Between 1970 and 2001, women went from being the minority to the majority of the U.S. undergraduate population, increasing their representation from 42 percent to 56 percent of undergraduates (Freeman 2004). Projections to 2013 indicate that women's undergraduate enrollment will increase to 8.9 million or 57 percent of the undergraduate population…

The current year, 2004, marks a monumental year in higher education for students of color. This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, which declared racial segregation in public education settings unconsitutional. Despite the gains that have been made in increasing access to higher education for…

A study was conducted to assess the impact of a career-planning course in terms of time taken to graduate, graduation rate, credit hours taken, number of course withdrawals, and cumulative GPAs. Student course participants (N = 544) were compared to a matched sample of non-course participants (N = 544) after 5 years. Results showed that the 2…

Using an ex post facto analysis of outcomes data, this paper tracks the academic performances of developmental and non-developmental students and examines the effects that developmental courses have on subsequent academic progress leading up to graduation. Three-year data on developmental students and graduates were analyzed to discern the…

Many states (18 of 39) use revenue generated by lotteries to help fund higher education. The revenue is generated as a regressive tax disproportionately collected. As such, do state lotteries contribute toward facilitation of equal access to higher education for low-income and minority citizens? Given population trends, college enrollment, and…

Over the past decade, state legislatures have experienced increasing pressure to hold higher education accountable for student learning. This pressure stems from several sources, such as increasing costs and decreasing graduation rates. To explore the feasibility of one approach to measuring student learning that emphasizes program improvement, we…

This article reports on efforts to investigate and improve retention and graduation rates at a New Zealand polytechnic. A literature review and Tinto's Longitudinal Model of Institutional Departure provided the theoretical underpinning for the work. A case study methodology was used, whereby a member of the institute's Academic Quality Unit worked…

Dropout statistics for 1986 indicated that only 55% of dropouts under age 20 were employed, only 31% of male dropouts and one in seven female dropouts were working full-time, and although dropouts were fewer than 20% of the adult population, they constituted 66% of the national prison population. Since that time, the economic costs of dropping out…

This study investigated attrition and degree completion behavior of first-generation college students. Based on the findings, first-generation students were at the highest risk of departure during the second year, followed by the first year. These students were also 51% less likely to graduate within 4 years than students with college-educated…

The changing composition of Nevada's population in the next twenty years will have many ramifications for NSHE (Nevada System of Higher Education) institutions, particularly in terms of the recruitment and retention of minority students and faculty. According to the Nevada State Demographer, minority groups in Nevada will continue to grow at a…

This 2009 Annual Joint Report of the State Board of Education and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission identifies four joint priorities and nine associated goals addressing areas of need in both student learning and educator development for the advancement of education in Tennessee. The joint priorities and initiatives focus on points of…

Attaining a post-secondary credential has become increasingly important for securing opportunities to get high-return jobs in the United States in the 21st century. Students from low-income families are underrepresented at every milestone in the educational pipeline, limiting their ability to attain post-secondary credentials and break the…

The SREB-State Data Exchange is a cooperative effort of SREB and the statewide higher education governing and coordinating boards in the South. Founded in 1969-1970, it is one of the nation's oldest, most comprehensive sources of comparative data on public higher education. The Data Exchange annually collects, compiles and publishes the most…

A new report published by the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions is a minor variant on six similar reports published by the Friedman Foundation over the past three years. The new report repeats some of the errors in the previous reports, and it follows a parallel structure, arguing that the costs of dropping out are dramatic for the…

This report provides evidence that the first semester in community college is a pivotal point in students' academic careers. Students whose first academic experience in college is positive and successful are more likely to remain in school, and to sustain their aspiration to transfer to a four-year college. Those whose first experiences are less…