A typical bachelor's degree within the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) requires 120 credit hours while a typical associate degree requires 60. If a student enrolls in 15 credit hours per semester, it would take them a total of eight semesters to complete 120 credit hours for a bachelor's degree and four semesters to complete 60 credit hours…

Data in this report reflect responses from 86 four-year private institutions that collectively enroll approximately 261,189 undergraduate students (according to data reported to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)). Respondents participated in the Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) national electronic poll of "Effective…

Objective: Policymakers in many states are endeavoring to increase graduation rates among older community college students. However, we know little about how the factors that influence college completion among older students differ from their younger peers. We aim to identify features of institutional contexts in which adult community college…

Despite evidence that informational interventions can influence K-12 school choices, we know little about the mechanisms through which they work and the factors that produce heterogeneity in student responses. Through a school-level randomized controlled trial conducted in 473 New York City middle schools serving 115,000 eighth graders, we…

This qualitative case study uses comparative case study methodology with discourse analysis to compare Arizona and New Jersey regulations, policies, procedures, and practices influencing high school graduation rates for Hispanic and Native American youth. National and state reports (NCES, 2019) indicated a gap between high school graduation rates…

Specialized learning institutions (SLIs) feature organizational cultures, learning environments, and Postgraduation expectations that typically differ from traditional 4-year universities. For students pursuing foreign language (FL) study within an SLI, coursework is frequently accompanied by a range of nonacademic tasks that are required for…

This paper examines the impact of a reform aimed at expediting graduation times in Italian universities by reducing the number of exams students must pass to obtain a fixed number of credits. Using event-study estimates that leverage the reform's staggered implementation, we find that this policy change led to an increase in on-time graduation…

Simulations were conducted to establish best practice in hyperparameter optimization and accounting for clustering in Generalized Linear Mixed-Effects Model Trees (GLMM trees). Using data-driven best practices, the relationship between a 9th Grade On-Track to Graduate (9G-OTG) indicator and observed high school graduation within four years was…

Competency-based education (CBE) is a learner-centric framework that emphasizes what students "know and can show" more than how much time they spend in the classroom. CBE advocates claim that by allowing students to take as little or as much time as they need to demonstrate their mastery of course competencies, students develop higher…

Texas higher education institutions serve some of the most diverse student populations in U.S. institutions. However, graduation rates remain among the lowest in the United States, particularly for underrepresented minority students. Diverse faculty members who act as mentors have the potential to increase underrepresented minority students'…

Dialogue, listening, and compromise are essential elements of living in a democracy. In a highly partisan time, is it possible to reestablish common ground when it comes to how best to educate our children in and for democracy? Authors Brendan Sheran, Ashley Carey, Jack Schneider, Rebecca Woodland, and Kathryn McDermott, who are affiliated with…

In this study we employed regression analysis and between-group matched pair design to analyze whether participation in a competency-based education pilot was associated with improved high school completion and postsecondary entry. Data were obtained for high schools participating in a CBE pilot program in Illinois. Results of the matched pair…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine the moderating effects of economic advantage and race/ethnicity on graduation rates during COVID-19. Data collected from the Tennessee Department of Education's Graduation Cohort Rates was examined for a numerical relationship between the variable of race/ethnicity with…

For more than twenty-five years, public charter schools have served Ohio families and communities by providing quality educational options beyond the local school district. But it's no secret that we've also had a long-standing debate over whether increasing school choice impacts students who remain in traditional districts. In important--and…

The study compared the Outcome Measures (OM) to the traditional Graduation Rates (GR) to ascertain if OM portrayed the performance of higher education institutions differently than GR and to determine which of the two metrics aligned better with accountability policy objectives. GR refers to the percentages of first-time, full-time students who…