This paper provides a brief overview of the status of retention and completion efforts among community colleges in the United States. This article identifies a number of successful strategies utilized in on-ground institutions that may translate well to online programs. In light of these successes, the article questions whether the costly current…

The State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP), WV GRADUATION 20/20 was implemented during the 2015-2016 academic school year beginning with 69 schools in 36 counties, representing 59% of West Virginia's high schools. During the 2016-2017 academic year the number of high schools grew to 72 and the cohort included 20 middle schools bringing the total…

The State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP), WV GRADUATION 20/20, was implemented during the 2015-2016 academic school year beginning with sixty-nine (69) schools in thirty-six (36) counties representing fifty-nine (59) percent of West Virginia's high schools. During the 2016-2017 academic year the number of high schools has grew to seventy-two…

The State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP), WV GRADUATION 20/20, was implemented during the 2015-2016 academic school year beginning with sixty-nine (69) schools in thirty-six (36) counties representing fifty-nine (59) percent of West Virginia's high schools. During the 2016-2017 academic year the number of high schools has grew to seventy-two…

In 2005, the graduation rate for the Council Bluffs Community School District was, at 68 percent, the lowest in Iowa. District leaders knew that to improve, they needed to create a cultural change throughout the community. They began by getting community members involved in creating a strategic plan and mission statement that included a guarantee…

Church-related small private liberal arts baccalaureate minority-serving institutions like Wesley College have modest endowments, are heavily tuition-dependent, and have large numbers of financially-challenged students. In order to sustain the level of academic excellence and to continue to build student demographic diversity in its accessible…

There have been limited qualitative case studies exploring effective strategies designed to improve graduation rates in rural school districts. Specifically, few studies have presented information based solely upon the voices of practitioners themselves in solving the graduation crisis in America's public schools. This study will add to the…

This study examined Missouri's A+ Schools Program and its impact on school improvement. Effective schools research combined with the mission learning for all provided a conceptual foundation for guiding research development. A mixed-method design allowing a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data was applied using telephone interviews…

In order to support a new knowledge-based economy, President Obama has determined that more of the nation's population will need a college degree. While much of the research on two-year colleges has focused on public community colleges, there are a number of private, independent two-year colleges whose graduates will also contribute to a…

Kansas City (Missouri) Public Schools is at a crossroads. The district has struggled for decades with poor academic achievement, dwindling enrollment and budget, and short-term superintendents--27 in the past 40 years. Most recently, after a two-year stint during which he helped the district get its financial house in order, closing nearly half of…

In the first wave of funding under a revitalized high school graduation initiative, the U.S. Department of Education is betting nearly $50 million that it can help states and school districts find better ways to hang onto students who might drop out and bring back those who have disappeared without diplomas. Twenty-nine states and districts won…

Given growing interest in accountability and outcomes, the North Central Association's Higher Learning Commission developed a new path for accreditation, the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP). The goal is to infuse continuous improvement and quality in the culture of higher education, and to blend traditional accreditation with the…

When Valencia College became the first recipient of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence last month, an unsung sector earned uncommon recognition. Now that the speeches are over and the prize money has been awarded, the Aspen Institute is sharing early lessons from its yearlong effort to determine the top community college in the…

The nation is in an era of policy reform aimed at improving the productivity and effectiveness of higher education. Major philanthropies and policy groups have converged around variations of the ambitious college completion goals announced by President Obama at the beginning of his administration. But at the same time, many state governments,…

As leading measures of student success and institutional quality, persistence and graduation rates are intensely debated at education conferences, institutional meetings and legislative sessions (Adelman, 1999; American Association of State Colleges and Universities [AASCU], 2002; Gold & Albert, 2006; Perna & Thomas, 2006; Tinto &…