2009-10 Indicators Report - This new SREB report provides the first interstate comparisons on the much needed indicators that facilitate the achievement of state's college completion goals. (Southern Regional Education Board, December 2010)...

Connecting the Dots: Multi-Faceted Analyses of the Relationships between Student Engagement Results from the NSSE, and the Institutional Practices and Conditions That Foster - The purpose of this report is to determine the relationships between student engagement and selected measures of success in college for students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds attending different types of four-year colleges and universities. The report's findings include: (1) engagement has positive, modest effects on grades and persistence for students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, even after controlling for key pre-college variables; and (2) engagement has compensatory effects on first-year grades and persistence to the second year of college at the same institution for historically underserved students. The authors argue that most institutions can foster greater levels of student engagement and success by more consistently using what this and other research shows are promising policies and effective educational practices. (George D. Kuh, Jillian Kinzie, Ty Cruce, Rick Shoup and Robert M. Gonyea, Center for Postsecondary Research, August 2006) ...

The Postsecondary Educational Experiences of High School Career and Technical Education Concentrators: Selected Results From the NELS:88/2000 Postsecondary Education Transcr - Students’ coursetaking during high school plays a critical role in their ability to transition to postsecondary education and pursue a range of postsecondary majors and degree options. Less understood are the associations between high school courses that prepare students for the world of work, now commonly referred to as career and technical education (CTE) courses, and students’ postsecondary educational experiences. The purpose of this publication is twofold: (1) it presents data on the postsecondary educational experiences of students from the high school class of 1992 who concentrated in CTE while in high school, including information on their postsecondary enrollment, coursetaking, and degree attainment; and (2) it demonstrates the richness and unique potential of the dataset analyzed, the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, one of only two data collections – and the most recent – to have gathered both high school and postsecondary transcripts from a nationally representative sample of students. (Jennifer Laird, Xianglei Chen, Karen Levesque and Jeffrey Owings, National Center for Education Statistics, July 2006) ...

Engaging Students, Challenging the Odds - This survey provides community colleges data about students’ experiences at their colleges so they can better understand how effectively they are engaging their students and identify areas for improvement. This 2005 report reflects responses from 133,281 students from 257 colleges in 38 states, and includes results of the first administration of the community college faculty survey of student engagement, which provides insights into faculty perceptions and practices. (Community College Survey of Student Engagement, 2005) ...

The Road Less Traveled? Students Who Enroll in Multiple Institutions - Fifty-nine percent of students who earned a bachelor's degree during the 1999-2000 school year attended more than one college, a trend that is expected to continue. According to the authors, complications with credit transfer or differing course requirements, as well as gaps between enrollment from one institution to the next, elongate the amount of time it takes these students to complete a four-year degree. Demographic data and an explanation of the reasons why students switch colleges or universities also are included. (Katharin Peter, Emily Forrest Cataldi and C. Dennis Carroll, National Center for Education Statistics, May 2005)...

College Persistence on the Rise? Changes in 5-Year Degree Completion and Postsecondary Persistence Rates between 1994 and 2000 - This study from the National Center for Education Statistics examines student persistence rates during the 1990s by comparing two student cohorts -- those who enrolled during the 1989-90 school year and those who enrolled six years later in 1995-96. The report finds that between 1989 and 1995, undergraduate enrollment at colleges and universities rose by nearly 1 million students and that not only did more of those students remain enrolled in college after five years, they were also more racially and ethnically diverse than the previous cohort. Numerous tables and data points supplement the narrative for those who wish to investigate the issue further. (Laura Horn, Rachael Berger and C. Dennis Carroll, National Center for Education Statistics, 2004)...

Principal Indicators of Student Academic Histories in Postsecondary Education 1972-2000 - This report provides a comprehensive account of the postsecondary academic experience and attainment of traditional-age students during the period 1972-2000, with an emphasis on the period 1992-2000. The report draws on three grade-cohort longitudinal studies that were designed and carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics. Issues covered in the report include geographic mobility, postsecondary access and degree of participation, postsecondary attainment (degrees, credits, time-to-degree), attendance patterns, majors, curriculum clusters, grades and remediation. (U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, January 2004)...

College Completion: Additional Efforts Could Help Education with Its Completion Goals - Increasingly, states are beginning to hold colleges accountable for retaining and graduating their students. This report from the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) examines the extent to which four-year college students complete a degree, the factors that affect college completion, and what states and four-year institutions are doing to foster bachelor’s degree completion. The study finds that more than half of all students who enrolled in a four-year college completed a bachelor’s degree within six years. It also finds that students from disadvantaged backgrounds were no less likely to complete a degree than other students, though these same students were less likely to attend college in the first place. (GAO, May 2003)...

The Road to Equality: Report on Transfer for the Ford Foundation - This report examines the current status of transfer and articulation policies and practices across the nation, including an in-depth analysis of policies in California, Florida, Michigan, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington. It provides recommendations to create and improve statewide policies, looks at the role of community colleges in baccalaureate education, analyzes the opportunities students have to pursue postsecondary education, and examines the issues of financial aid, remediation and access for minority and underprivileged students. The report is not available online but can be ordered by writing to the Ford Foundation, 320 E. 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017, or by calling 212.573.5000 (Julie Yearsley Hungar and Janet Lieberman, The Ford Foundation, 2001) ...

Answers in the Toolbox: Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor’s Degree Attainment - What factors determine if a student graduates from college? What is the role of high school preparation, college selectivity and remediation? The answers to these questions and more can be found in this comprehensive study on college-degree attainment. There is invaluable information for policymakers and parents alike. (Clifford Adelman, U.S. Department of Education, 1999)...