Dollar Works 2 is a comprehensive personal financial education program to help individuals and families strengthen their skills, better manage their personal finances, and make sound decisions about money. This article chronicles the evolution of a curriculum to enhance and modify materials to improve learning and meet the needs of multiple…

The authors examined the effects of randomized and delayed credit on the percentage of college students participating at four pre-defined levels on each class discussion day: non-participation, credit-level participation, frequent participation, and dominant participation. Although the same amount of participation credit was available to students…

The study reviewed in this paper used data from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88) to examine the effects of dual enrollment programs for high school students on college degree attainment. The study further reported on whether the impacts of dual enrollment were different for first generation college students. Dual enrollment…

For more than 20 years school choice programs have provided parents opportunities to send their children to public or private schools more suited to their needs. Choice and competition in education benefits students. Today, 21 states and Washington, D.C., have school choice programs serving more than one million students. Impressively, nine out of…

This current paper uses data collected as part of an efficacy trial funded by a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) National Center for Education Research (NCER) (See Symposium Justification and Paper #1 for a more complete description of the focus of the broader study). Since participation in the study was voluntary, students…

The Committee for Economic Development (CED) is pleased to present these research findings regarding ways to reform student financial aid. In 2012, CED released "Boosting Postsecondary Education Performance"--calling on business to become active advocates at the state level for broad-access institutions that are so vital to the nation's…

This paper provides information about noncredit instruction in the California Community Colleges and updates the 2009 paper "Noncredit Instruction: Opportunity and Challenge" to incorporate subsequent changes from the last decade. Since the passage of SB 361 (Scott, 2006), noncredit instruction has seen significant changes, including the…

This report includes findings regarding demographic characteristics and academic outcomes of DELTA students; highlights emerging topics from the student, teacher, and staff surveys; and provides recommendations for future program implementation.

Sheena Jackson, a high school student in Tampa, Florida, is part of a growing trend of young people who choose to go to community colleges with residential facilities as a bridge between living at home and getting an apartment or going to a four-year college. For some, community college is their first choice, and the two-year program fits their…

There is a scarcity of information identifying whether course credit value is a reasonable assessment of university student engagement in online courses. Defining the student hour in an online environment is particularly challenging and can impact student and faculty workloads. Watson's behavioralistic theory grounded the assessments in this…

Despite the importance of effective linkages between credit and noncredit divisions, significant barriers interfere with and detract from these units working well together. Community college leaders are challenged to manage these multiple and sometimes competing organizational identities in a complex and rapidly-changing educational landscape.…

Objective: This article reports on the impact of the Individual Development Account (IDA) program on credit. Method: Using a convenience sample of IDA participants (N = 165), data were analyzed using paired sample "t" tests, independent sample "t" test, one-way analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney "U" Tests, and…

Western Oklahoma State College's name comes up whenever athletes get themselves in a jam: They've failed a class. They've dropped another. Maybe they're just short on credits. But they still want to play. Western Oklahoma gives them a chance, offering three credits in two weeks--and for less than $400. Almost as appealing: The community college…

As the recent economic crisis has demonstrated, inequality often spans credit and labor markets, supporting a system of cumulative disadvantage. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this research draws on stigma, cumulative disadvantage and status characteristics theories to examine whether credit and labor markets intersect…

As the United States' economy continues to experience challenges, more families at or near the poverty level fall prey to predatory financial practices. Their vulnerability to these operations is increased by a lack of knowledge of asset-building resources and alternative financial services. This article focuses on Volunteer Income Tax Assistance…