Student swirl is a complex enrollment pattern that includes multiple (three or more) transfers and interruptions in college enrollment, which lengthens time to degree. Higher education scholars and practitioners began noticing and writing about this increased mobility in the 1990's. This phenomenon continues to confound degree attainment,…

This chapter aims to extend conversations around educational equity by emphasizing the role of community college contexts as a mediator between policy reform and student experience. Narratives of Tennessee (TN) Reconnect Grant recipients indicate that community college contexts related to advising and student support services and enrollment,…

For more than 25 years, thousands of colleges and universities have used the Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys to assess their students, strengthen the student experience, increase student success and completion, and prioritize campus planning initiatives. The surveys are valued so highly because they reveal where…

For more than 25 years, thousands of colleges and universities have used the Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys to assess their students, strengthen the student experience, increase student success and completion, and prioritize campus planning initiatives. The surveys are valued so highly because they reveal where…

Transition programs have emerged as a support for adult learners seeking college education. Adult learners' perspectives are missing in the literature on transition programs. To better support adult learners in transition programs, it is essential to understand their experiences and perspectives. Using Schlossberg's Transition Theory (Anderson,…

This study focused on what persistent factors contribute to adults with learning disabilities sustaining enrollment in college. The number of students who enter higher education programs with learning disabilities continues to increase (Eckes & Ochoa, 2005; Madaus & Shaw, 2006; Newman, Wagner, Cameto, & Knokey, 2009). This study…

This brief summarizes findings from implementation, impact, and cost-benefit evaluations of Accelerating Opportunity (AO). AO is a career pathways initiative launched in 2011 that aims to help adults with low basic skills earn valued occupational credentials, obtain well-paying jobs, and sustain rewarding careers. AO was one of the first efforts…

This report shares the perspectives and aspirations of 17 low-income and working-class students based on interviews the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) conducted over two semesters of their college journeys. The report identifies opportunities for policymakers and institutional leaders to support all students through completion,…

Higher education has seen significant changes in the student experience in the past 10 years. For the past decade, everything from student attitudes about college to the technology they use every day has impacted their satisfaction with, and perception of, the college experience. This report is a comparison of student satisfaction, separated by 10…

This qualitative study was undertaken in order to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of adult students and how they made meaning of their journey. To that end, through in-depth interviews with twenty participants, the study inquired into the journeys to an associate's degree of adult students who were also active duty military service…

The Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys are the national standard for benchmarking student satisfaction in higher education. Since 1994, more than 2,900 colleges and universities have used the surveys to evaluate students' concerns that influence student success, college completion, student recruitment, strategic planning,…

For more than two decades, the national standard for benchmarking student satisfaction in higher education has been the Ruffalo Noel Levitz Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys. Since their beginning in 1994, these benchmark surveys have been used by more than 2,900 U.S. colleges and universities to evaluate students' concerns that correspond with…