Using detailed administrative data from Virginia, this paper examines how and why the community college pathway to a baccalaureate influences students' degree attainment and short-term labor market performance. We find that the community college pathway sharply reduces the likelihood of earning a bachelor's degree but does not have a significant…

Federal education policy in recent years has encouraged state and local education agencies to embrace data use and analysis in decision-making, ranging from policy development and implementation to performance evaluation. The capacity of these agencies to make effective and methodologically sound use of collected data for these purposes remains an…

This document reports results of two applications of an alternative cost model to two-year college education programs. Purpose of the study was to identify nonoperational costs (costs other than instruction) that are not usually found in financial reports. Current educational cost practices report costs by jurisdictional units; the way costs are…

This study aimed to describe, compare, and analyze the use of specific types of data utilized in decision-making by administrators of more and less effective community colleges. The study utilized a modified version of Kim Cameron's "Assessment of Organizational Effectiveness on Higher Education" to measure and rank community college…

This document consists of tables and figures detailing the status of and projections for public and private institutions of higher education in the state of Washington. Following a brief introduction, Chapter 1 identifies highlights of the report, including: entrance eligibility for public institutions; Washington state higher education enrollment…