Credit-based transition programs provide high school students with opportunities to jump start their college education. The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) offers college credit through dual-credit programs. While KCTCS dual-credit offerings have been successful in helping high school students start their college education…

While studies have shown the positive effect of the Advanced Placement (AP) program on college readiness, there are still barriers preventing minority and low socioeconomic status (SES) students who possess high academic potential from participating in the opportunity that AP courses offer. One tool that could help identify students for…

The high demand for scientists and engineers in the workforce means that there is a continuing need for more strategies to increase student completion in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. The challenge lies in finding and enacting effective strategies to increase students' completion of STEM degrees and in recruiting…

Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States, increasing almost six-fold from 1970 to 2014. Although Hispanics youth in the U.S. have traditionally had lower college attendance rates, some sources suggest a narrowing of the White-Hispanic postsecondary attendance gap over the last fifteen years. A key question is whether altering…

The Exploring Making Through Mobile Emergent Technologies (EMMET) program sought to disrupt the trajectory from rural high school to factory floor by introducing STEM and computational thinking (STEM+C) skills through mentorship training and hands-on activities involving creative production--often referred to as "making." The program…

An increasing number of institutions utilize social media tools, including student-written blogs, on their admission websites in an effort to enhance authenticity in their recruitment marketing materials. This study offers a framework for understanding what contributes to prospective college students' perceptions of social media authenticity…

Although a decade has passed since passage, few have noticed that section 9528 in No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates schools to assist military recruiting. This article focuses on administrators' responsibility to inform parents of their privacy rights and the struggle to manage recruiting in schools. I highlight two conclusions with policy…

The inaugural "Higher Education Research Digest" was released in 2017 (see ED581669) along with the "Enrollment Management Database," a tool assisting enrollment managers, admissions personnel, and other college administrators with student recruitment, enrollment, and success strategies. For this second edition of the…

This mixed-methods research study offers insights and explanations into gender imbalance in the college readiness program, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). Over 200 schools that have been implementing AVID for more than 4 years across the United States participated in this study. Three years of archived historical data pertaining…

Senior year of high school can be a pivotal time in a young person's life. For some, it is the last step on the path to college and work. For others, finding stable employment or attending university after high school is far from guaranteed. Urban Alliance, headquartered in Washington, DC, helps students at risk of becoming disconnected from work…

This "2015 E-Expectations Report" examines the current expectations of college-bound high school students as well as how their expectations have changed over the last decade. The 2015 E-Expectations study polled more than 3,000 high school juniors and seniors, with a 50 percent representation from each class level as well as a 50 percent…

Research shows that exposure to teachers of color has a positive impact on students of all races, and particularly on students of color. Despite these positive effects, only 4% of Pennsylvania's teachers are people of color. This percentage is not only one of the lowest in the nation, but it is also starkly disparate from Pennsylvania's own…

The Success Boston initiative was launched in 2008 specifically to improve Boston public high school graduates' access to and success in college, particularly for members of groups traditionally underrepresented in college degree attainment. Higher college graduation rates, in turn, are expected to increase students' access to employment in such…

For decades, New York City's high school graduation rates hovered at or below 50 percent. In attempt to turn around these disappointing results, the NYC Department of Education enacted a series of large-scale reforms, including opening hundreds of new "small schools of choice" (SSCs). Recent research by MDRC has shown that these schools…

More than 1 million U.S. high schoolers participate each year in dual enrollment, taking college courses that simultaneously fulfill high school graduation requirements and count toward a postsecondary degree or workforce credential. While most systems still have equity gaps in dual enrollment access, 20 percent do not. In "The Dual…