Background/Context: Research on the postsecondary education of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) students has typically focused on attainment within four-year colleges and neglected the experiences of API students in community colleges. However, many API students pursuing postsecondary education, particularly Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander…

Descriptive evidence shows that English learners (ELs) have lower high school graduation and 4-year-college attendance rates than monolingual and fluent English users. Applying the regression discontinuity design to rich administrative data from a large district in California, this study identifies the first causal effects of initial EL…

Motivated by assessment of externally awarded grants and internal programmatic practices, we used transcript and demographic data for students entering a highly selective residential liberal arts college between 2002-2015 to answer institutional-level questions about course taking patterns and pathways relevant to Science, Technology, Engineering,…

The CUNY Research Scholars Program (CRSP) provides a yearlong faculty-mentored research experience to associate's degree students. The program takes place at all 10 associate's degree-granting colleges within the City University of New York system. We report on a mixed-methods study of 500 students who participated in the program during its…

Increasing transfer success of community college students has the potential to improve preparedness of America's workforce. Yet little is known about the types of institutions to which students transfer from community colleges. This is the executive summary of the report, "Persistence: The Success of Students Who Transfer From Community…

Public higher education produces many benefits that are vital to the New England economy, but it is increasingly at risk following years of state budget cuts. In 2017 in New England, real per-student state funding for higher education was lower than it was in 2008, with a double-digit decline in each of the region's states except Maine. States…

Higher education today faces a host of challenges, from quality to cost. But too little attention gets paid to a startling fact: four out of ten students -- that's more than ten percent of the entire population -- who start college drop out. The situation is particularly dire for black and Latino students, those from poor families, and those who…

The notion that the U.S. has a growing skills gap -- the difference between what employers need to fill in-demand positions and the skill of the current workforce -- is a hot topic among policymakers. By 2020, 65 percent of jobs will require postsecondary education and training beyond high school, according to the Georgetown University Center on…

In this current climate of financial uncertainty and multiple options, student retention is crucial to the well-being of an academic institution. This study explored the role of student integration in the college community of traditional undergraduate institutions by finding a connection between student affairs programs, student social…

Nevada was one of the 10 states selected to participate in New Skills for Youth (NSFY). NSFY, launched by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2016, is a $75 million, five-year initiative, aimed at strengthening and expanding high-quality career pathways for youth. As part of this initiative, the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and…

Although significant gains have been made in recent years with regard to increasing access to higher education for African Americans, with 38.4% of Black 18 to 24 year-olds enrolled in college as of 2016 compared to just 25.4% in 1990, completion rates have not kept pace. The national six-year graduation rate for Black students at four-year…

Enrolling in and completing college can be especially challenging for first generation in college (FGC) students. The purpose of the present quantitative study was to investigate the demographic and academic characteristics of FGC students and non-FGC students in Alabama. The study also included identifying the factors that mediate FGC students'…

In an effort to reduce the STEM gender gap, policymakers often propose providing women with close mentoring by female scientists. This is based on the idea that female scientists might act as role models and counteract negative gender stereotypes that are pervasive in science fields. However, as of yet, there is still no clear evidence on the role…

Sharing longitudinal student record data and merging data from different sources is critical to addressing important questions being asked of higher education. The Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering Longitudinal Development (MIDFIELD) is a multi-institution, longitudinal, student record level dataset that is used to answer…

The New Mexico graduation rate has lagged behind the national graduation rate in recent years. In 2015 the graduation rate was 69 percent in New Mexico and 83 percent nationwide (New Mexico Public Education Department, 2016; U.S. Department of Education, 2017). Of particular interest to education leaders in New Mexico are differences in graduation…