Student experience and belonging is a primary driver of postsecondary learning, persistence, and completion. This paper provides strategies that can help policymakers and leaders at all levels to cultivate positive student experiences and foster students' sense of belonging, leading to strong academic performance, retention, and good mental…

The National Rural Education Association's (NREA) "2016-2021 10 Research Priorities" include college enrollment and preparation as well as experiences and persistence patterns for rural populations. Recent years witnessed increases in educational research, practice, and policy, around rural college students, yet these efforts focus…

The California Community Colleges (CCC) launched Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) after the passage of SB164 (1969). Colleges leverage their EOPS funding to offer academic, career, and personal counseling; financial resources; and services "over and above" traditional campus supports. This latest research builds on the…

Single Stop U.S.A.'s Community College Initiative was designed to improve the well-being of low-income communities by connecting individuals to public benefits and other institutional and community resources to address nonacademic barriers to college completion. Through offices located on community college campuses, Single Stop provides students…

TransferBOOST (Bachelor's Opportunity Options that are Straightforward and Transparent) is a multi-year state-level initiative developed to provide students with affordable, quality, well-supported two- to four-year pathways. On average, 43 percent of credits are lost nationwide through the transfer process. Recognizing that today's students…

TransferBOOST (Bachelor's Opportunity Options that are Straightforward and Transparent) is a multi-year state-level initiative developed to provide students with affordable, quality, well-supported two- to four-year pathways. For every 100 students who enroll in community colleges, 31 students transfer to a four-year institution. Of those, only 15…

The purpose of this implementation report is to help community college leaders, foundations, and public education policymakers understand the impact that nudges have on student success, especially for students from populations that typically have low rates of college completion. The promising results of the NTSS [Nudging to STEM Success]…

As higher educational learning enters a new age, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are seeking innovative ways to establish strategies to compete with other academic institutions. As establishments that have played a pivotal role in transforming the landscape of higher education, HBCUs are facing rapid transformation and various…

Pathways to Postsecondary Opportunities are the range of options created across education institutions, training providers, and community-­based organizations so that each and every young person can access the necessary and personally relevant credentials, skills, and training beyond the completion of a secondary credential that will propel…

Community colleges enroll almost half of the undergraduates in the United States and provide students the option to earn a degree at a lower cost and offer more flexible class schedules than four-year colleges. However, among first-time, full-time degree-seeking students entering public two-year schools, only about 20 percent graduate with a…

This report shares findings from a three-year longitudinal study of three Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)--one of the newest minority serving institution (MSI) designations--and provides evidence for the impact of federally-funded campus programs on persistence, degree attainment, and transfer…

A college credential is essential for individuals seeking to earn family-supporting wages. However, over 90 million Americans face considerable barriers in obtaining the basic academic skills necessary to enroll in college-level courses. Research, combined with the challenges experienced daily by those in the workforce development field, has led…

The "2019 Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report" is the fourteenth annual report designed to provide the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving three major goals for Nebraska's postsecondary education system: (1) Increase the number of students who enter postsecondary…

This year's "Tennessee Higher Education Fact Book" consists of five sections and an appendix of additional resources and terminology. The five main sections of the report include: (1) Student Participation, Fall 2020; (2) Student Success, Academic Year 2019-20; (3) Academic and Fiscal Trends, Academic Year 2019-20; (4) Quality Assurance…

In January 2010, the General Assembly passed the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), a comprehensive reform agenda seeking to transform public higher education through changes in academic, fiscal, and administrative policies at the state and institutional levels. While the higher education landscape has been shaped by the CCTA, it is also…