Some states are passing laws encouraging wider use of high school advanced placement courses and testing for college credit, with others offering less extensive support. Academic quality, competitiveness, and fiscal efficiency are objectives. Critics cite fairness questions and concerns about the appropriateness of skills tested by the equivalency…

The different roles that community colleges play in baccalaureate attainment are defined. Data is presented on 577 baccalaureate graduates who used credits earned at a community college toward their four-year degree. The findings support the contention that aggregate data masks community college contributions to baccalaureate education. Contains…

The experiences of California college and university students suggest that Hope credits and Lifetime Learning credits, federal tax credits designed to help working students and middle-class families afford college, are having a limited impact. Award calculation, income limits, tax liability policy, college costs, and financial aid all affect the…

Although rising student debt levels are frequently studied, very little attention has been paid to the lack of student financial literacy and its negative effects. The absence of financial management skills and accompanying low credit scores can increase debt, cause inadvertent defaults, and be harmful for both students and their institutions. For…

One indication that the lines between high schools and colleges are blurring is the growth in programs that permit students to earn college credit while still in high school. More than 250 educators and policymakers representing both the K-12 and higher education communities gathered on June 8-9, 2006 to discuss such "accelerated-learning…

Academic officers at U.S. colleges and universities face a number of important decisions regarding how credits and grades earned overseas as part of a study abroad program should be incorporated into students' home academic records. The purpose of this article is to take a closer look at the way grades are handled at home institutions and the way…

Right now every college and university in Kyrgyzstan faces the urgent question of whether to join the Bologna Process. Opinions in the republic are split down the middle: (1) some rectors categorically reject joining; and (2) others would like to convert to the credit technology of instruction and have already started to take active, practical…

A study was conducted on high school students, comparing those with some music credits to those with none. No statistically significant difference was found in their mean math grade point averages (GPA) or their mean cumulative GPAs. Students were then separated into two groups based on the number of music credits. Students who had earned at least…

This report tracks federal spending from 1960 to 2006 and uses current policy and some assumptions to project activity through 2017. The report looks at more than 100 major programs that aim to improve children's lives through income security, health care, social services, food and nutritional aid, housing, education, training, and tax credits and…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the associations between first-time full-time freshmen's attributes and fall-to-fall retention at Northeast State Technical Community College. The 15 attributes included age, first-generation student status, gender, high school classification, race, the student's application date to the institution…

Research suggests that investing in young children can help build a strong future workforce, improve children's educational success and health, and potentially reduce some of the social ills that drain the nation's resources and will. To have an informed conversation about future investments, it is important to start from an understanding of the…

America's higher education system is among the best in the world. Nevertheless, there is scope for improvement. In particular, there appear to be substantial financial barriers to higher education despite large government expenditures aimed at promoting access. Policy makers have proposed addressing these barriers by increasing student grants.…

In this report, the Commission on General Education in the 21st Century--a panel of University of California faculty and administrators--issues a call for renewed attention to general education in research universities, highlighting specific reforms for University of California campuses. In addition to analyzing the historical, institutional, and…

There currently are 32 states in the American Diploma Project (ADP) Network, each dedicated to developing and implementing a college and career readiness agenda. At the same time, all fifty states are implementing requirements of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006. The Perkins Act and the American Diploma…

The English as a Second Language (ESL) department is City College of San Francisco's (CCSF's) (California) largest department, offering both credit and non-credit classes and accounting for 3,993 credit students and 21,025 noncredit students in fall 1993. To gather data on Department success, a study was conducted to determine successful course…