"Check & Connect" aims to help students stay in school by continually monitoring school performance and providing individualized attention through mentoring, case management, and other supports. In 2006, the WWC published a systematic review of all the studies that examined the impact of "Check & Connect" on high school…

Colleges and universities across the country are seeing their bond ratings drop and their budgets shrink. Employers complain that college graduates are not prepared for the workplace, and many students find themselves saddled with considerable debt and no job to show for it. These are trying times for parents, for students, and for institutions.…

The USHE Data Book is a compilation of reports on the Utah System of Higher Education and its eight component institutions. Some form of this book has been published each year since the creation of the Utah State Board of Regents and the Utah System of Higher Education in 1969. The book is intended to allow the Governor's Office, Legislators and…

This report summarizes the fourteenth survey of states by the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) at the University of Minnesota. Results are presented for the 50 regular states and eight of the 11 unique states. The purpose of this report is to provide a snapshot of the new initiatives, trends, accomplishments, and emerging issues…

The idea behind guided pathways is straightforward. College students are more likely to complete a degree in a timely fashion if they choose a program and develop an academic plan early on, have a clear road map of the courses they need to take to complete a credential, and receive guidance and support to help them stay on plan. However, most…

This Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) 2015 monitoring report presents governing board outcomes and metrics. The following sections are included: (1) 2020 Completion Agenda Goal; (2) Outcome 1: University Transfer Education and General Education; (3) Outcome 2: Workforce and Economic Development; (4) Outcome 3: Developmental…

This report focuses on one of the State University of New York's (SUNY's) applied learning initiatives that includes work-based activities, e.g., co-ops, internships, work study, and clinical placement (SUNY Works). With funds from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, SUNY asked the Rockefeller Institute of Government to examine applied…

This year's KIDS COUNT report delves into disparities in child well-being based on race and ethnicity in an effort to shine a light on issues where Colorado can and must do better at creating equitable opportunities for children. The disparities seen in many areas of child well-being did not just happen by coincidence; nor are they the result of…

Educational opportunities and outcomes for California's Latino students have improved over the last half century. Even so, Latino students continue to face barriers in opportunity that make it harder for them to achieve college, career, and future success. The goal of this report is to describe what Latino students currently experience in…

This report provides the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving "three key priorities" for Nebraska's postsecondary education system: (1) Increase the number of students who enter postsecondary education in Nebraska; (2) Increase the percentage of students who enroll and…

An increase of over 100% in program expenditures for the Pell Grant program over a five year period of time, from $14.7 billion in the 2007-08 award year to $33.4 billion in the 2011-12 award year, places an otherwise popular program under scrutiny. This article considers the factors and options informing federal policy related to the Pell Grant…

There continues to be increasing focus on college student retention and persistence. This focus is coming from the United States federal government, accrediting organizations, and from students, parents, and the public. Given the spiraling costs of education and the fact that retention rates have not improved over time, various stakeholders are…

Nationwide, almost a third of 1st-year college students do not return to begin their sophomore year, and the 5-year graduation rate for undergraduates is only around 40%. It is important for universities to implement interventions, such as freshman transition courses, to help new students adjust to college life and succeed, and it is critical that…

Prominence has been given to science and technology (S&T) education of women in recent years. This is because they constitute a critical mass of non-harnessed potentials in the country that if given the opportunity, would contribute to national development. Thus the objective of this work was to study the enrollment, graduation and staffing…

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in high school completion rates among White, African American, and Hispanic students enrolled in different school sizes--small, medium, and large. For this causal-comparative research design, this study utilized archival data from the Texas Education Association's Academic Excellence…