The Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (subsequently renamed the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, or TOPS) was created by ACT 1375 of the 1997 Regular Legislative Session. The first college freshman class to receive TOPS awards entered postsecondary education in the fall of 1998. ACT 1202 of the 2001 Regular Legislative Session…

The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning serves as the governing board overseeing the eight public universities in Mississippi, including the University of Mississippi Medical Center located in Jackson. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is the accrediting body for each of the public universities in Mississippi.…

This is a new report that combines the previous Annual Accountability Report and University Work Plans into a single document more closely aligned with the Board of Governors' 2025 System Strategic Plan. This revised document will enhance the System's commitment to accountability and strategic planning by enabling comparisons between past goals…

The lack of equitable educational outcomes for students of color continues to be a glaring problem for community colleges. Community colleges are challenged to find solutions to address long-standing achievement gaps. One institutional response has been to implement high impact practices (HIPs) as a means to improve persistence, retention, and…

Research for Action has studied statewide Promise programs since 2017, with in-depth analysis in four states--Delaware, Nevada, Oregon, and Tennessee. Our research in these states includes an extensive review of legislative and policy documents; 146 interviews with policymakers, institutional leaders, and high school staff; site visits to 8…

The Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) is beginning its tenth year rewarding students who strive to excel in high school and continue their education in degree and certificate programs in Alaska. This report covers the high school, postsecondary, Alaska residency, and workforce outcomes of the APS program between 2011-Fall 2019. [For…

The Community College Academic and Student Support Ecosystems (CCASSE) project examines how academic and student support services at not-for-profit associate-degree granting colleges are organized, funded, and staffed, and how these services can most effectively advance student success. In spring 2019, Ithaka S+R surveyed 249 chief academic and…

This is the second of a series of reports on trends in national community college enrollments. National community college enrollments continue to decrease, with variations at the state and local levels. The report also examines completion rates published by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) based on institutional level reporting, and those…

The historical focus of community college administrators has been student access. Recently, the focus has expanded to include completion as calls for accountability increase and college officials realize that the opportunities they provide go largely unrealized unless students earn credentials. In 2010, Goldrick-Rab demonstrated that the major…

Underrepresented students have been identified as being less likely to attain a college degree than their majority counterparts. Service-learning (SL) offers students an opportunity to engage in community work and improve skills that might contribute to their educational success in college. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of SL…

This paper analyses admission decisions when students from different high school tracks apply for admission to university programmes. I derive a criterion that is optimal in the sense that it maximizes the graduation rates of the university programmes. The paper contains an empirical analysis that documents the relevance of theory and illustrates…

Student absenteeism at higher education institutions (HEIs) is a cause for concern as it has implications for students' academic performance and therefore graduation rates. Graduation rates to some extent influence funding to which universities are entitled. This study aimed to establish the contextual factors that influenced student absenteeism…

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) collects institution-level data from postsecondary institutions in the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia) and other U.S. jurisdictions (see appendix A for a list of other U.S. jurisdictions). This "First Look" presents findings from the preliminary data of the…

This study examines how student pre-college participation in extracurricular activities and volunteer and community services varies by demographic and academic variables, and how their experience participating in these activities affects first-year college engagement and learning outcomes. The analysis focuses on students at the University of…

The Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), developed by the City University of New York (CUNY), is an uncommonly comprehensive and long-term program designed to address low graduation rates among community college students. MDRC has been studying the effects of ASAP on low-income students with developmental (remedial) education needs at…