Following Brown v. Board of Education, schools known as "segregation academies" that were created for the purpose of allowing White students to be educated without contact with Black students proliferated in the southern United States. While the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited such segregation, these schools remained in existence for…

This report provides an annual update on performance metrics for the Maricopa County Community Colleges District (MCCCD), including progress toward MCCCD Governing Board Outcomes. Three key areas are analyzed to determine student and organizational performance as follows: (1) Leading Indicators of Student Success; (2) Completion Outcomes; and (3)…

Background/Context: Underprepared students at community colleges are often assigned to a sequence of developmental education courses that can substantially delay, or even halt, their progress to degree completion. In 2014, Florida implemented a comprehensive reform under Senate Bill (SB) 1720 that allowed the majority of incoming students to…

Most children in the U.S. spend time in some form of early childhood education (ECE) program prior to entering kindergarten. In fact, children spend an average of 25 hours per week in nonparental care, including center-based care and informal family, friend and neighbor care. Children develop a foundation for learning during these early years, so…

Two-year colleges have served as vital stepping-stones for students seeking to earn a bachelor's degree. To achieve that goal, these students must complete their current program's requirements and then matriculate at a four-year college--a process known as "vertical transfer." This is commonly extolled as a cost-saving strategy, but it…

Student debt balances are ballooning, posing a serious threat to the financial security of millions of borrowers across the country. In the last 15 years, total outstanding student debt has grown six-fold and now hovers at over $1.5 trillion. Student debt has significant short- and long-term impacts on individuals, their communities, and the…

The British Columbia Council on Admissions & Transfer (BCCAT) commissioned Plaid Consulting to conduct a study focused on Academic Dual Credit (ADC) in British Columbia post-secondary institutions (PSIs). This study follows up on a 2017 BCCAT study on dual credit programs "Dual Credit Programs: Exploring Dual Credit Student Transition and…

The quality of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) is an important topic to be addressed by different stakeholders: higher education institutions, MOOC providers, education companies, educational providers. National and international agencies are or will be deeply involved in preparing or attending common guidelines in order to fulfill quality of…

These technical appendixes accompany the study, "Getting to Graduation on Time at California State University." The study uses a combination of campus-wide and student-level data from the California State University (CSU) system to examine the relationship between course-taking and on-time graduation. The first appendix provides…

Increasing 4-year graduation rates among US students, particularly those historically disadvantaged in higher education, is a national imperative. The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of the multifaceted Research Aligned Mentorship Program in advancing the academic success of low income, first generation college, and minority students…

The growth of the public discourse on college completion and student debt has pushed policymakers and institutional leaders to implement a variety of policies aimed at incentivizing student completion. This article examines state-adopted excess credit hour (ECH) policies on student completion and median debt outcomes. Using a quasi-experimental…

This study examines the efficacy of a scholarship program designed to assist single parent, post-freshmen, full time undergraduate students and predictors of success among a sample of said students, where success is defined as progress toward completion, academic achievement, and degree completion. Results of fixed effects regression and…

The present study examines the outcomes of a 5-week summer bridge writing program at a Midwestern, urban, public university designed to provide remedial instruction for incoming first-year college students, approximately 500 students annually for 7 years. Regression results showed that program participation was a positive, significant predictor on…

Many students who enter a community college expect to transfer and earn a bachelor's degree, yet many are unable to do so largely because of inefficiencies in the transfer of earned credits. Prior research has shown that students who leave community college with an associate degree are more likely to complete bachelor's degrees. However, this has…

In an educational environment that has limited resources, and greater pressures for increased academic standards, what is the best option to help prepare high school students for college academics? This research study: "A Mixed Method Study of the Impact of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Dual Enrollment Courses on…