This issue of "Policy Briefs" briefly examines the major sources of student financial aid and the relationships among grants, persistence, and degree attainment. Aid comes from federal and state governments and from institutions in the forms of grants, loans, and work-study. The positive effects of financial aid on persistence have been reported…

The study compares the degree completion and persistence rates between two cohorts?students who first enrolled in postsecondary education in academic year 1989?90 and their counterparts who first enrolled in 1995?96. The analysis focuses on the rates at which students in each cohort completed a degree within 5 years or were still enrolled at the…

This hearing, which occurred at New Mexico Technical Vocational Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico, heard from state and local officials about what was working and not working in education. Included are statements on dropout prevention by Congressional representatives and by the Deputy Director of the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families…

Based on evidence from a survey of 816 completers and noncompleters of doctoral degree programs and on interviews with noncompleters, high- and low-Ph.D. productive faculty, and directors of graduate study, this book locates the root cause of attrition in doctoral study and the cultural organization of graduate education. The chapters are: (1)…

This study was based on the premise that college students who perceive themselves to matter to their institutions will be more involved and inclined to persist in their educational experiences than those who perceive themselves to be marginalized. The study pursued the question of possible relationships among student perceptions of mattering,…

This collection of essays is designed for the faculty member and others who care about the retention and success of students of color in gateway courses in Sociology. The book examines assumptions about diversity and teaching and learning and provides strategies for enacting learning environments that are more inclusive and conducive to the…

This collection of essays is designed for the faculty member and others who care about the retention and success of students of color in gateway courses in English. The book examines assumptions about diversity and teaching and learning, and provides strategies for enacting learning environments that are more inclusive and conducive to the success…

To what extent are predictor variables associated with teaching and learning in graduate school related to graduate students academic self-efficacy, or their perseverance to achieve course goals? Graduate students (n=145) at a southern university completed a short form of the Student Assessment of Teaching and Learning (original developed by C.…

The third component of our three-part series focuses on students who attained a bachelor's degree and what it took to get there. We used multiple regression analysis to determine the factors that seemed to matter on the pathway to the BA. The appendix of this report provides methodological details to this analysis. (Contains 2 footnotes and 7…

The concept of "Response to Intervention ' is finding its way into schools with a significant push from the federal government and with a particular emphasis on reducing inappropriate diagnoses for special education. This issue of the quarterly newsletter of the Center for Mental Health in Schools includes the following features and regular…

Nearly half of all new teachers leave the job within five years. What is killing their spirit? How can they be convinced to stay? This article attempts to answer such questions in presenting one person's account of why she left the teaching profession. Statistical data relating to teacher employment and turnover; reasons for leaving among…

This document discusses the transfer rates of students who entered Virginia's community colleges in the fall of 1995, using the methodology developed by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges. Numerous tables in the document include individual college rates with breakdowns by race/ethnicity and gender. College-specific transfer rates are…

A recent evaluation has concluded that the Doctoral Scholar's Program of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) has more than lived up to its promise in encouraging minority students to enroll in graduate school and in supporting them with "more than a check and a handshake." In its 7-year history, the Doctoral Scholars Program has…

This review of the literature examined a number of specific factors as they relate to the persistence and achievement of persons involved in distance learning. These factors are: (1) media of instruction; (2) instructor contact; (3) locus of control; and (4) certain demographic characteristics such as age, gender, income, and educational level. In…

The Retention Issues Subcommittee of the Task Force on Enhancing Access for African American Males of the University System of Georgia (USG) was charged with the identification of barriers to the successful retention of African American males within the USG and finding successful programs aimed at addressing these problems. A number of barriers…