This report examines undergraduate persistence and time to degree at public universities in Illinois, focusing on the year-to-year persistence of cohorts of freshmen students admitted to 10 universities between 1983 and 1993. It also examines the public university graduating class of 1993-94 and describes the factors influencing time to degree. It…

The completion rate and median time to degree of three doctoral cohorts at the University of Manitoba were analyzed by gender and by field of study and the results were compared to studies elsewhere. To evaluate factors affecting students' progress, a mail questionnaire was sent in the fall of 1993 to all students (N=105) first admitted to the…

This newsletter presents articles on: preparing, recruiting, and retaining the best teachers; the RAND project designed to examine the need for high quality programs that impact classroom practice (focusing on mathematics and reading); accountability reform (whether accountability policies improve student achievement); organizational and…

This study investigated the relationship between several components of teacher burnout and various professional factors. Professional factors included professional qualifications, teaching level, professional growth, professional commitment, and role efficacy. Components of teacher burnout included development of negative attitudes toward students…

This study examines within-year persistence of undergraduate white and African American college students, focusing on how this information can be used to inform initiatives on retention. Data was collected from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study of 1996; the sample included 1,482 African American and 11,292 white four-year undergraduate…

This document consists of all 26 issues of Volume 9 of "The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education," a biweekly journal that addresses issues in higher education for Hispanic Americans. Each issue contains several feature articles, a policy update column called "Outlook on Washington," a description of an exemplary program, and a…

In fall 2000, all 3,506 superintendents in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin received a survey that asked them to report on the strategies they had implemented to attract and retain teachers and on how effective those strategies had been. The survey was designed to collect basic information about a variety of…

This first section of this report profiles the first five Alternative Routes to Certification (ARTC) cohorts (1997-98 through 2001-02), including patterns of district and school participation and characteristics of all 164 candidates enrolled by district during the first 5 years. It addresses the question of who participates in ARTC. The second…

The constant state of "simply making it through the day" for many beginning teachers affects their physical and mental well-being, and impacts their decision to stay in the field of education. Given the seriousness of teacher burnout, it behooves school systems to provide an induction experience for beginning teachers that will contribute to their…

This book surveys the Career in Teaching (CIT) initiative launched in Rochester, New York, looking at its impact on the district since 1987. CIT incorporates support for new teachers, provides opportunities for highly accomplished teachers to share their skills, and offers peer review and assistance to teachers experiencing problems in their…

Utah is experiencing chronic, critical, special-educator shortages in all positions and disability areas, including speech and language pathologists and school psychologists. The Utah Attrition Study found that the most common reason for special education professionals leaving positions was "moving out of state," followed by personal…

This document reports on outcomes of online courses offered at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC), California, during the three semesters from fall 2000 to fall 2001. The study combines a comparative and exploratory design to investigate the demographic makeup and academic success of online students compared to peer on campus classes and the campus…

This digest presents information about the Los Angeles Community Colleges and their students using tables, charts, and narrative text that emphasize trends and changes during the past twenty years. Statistical highlights include: (1) in 1998, Los Angeles Community College enrollment declined by 45 students overall (East and Valley had the highest…

This working paper is a staff paper prepared to elicit discussion of issues as they relate to degree completion and persistence in Indiana's public postsecondary education. This is based on a requirement from the Indiana General Assembly for the Commission of Higher Education to "develop a definition for and report biennially on" degree…

This document reports on student outcomes in developmental English and mathematics courses at Germanna Community College (Virginia) for the academic period 1994-2000. The study addressed four main issues: (1) the proportion of students enrolled in developmental math and English courses; (2) the success rate for students in developmental courses;…