The purpose of this study was to understand how resources in the community impact rural single mothers' access, participation, and success in higher education. In particular, this study focused on how rural single mothers' community ties impact their social capital resources and perception of agency and achievement in pursuing higher education.…

The Maine Community College System is providing the letter presented in this report in accordance with 20-A MRSA §10013. This law requires the Maine Community College System, University of Maine System (UMS), and Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) provide the following information about first-generation college students by January 15th of each year: (1)…

Kansas ranks 10th in the nation on an average of 15 indicators of student success, but has been improving much slower than most states. Since 2008, total funding per pupil in Kansas has increased less than half as much as the U.S. average, and less than one-quarter as much as the top achieving states. "There is growing evidence that as Kansas…

In the class of 2013, a record number of students earned bachelor's degrees in physics: 7,363. This is more than double the number of students doing so only 14 years earlier. Over the same time period, the total number of bachelor's degrees awarded in all disciplines was up also, but only by about 40%. The graph shows the number of…

A Capital Commitment is the five-year strategic plan that sets ambitious targets for the future of DC Public Schools (DCPS) Since the launch of this plan in School Year 2012-13, students across the city are doing better than ever in reading and math, more students are graduating on time, students are enjoying school, and enrollment has reached a…

In 1960, over 60 % of bachelor degrees were awarded to men. However, the rate of women's college completion has steadily risen and, by 2004, women received nearly 60 % of bachelor degrees. Drawing on the theoretical contributions of James Coleman, this paper examines the ability of social capital to explain observed differences in college…

To address conceptual and methodological shortcomings in the extant literature on student mobility, this study employs event history modeling to describe and explain how state policy levers, specifically state grant aid, relates to mobility and baccalaureate degree completion. We find that state grant aid reduces mobility, but less so than…

This work stems from the need to develop a line of institutional policy recommendations to improve school performance and to reduce the backlog in the graduation of students in the Cuajimalpa Unit of the Metropolitan Autonomous University. The school backlog of students of this university is one of the main institutional concerns, due to the…

This article is a comparative study of community colleges and global counterparts at 41 institutions in 25 countries. Policies from each country link completion of a college program to career entry and to advancement opportunities. National and institutional policies are being defined, benchmark data is being collected on goals in the process, and…

The purpose of this document is to recommend data visualization practices that will help education agencies communicate data meaning in visual formats that are accessible, accurate, and actionable for a wide range of education stakeholders. Although this resource is designed for staff in education agencies, many of the visualization principles…

With the advent of data systems that allow for frequent or even real-time student data updates, and recognition that high school students often can move from being on-track to graduation to off-track in a matter of weeks, indicator analysis alone may not provide a complete picture to guide school leaders' actions. The authors of this paper suggest…

Background: Despite recent national data describing reductions in dropout and increasing graduation rates, the number of students who persist through four years of high school without earning a diploma has remained steady. Although reduced dropout is a promising trend, persisting but not graduating may not be meaningfully different from dropout in…

An alternative high school campus in the State of Georgia introduced a new program to support academic growth and engagement among at-risk students. This program, the APEX program, merges technology with content to provide students with self-paced learning facilitated by teachers with the objective of improving test scores, course completion, and…

This study analyses trends in co-operative education (co-op) participation for graduates with a college certificate or diploma or a university bachelor's degree from 1986 to 2010 in Canada, based on data from the National Graduates Survey (NGS). Changes in co-op participation rates over time are examined, along with differences by field of study.…

The Washington State Legislature established the Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM) Pilot Program in the 2015-2017 capital budget (Chapter 3, Laws of 2015, 3rd Sp. Session, Section 5026) and provided $12,500,000 for this pilot grant program. Grants awarded under this program constitute the districts' local funding for purposes of…