This report examines the length of time it takes Maryland students to earn a baccalaureate at a public college in the state, the factors that might delay degree progress, and alternative strategies for reducing time-to-degree. Among new full-time freshmen at Maryland's public four-year campuses since 1980, most took longer than 4 years to earn a…

This report presents tables and narrative that detail enrollment and persistence trends in postsecondary education participation of nontraditional students. The report uses data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Studies of 1986-87, 1989-90, and 1992-93; and from the second followup of the 1989-90 Beginning Postsecondary Students…

This paper was developed for the Illinois State Board of Education as part of a year long project to address the issue of personnel shortages in special education. Recommendations from a number of state committees and professional organizations were analyzed and additional input obtained from various professionals in regular and special education.…

The University 101 course seeks to create an attitude among freshmen that helps them appreciate the value of higher education, to point the way to university resources that will allow them to develop to their fullest potential, and thereby to cause more of them to survive the freshman year. This study of first-term freshmen at Tennessee…

These state profiles provide brief descriptions of the target population, services, and participants of state-administered adult education programs that are supported in part by funds authorized under the Adult Education Act, as amended. Profiles based on information taken from 1990 census data and from information included in the 1991 annual…

A study examined progression opportunities for adult learners in Scotland. The study focused on progression opportunities that encourage the following: (1) participation in the education system by traditionally underrepresented groups, (2) sideways movement within the education system, and (3) upward movement within the system. The two-phase study…

This report provides background and linkages necessary to bring state-level experiences of reporting graduation rate statistics to bear in implementing the Student Right-to-Know Act particularly regarding the reporting of student persistence and graduation rates at institutions of higher education. Section I provides: (1) an overview of the extent…

This paper reports on a longitudinal study of the structural effects of grade retention on dropout rate and percent of graduates qualified. The study drew on computer simulation to explore the effects of retention and how this practice affects dropout rate, the percent of graduates who meet required standards, and enrollment itself. The computer…

This study examined graduation and attrition patterns of undergraduates who were enrolled in the fall semester but who did not return for the spring semester at a doctoral granting, metropolitan university. A total of 504 of the 1,262 students who enrolled in the fall 1992 semester but who did not return for the spring 1993 semester completed a…

This book, based on a discussion at an interactive videoconference, examines student diversity issues and retention strategies in the context of the Sallie Mae National Retention Project that addressed state expectations for more accountability and federal reporting requirements on graduation and retention. The eight chapters focus on equity as it…

This dissertation examines factors associated with the successful recruitment and retention of black teachers. A literature review and a pilot study were used to identify 10 factors salient to teacher recruitment and retention. Those 10 factors were incorporated into a survey administered to 116 black first-year teachers and 116 white first-year…

This study examined the background characteristics and previous inter-institutional movements of a sample of multiple-transfers enrolled at a large, urban, public university. The study evaluated a random sample of 424 students from a population of 906 undergraduate students who transferred to the university in Fall 1989 and who had previously…

The Taunton, Massachusetts, Literacy Corps (TLC) is a small adult literacy education program run by a part-time director using volunteer tutors. The program has always been hampered by a shortage of funds. There are often long waiting lists for persons needing tutors because funds are inadequate to recruit, train, and manage the number of…

"Professional commitment" has been defined as "one's attitude toward one's profession or vocation." This study developed and tested a model to predict the development of professional commitment in students by examining the qualities of the college experience that may lead to that commitment. Factors such as background and…

Using agency theory, this paper analyzes schools, particularly career schools, in the Stafford Loan Program for student incentive to graduate and pay off their loans. Agency theory focuses on the roles of information and incentives when a principal and an agent cooperate with respect to the utilization of resources. The analysis examines the…