The problem of a prepared workforce is perennial. Part of the challenge is one of supply and demand, as education systems attempt to produce graduates with the technical competencies required for the current jobs available. In the new service- and knowledge-based economy, however, soft skills are cited as a greater need by today's employers.…

This study explored the impact of the English Advanced Placement (AP) program on college success among rural Appalachian students attending four private colleges in central and eastern Kentucky: Alice Lloyd College, Georgetown College, Lindsey Wilson College, and University of the Cumberlands. A Pearson Product-Moment Correlation r and an…

The Early College High School (ECHS) initiative developed in response to calls to significantly decrease the number of first-generation college and underserved students of color and from poverty who are high school dropouts or marginally graduates (i.e., ill prepared for college). The ECHS model is different from other educational reforms in that…

The present research was a two-year longitudinal study on the effects of a six-day, optional, pre-semester, freshman orientation program on academic credits earned, GPA and college retention. Regression analyses were used to remove the variance associated with other possible predictors of academic success (gender, age, race, developmental need,…