A concerning reality in higher education is the persistent disparity in retention and graduation rates between students of color and White students. These persistent outcome differences are commonly referred to as opportunity or achievement gaps. To address these gaps, higher education institutions are enacting targeted approaches to mitigate or…

Observers of education often assume measuring non-continuation -- or, more colloquially, "drop-out" rates -- among students must be straightforward. In fact, there are numerous different ways to measure the phenomenon of non-continuation that make it challenging to discuss. This paper addresses the following questions regarding…

The Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) is New York's primary aid program, accounting for 80 percent of state financial aid awards to students attending public, private non-profit, and for-profit higher education institutions in the state. TAP is available to students attending two-year or four-year degree granting programs as well as students…

Whether studying physical sciences, social sciences, engineering, mathematics, humanities, or education, approximately one in every two doctoral students fail to persist to degree completion (Bowen & Rudenstine, 1992; Lovitts, 2001; Tinto, 2012). A quantitative comparative study focused on two populations; students currently enrolled in the…

This study sought to examine if students' self-perceptions of learning skills and abilities predict timely graduation at an elite university. The study investigated potential differences or disparities in specific student groups (i.e. underrepresented students, sex) with regard to these perceptions and assessed how these perceptions were related…

Timely degree completion, particularly in the community college system, is dismal. As of February 2018, 25.4% of community college students graduate within three years nationwide (AACC, 2018). A group of students consistently completing post-secondary education at low rates are traditional-age college men (NSCRC, 2017), which are men under the age…

While some stakeholders presume that studying abroad distracts students from efficient pursuit of their programs of study, others regard education abroad as a high impact practice that fosters student engagement and hence college completion. The Consortium for Analysis of Student Success through International Education (CASSIE), compiled…

Participation in accelerated learning programs (defined in this study as Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment, and International Baccalaureate) continues to expand across the US. As such, it is important to better our understanding of the relationship among these three programs concerning measures of student postsecondary achievement. Prior…

Many studies have found a greater risk of dropping out among students from modest social origins compared to those from families characterized by high levels of education. This paper investigates social differences in student completion rates in short professional programmed, such as nursing, social work, early childhood and primary school teacher…

Short term study abroad use by community colleges has been on the rise. This study looks at the effectiveness of short term study abroad programs at a community college. The study examines the use of these programs in promoting student retention, completion, and growth in intercultural competence. By looking at student retention and completion…

Though online course offerings have expanded to meet the needs of student access in the context of funding constraints, research has shown worse student outcomes in online classes, with significant inequities by race and ethnicity. Consequently, the proliferation of online course offerings could have vast implications for equity in the California…

College students need both a rigorous liberal arts core curriculum and a faster track to graduation that would saddle them with less debt. This brief report discusses the concept of a three-year undergraduate degree in which requirements are shortened from 120 credit hours to 90 credit hours, and students complete 27 credit hours of core…

Recently new types of scholarships have emerged known as promise scholarships. A promise scholarship aims to increase collegiate attainment by promising financial aid to eligible students. Promise scholarships differ from traditional scholarships in that promise scholarships are non-competitive and not necessarily needs based. Typical eligibility…

This study examined whether first-time full-time freshman students' sense of purpose predicted their progress towards a degree. Freshman students (N = 421, 62.2% females) completed self-report measures of sense of purpose and academic commitments within the first month of starting college; a year later, the data on first-year progress towards a…

Delays in meeting math requirements can impede the progress among community college students who aspire to earn a baccalaureate degree. To investigate this issue, we used state administrative data from Texas to examine the prevalence and predictors of math course repetition and how math course repetition predicts transfer students' outcomes. More…