In 2007-2008, approximately 42% of community college students who were eligible to receive Pell grant funding did not file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Using data from the Beginning Postsecondary Student Study, this study examined the relationship between FAFSA filing status and persistence from the fall to spring…

American community colleges have become important in the pursuit of a four-year degree. The state of Missouri established an Associates of Arts degree and the 42-hour general education block option to assist students with transfer and degree completion in the shortest time possible (Coordinating Board for Higher Education, 2000). If articulation…

After being assessed, many students entering community colleges are referred to one or more levels of developmental education. While the need to assist students with weak academic skills is well known, little research has examined student progression through multiple levels of developmental education and into entry-level college courses. The…

It is widely acknowledged that many postsecondary students no longer follow a traditional path from college entry to degree at a single institution. Increasingly more students attend multiple institutions, transferring once, twice, or even three times before earning a degree. Standard institution-based reporting tends to ignore these students,…

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…

Concerns have been raised in the Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) doctoral education literature regarding: (a) the narrowness of research preparation, (b) the emphasis on disciplinary silos, (c) the lack of competitiveness and innovation within and beyond academia, and (d) the role of graduate assistants. These concerns mirror those in…

This paper presents data on the vocational education and training (VET) in Denmark. VET plays a key role in the Danish strategy for lifelong learning and meeting the challenges of globalisation and technological change. The Danish education and training system comprises a mainstream system providing qualifications at all levels, from compulsory…

College completion, earning a degree or certificate, is considered to be a key college success outcome, supported by every educational policymaker. Yet, institutions and policymakers in the U.S. know surprisingly little about the rates of completion for students who follow all but the most traditional of postsecondary pathways. This is because…

Low- and middle-income students at public, two-year institutions too often do not apply for college financial aid (Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, 2008; Kantrowitz, 2009a, 2011). This research first examines national data to identify what the risk factors are for not applying and compares those risk factors for students at…

Reflecting the changing ideological and economic perspectives of the government of the day, the expansion of higher education in England has prompted numerous reforms aimed at reshaping and restructuring the sector and its funding. Leading to student riots and sparking some of the sharpest controversies in British higher education the reforms…

The purpose of the study was first to calculate the full-time and part-time retention rates for each category of 2-year institution and to examine the differences, if they existed, between and among the three types of colleges. Secondly, the study explored the differences in the full-time and part-time retention rates of first-time students within…

Only about 59 percent of full-time, first-time students at four-year institutions complete such a degree within six years at the same school. Completion rates are even lower for those starting part-time, or at less than four-year schools (and planning to transfer). Which social indicators--such as student engagement, enrollment status, and family…

A central challenge for higher education today is to understand the diversity and complexity of nontraditional students' life experiences and how these factors influence their academic success. To better understand these issues, this study explored the role of demographic characteristics and employment variables in predicting the academic success…

The experiences of students who are working full-time and going to graduate school part-time were the focus of this phenomenological investigation. Data analysis showed that these individuals, who reported high job involvement and strong career planning, were often stymied when they attempted to apply new ideas to the workplace. Those with strong…

This paper presents Stan Jones' testimony before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training. In his testimony, he talks about a new American majority of students that is emerging on campuses, especially at community colleges. These students must delicately balance long hours at jobs they must…