Purpose: Many studies point out that a complication in the professional training is connected with the division of education into the formal and non-formal part. There is a need to integrate these two components to achieve a greater learning effect. The aim of the study is to find out whether students perceive non-formal education as important and…

Following a landmark court ruling in 2005, more than half of Germany's universities started charging tuition fees, which were subsequently abolished until 2015. We exploit the unusual lack of grandfathering in these policies to show that fees increase study effort and degree completion among incumbent students. However, fees also decrease…

This dissertation contains three chapters, each investigating a question in American economic history. The first chapter is co-authored with Ran Abramitzky, Santiago Perez, and Joseph Price. In this work, we conduct a large-scale digitization of historical college registers, encompassing 2.7 million students at 65 elite US universities. We use…

With support from the Boston Foundation, a team of organizations--NextGen Talent, the Boston Private Industry Council, and Burning Glass Technologies--conducted research to assess how well Boston Public Schools (BPS) graduates who attend four-year colleges are connecting to internships and good first jobs, along with the existing capacity in…

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education's College Readiness Reports are designed to provide information on students entering college. The reports encompass the entire first year of college for students who graduated high school the previous academic year and enrolled in college within one year. The reports also provide data beyond freshman…

This study examines faculty/staff perceptions of underprepared students as well as the experiences of these students in the college setting. Understanding that this crucial population has poor retention, we sought to understand who they were and how the faculty/staff felt about them in an effort to better serve them. While most students surveyed…

Indiana, Oklahoma, and Washington have programs designed to address college enrollment and completion gaps by offering a promise of state-based college financial aid to low-income middle school students in exchange for making a pledge to do well in high school, be a good citizen, not be convicted of a felony, and apply for financial aid to…

Texas state grant aid programs provide significant support to many low- and moderate-income state residents pursuing postsecondary education. Only a small share of eligible students receives state grants, however, and students often cannot predict whether they will receive aid, especially if they apply to different types of institutions.…

The "2022 Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report" is the 17th annual progress report designed to provide the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving three key priorities for Nebraska's postsecondary education system. They are: (1) Increase the number of students who enter…

For millions of college-going students, one of the most urgent concerns is the rising cost of college and how to pay for it -- and not just for tuition but other necessities like textbooks, housing, food, and transportation. The idea that one can work one's way through college with a minimum-wage job is, in most cases, a myth. Students from…

The COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to virtual learning created an unprecedented context for high school and college students who had to navigate new learning structures amidst immense health, financial, and emotional challenges. In the absence of reliable data, practitioners and policymakers have been forced to make assumptions about what…

This report provides highlights of the latest research from the Student Transitions Project (STP), with a focus on the first transitions of B.C. grade 12 graduates into B.C. public post-secondary education. The study was conducted by the Student Transitions Project (STP), a collaborative research partnership involving B.C.'s education and advanced…

This dissertation includes three chapters focusing on policies directly related to improving college access and success. The first chapter focuses on lifetime eligibility of federal and state financial aid policies. The Pell Grant plays a critical role in helping students across the US to afford undergraduate education. In spite of its importance…

"Getting Prepared 2020" examines patterns of developmental education for Minnesota public high school graduates from the classes of 2012 to 2019 who enrolled in Minnesota postsecondary institutions. This report provides insight into the academic readiness of Minnesota public high school graduates. Developmental education adds to the…

Dual credit programs are collaborations between secondary and postsecondary institutions that enable high school students to enroll in college courses and receive simultaneous academic or technical credit that counts toward high school and college completion. Dual credit is distinct from Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which require students to…