As one of the country's biggest and most diverse institutions of higher education, Miami Dade College (MDC) has also grown into a leader among urban community colleges operating in very similar conditions. Here, MDC President Eduardo J. Padrón summarizes the extra measures behind a graduation rate that is among the highest for this sector of the…

The completion agenda is in full force at the nation's community colleges. To maximize the impact colleges can have on improving completion, colleges must organize around using student progress and outcome data to monitor and track their efforts. Unfortunately, colleges are struggling to identify relevant data and to mobilize staff to review…

This study extends Trow's theory of higher education development to examine changes in national-level tertiary education graduation rates. Applying Trow's framework we arrive at three stages: (1) elite systems with gross tertiary graduation rates less than 15%, (2) massified systems with gross tertiary graduation rates between 15% and 50%, and (3)…

As with many higher education institutions, Fresno State struggles with graduation rates. The overall six-year graduation rate for first-time, full-time freshmen hovers around 50 percent. The graduation gap between the two largest ethnic groups, White (55.6) and Hispanic (43.5), was 12.1 percentage points in 2012. This article reports on the…

Adult undergraduate students constitute 40% of the total undergraduates studying in the United States. However, male undergraduates and male undergraduates over the age of 25 are less likely to enroll in and complete a bachelor's degree than their female counterparts. Given the detrimental employment impacts of not earning a bachelor's…

The Student Transitions Project (STP) conducted a study of 12,508 students who entered bachelor's degree programs in B.C.'s public post-secondary institutions in Fall 2005. The education activities and outcomes of these students were followed over a period of 19 terms, or just over six years, ending in Fall 2011. This longitudinal research study…

Within a local school district, the dropout rate among African American males is among the highest in the United States. There is ample research on these dropout rates among African American males; however, what remains understudied are the experiences of young African American males who have successfully negotiated 4 years of high school to…

For millions of Americans, community colleges provide an essential pathway to well-paying jobs and continuing higher education. The Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence honors those institutions that strive for and achieve exceptional levels of success for all students, while they are in college and after they graduate. Community colleges…

A common argument against raising math course-taking requirements for all students is that it will cause more students to drop out of high school. But most students who drop out for academic reasons do so not because they are being "too challenged," but rather because they are not being challenged enough. It is important to raise the rigor and…

No student who hopes to compete in today's rapidly evolving global economy and job market can afford to graduate from high school with weak mathematical skills, which include the ability to use logic, reason, and solve problems. The benefits associated with improving the math performance of American students also extend to the larger U.S. economy.…

Surveys play a prominent role in assessment and institutional research, and the NSSE College Student Report is one of the most popular surveys of enrolled undergraduates. Recent studies have raised questions about the validity of the NSSE survey. Although these studies have themselves been criticized, documenting the validity of an instrument…

A profile-oriented retention strategy embraces the admission process as a powerful lever in improving retention and completion rates and recognizes that the student profile can be shaped by changes in admission policies or priorities--even within the current market position of the institution. In addition, the student body can be oriented toward…

With the decline in state and federal support for higher education continuing to plague colleges and universities across the U.S., many institutions are looking to increase the levels of support annually received from alumni and other constituencies. Research on alumni relations in American colleges and universities has historically focused on…

As educators and service providers in urban schools encourage student college going at higher rates than ever, policy and practice on school improvement discourses would benefit from incorporating students' perspectives underlying family-based, "college-going dilemmas" that frame their college preparation. This qualitative article…

Increasingly, student success in college is gauged by retention and graduation rates. Understanding the factors that influence student success can assist practitioners in terms of programming and institutional investments. This study evaluated factors such as residential living, attendance programs, demographic attributes, average class size, and…