In this study we employed regression analysis and between-group matched pair design to analyze whether participation in a competency-based education pilot was associated with improved high school completion and postsecondary entry. Data were obtained for high schools participating in a CBE pilot program in Illinois. Results of the matched pair…

Increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in higher education can play a critical role in transforming lives and is the trajectory to closing the gap and reducing disadvantage. Despite recent progress, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples remain significantly under-represented in higher education. Poor retention and…

Nationwide, many students who enroll in community college programs fail to persist in postsecondary education or complete a credential. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) Two-Year Occupational Grant Pilot Program (the Occupational Grant) was a financial aid program designed to increase persistence and completion rates through…

Certain student populations including youth formerly in foster care, first-generation college students, those with mental illness and substance abuse issues, and racial and ethnic minority students, face persistent challenges to their pursuit of college education, contributing to low graduation rates compared to their peers. This article details…

Basic needs insecurity -- including housing and food insecurity, as well as lack of access to healthcare, childcare, transportation, and other basic needs -- is a critical barrier that can undermine persistence and completion rates for postsecondary students. The gaps in covering critical costs such as housing and food are pervasive among students…

The accreditation process and the federal role in shaping it are clearly of critical importance for ensuring all students have access to quality postsecondary options. And yet, due to the complexity of the relationship among the federal government, accreditors, and institutions, and the opacity of the accreditation process itself, there is little…

Educators, policymakers, and institutions have worked for decades to increase rates of college graduation, but about half of students who enter college drop out without completing a bachelor's degree. Although the rate of student attrition is higher in the United States than in any other industrialized nation, about 30% of U.S. students will drop…

Roughly defined as grades four through eight, the middle grades are a known pressure point in the educational pipeline -- a make or break period for determining future academic success. Research has shown that students who are not proficient in reading by the beginning of fourth grade are four times more likely to drop out of school. Similarly,…

This report presents findings from Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's (WICHE) "Multistate Longitudinal Data Exchange Pilot" ("MLDE" or "Exchange"), which includes an array of analyses of the combined dataset covering 192,689 students from the four states (Hawai'i, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) that…

There continues to be increasing focus on college student retention and persistence. This focus is coming from the United States federal government, accrediting organizations, and from students, parents, and the public. Given the spiraling costs of education and the fact that retention rates have not improved over time, various stakeholders are…

This report focuses on one of the State University of New York's (SUNY's) applied learning initiatives that includes work-based activities, e.g., co-ops, internships, work study, and clinical placement (SUNY Works). With funds from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, SUNY asked the Rockefeller Institute of Government to examine applied…

Four years ago, the University of Maryland (UM) Board of Regents responded to the national crisis in the college experience--the high incidence of student failure and dropout, the cost of a college degree, and the number of years it was taking to earn one--by contracting with Dr. Carol A. Twigg, president of the National Center for Academic…

Retention and graduation rates for engineering disciplines are significantly lower than desired, and research literature offers many possible causes. Engineering learning communities provide the opportunity to study relationships among specific causes and to develop and evaluate activities designed to lessen their impact. This paper details an…

The WICHE Interstate Passport Initiative, launched in October 2011, is a pilot project that addresses interstate student transfer. When students transfer from one postsecondary institution to another--both within and out of state--they may be required to repeat courses, which can add to the time and cost of completing their education. Although…

One-fourth of all ninth graders in the United States will not graduate from high school within four years, despite the fact that the 21st Century workplace requires more advanced knowledge and skills than ever before. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive strategy to keep teens in school and ensure that they graduate prepared for the future,…