This report, part of the Challenge to Lead education goals series, documents graduation rate performance in SREB states. It looks at recent graduation rate increases and the narrowing gap between the regional and national rates. Nearly all SREB states have shown increases -- many leading the national rate of growth. The report shows how black and…

Mentoring has oftentimes been touted as critical to the academic success of underrepresented students defined as first-generation college students and/or students of color. Several studies on traditional mentor programs have reported success increasing the retention and graduation rates among underrepresented students (Haring, 1997; Jacobi, 1991;…

An important new book on improving the stagnant graduation rates of the nation's public colleges and universities suggests that one reason so many academically talented students leave college without a diploma may be that they enroll in schools for which they are overqualified. Authors William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos, and Michael S. McPherson…

In the 1960s, in the midst of Vietnam War protests and the emergence of the Black power movement, students John Garland and James Renick worked as campus advocates to change the environment and curricula at Central State University. Today, Garland, president of Central State, and his college friend Renick, who began serving as senior adviser to…

This article provides a course overview of English 304 & Communications 250: Professional Rhetorics. This course was a pilot project instituted at Clemson University in spring of 2008. The project integrally linked English 304 (Business Writing) and Communications 250 (Public Speaking), requiring the same students to be enrolled in both 3…

Creating a meaningful high school diploma will expose students to the full range of adult options which will enable them to shape their high school education in a way that connects to their current interests and stimulates the growth of new ones. Fully connecting all students to these four worlds of knowledge will equip them to build one…

Believing that accountability could be a vehicle for change, the California Department of Education (CDE) requires all high school students to pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) in order to graduate. In doing so, California joins many others states in mandating a high school exit exam as a current or future requirement for…

Using data from the five waves of the "Italian Longitudinal Household Survey," this paper examines the dynamics of Italian higher education in the twentieth century. The main goals are to study changes in participation in higher education (enrolment, transition, and graduation rates), in performance (drop out and delayed graduation…

In classrooms across the country, when students hear the bell ring at 3 p.m., it signals the end of the school day and, for many, the start of an afternoon without supervision, without productive activities and without direction. Afterschool and summer learning programs are filling the invaluable role of providing essential services--such as a…

REL Pacific at McREL, 1 of 10 Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), serves educators in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap), Guam, Hawai'i, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic…

The United States has become more ethnically diverse, and this trend is projected to continue. Despite an increase in minority group enrollment on campus in the United States during the last decade, their rates of degree completion are not keeping pace (NCES, 2007). The question that remains to be answered is: What factors are unique to minority…

College readiness is becoming an increasingly important standard by which to measure school success and student achievement. While high school graduation and dropout prevention remain critical issues for educators, there is a substantial gap in outcomes between students who only earn a high school diploma and those who go on to obtain a college…

In New Haven, stakeholders looking to enhance the city's economic development, attract more residents, reduce crime and incarceration, and improve residents' quality of life embarked on a new scholarship program that seeks to build a college-going culture for local students and the community as an avenue to achieve these goals. Recognizing that…

The Advisory Committee was created by Congress in the "Higher Education Amendments of 1986" to be an independent and nonpartisan source of knowledge, advice, and counsel to Congress and the Secretary of Education on federal, state, and institutional postsecondary student assistance. One of the most important analytical directives in the…

This document addresses the status of equality in access to higher education. Some of the motivating factors behind this presentation include: (1) College completion rates including rates of bachelor's degree completion are falling today, particularly among young Americans; (2) Reversing the current trend and increasing college completion has…