highly competitive as a source of High Tech (HT) innovation because of a number of market positions, many the result of long term investments in institutions such as…

"Kids Count in Colorado!" is an annual publication of the Colorado Children's Campaign, which provides the best available state- and county-level data to measure and track the education, health and general well-being of the state's children. "Kids Count in Colorado!" informs policy debates and community discussions, serving as…