Direct Admissions is a system developed and piloted recently in the US that defaults graduating high school students into post-secondary admittance by data-matching their profiles (transcripts, standardized test scores, and prerequisites) with institutions' preset eligibility criteria. As applicant and institutional interest in direct admissions…

This study examines U.S. national colleges and universities that have de-emphasized or eliminated ACT and SAT scores and have implemented test-optional policies for undergraduate admissions. The study investigates the test-optional admissions trend and provides a "pre-post" quantitative analysis of test-optional policy effects on the…

During the last ten years, a group of selective universities in Chile has started admission programs to increase equity in higher education that consider the achievement of students in the context of educational opportunities they have had, thus reducing reliance on the national college entrance exam. This study explores persistence rates of…

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and the Character Collaborative worked together to develop a survey of secondary school counselors and college admission offices. Survey questions were designed to better understand the nature of any character development programs offered by secondary schools in the US, and to…

College and university admission testing requirements often serve as a barrier to many students seeking advanced degrees. Many graduate school admission boards/committees use the minimum testing requirement as a predictor variable to explain a student's chance for success in a program. Before the 2020 Fall semester, many graduate schools required…

During the last 10 years, a group of selective universities in Chile has started to implement admissions programs that consider the achievement of students in the context of the educational opportunities they have had, thus reducing reliance on the national college entrance exam. This study explores the program theories in a sample of these…

This brief describes major challenges ahead for states, institutions, and most importantly, students as the standards and assessments from the Common Core Standards (CCSS) are implemented. It also offers recommendations to create a network structure that would assist K-12 and higher education leaders in addressing those challenges. To begin the…

In June 2013, former Texas Governor Rick Perry signed into law House Bill (HB) 5, 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, which established a new high school graduation program--the Foundation High School Program--for students entering Grade 9 in 2014-15 and reduced the number of state assessments required for graduation. The legislation gave the…

Community colleges are an increasingly important component of the higher education systems in the United States. Community college as a pathway toward a better educated workforce has been emphasized at a national and state level. Virginia's policy makers set an ambitious goal of producing 100,000 new baccalaureate degrees in the Commonwealth by…

The objective of this study was to identify the different features of New Zealand's National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) that can affect student outcomes. Despite the huge public debate surrounding its implementation, very little research has been carried out on the features and effectiveness of the NCEA. By analysing the…

This book brings together the essential aspects of good graduate admissions policies, procedures, and practices. It is maintained at the outset that graduate administrators and faculty should take an active approach to admissions, stating their program goals and priorities and the means by which they plan to realize them. The booklet goes on to…

This report contains the final products of the Student Services Program Review Project (SSPRP), which was designed to develop evaluation models to measure the efficacy of the various student services programs provided by the California community colleges. The first sections of the report offer introductory information on the goals and activities…

A study examined the policies and practices that higher educational institutions in the United Kingdom have adopted towards experiential learning as a means of fulfilling entrance requirements. Included among the major activities of the project were a comparative analysis of United Kingdom and United States policies and practices with respect to…

This publication explores a general model for a comprehensive program comprising identification, recruitment, retention, and graduation of minority graduate students and includes examples of specific activities carried out by a variety of institutions in support of this model. The model and examples are based on a 1992 Council of Graduate Schools…

Information is offered, in question-and-answer format, on the design, objectives, standards, and procedures for the revised French second language program to be offered in Alberta's (Canada) high schools. The new program consists of 3 well-defined levels of competency: beginning, intermediate, and advanced. Learner expectations exist at each level…