In recent years, colleges and universities have witnessed an increase in the number of adult learners entering higher education (Hardin, 2008; Osgood-Treston, 2001). The growth in adult students attending college encourages institutions to better understand the specific needs of the adult learner population. While adult learners may enter higher…

Recently released U.S. Department of Education data have revealed new insights into the college outcomes of low-income students. The new data offer some positive news--but they also present warning signs about just how poorly some sectors of higher education are serving students who receive the Pell Grant, the main federal grant offered to…

MDRC's Scaling Up Community College Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) aims to increase graduation rates for low-income students and students of color by partnering with states and colleges to implement large-scale, financially sustainable support programs based on strong evidence. SUCCESS combines components that have been proven to help…

Federal financial aid was established under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Since then, changes to the act have increased funding and expanded eligibility for students accessing federal financial aid. While the distribution of federal financial aid has expanded over the last 60 years, untapped financial resources remain every year because…

The Current Term Enrollment Estimates Report Series is published every December and May by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. It provides national enrollment estimates by institutional sector, enrollment intensity, age group, gender, major field as well as state-level enrollment estimates. In this edition, the average age for…

This snapshot goes beyond traditional measures of postsecondary attainment by tracking the fall 2010 entering cohort over time, and showing persistence, stop-out, and completion rates at the end of each subsequent academic year. The model tracks outcomes for both full-time and part-time starters, and takes spring and summer terms into account.…

This study examined factors that may affect the retention of first-time, full-time college freshmen to sophomore year. Institutions in the Appalachian College Association (ACA) were invited to participate, and nine of the 35 member schools provided data. The research questions were (1) Is there a relationship between retention for students'…

The "Yearly Success and Progress Rates" report goes beyond traditional student outcome measures by showing year-by-year rates of retention, persistence, transfer, completion and stop-out. This report is designed to help institutions and states better identify and inform effective intervention points to increase student success. It…

The Australian vocational education and training (VET) system provides training across a wide range of subject areas and is delivered through a variety of training institutions and enterprises (including to apprentices and trainees). The system provides training for students of all ages and backgrounds. Students may study individual subjects or…

This paper examines the graduation rates between 2000 and 2015 of United States colleges and universities at the national, state, and institutional levels. This research focuses on two-year and four-year programs. Rates are investigated longitudinally along with variables that distinguish between public/private institutions, percentages of…

The North Dakota University System (NDUS) "2017-2018 Annual Enrollment Report" is an effort to report system wide, duplicated and unduplicated student headcount by combining degree credit and non-degree credit enrollments across the eleven NDUS institutions for an entire academic year. In addition to credit types, this report also…

The Appropriation Act directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to make a report annually to the governor and the chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees on the annual change in total charges for tuition and fees approved by the boards of visitors at Virginia public institutions of higher education…

The State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report is produced annually by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) to broaden understanding of the context and consequences of multiple public policy decisions in each state. These decisions contribute to public higher education funding levels and funding distributions across…

Currently, a school of nursing in the Northeastern United States is using the Test for Essential Academic Skills (TEAS) examination to help determine which applicants to accept into their nursing programs. To date, there are no statistically significant data to correlate the use of this exam with the selection of applicants who successfully enter…

Currently, the same criteria are being used for admissions into nursing programs in one school of nursing in the Northeastern United States. To date there are no statistically significant data to correlate these criteria with successfully entering the nursing profession. Due to the nursing shortage, limited number of seats available in nursing…