This qualitative study examined the process whereby international college students from various countries choose their country of study, type of institution, specific college, and program. It identified and explored the relative importance of each decision-making factor. Fifty-five international students attending four Greater Toronto Area (GTA)…

Recent efforts to increase college access and completion concentrate on reducing tuition rates at community colleges, but researchers and policy makers alike have expressed concern that such reductions may not lead to long-term gains in college completion. In this paper, I use detailed data on students' college enrollment and completion outcomes…

Tuition-dependent colleges and universities face increasing competition for students. This study examined whether accreditation sanctions might serve as signals of quality and relate to enrollment. Results of a panel analysis showed enrollment declined for institutions after being placed on sanction with their regional accreditor. Specifically,…

This research study attempted to understand the implications of a last-dollar, free community college program, otherwise known as a College Promise Program, and its ability to provide educational access, academic success, and degree attainment for the neediest of students. Three research questions focused on the relationship between eligibility…

Over the last two decades, prices in higher education have grown more quickly than prices in almost any other sector of the economy. Tuition inflation has been extensively examined. The examinations, however, have focused on a narrow set of explanations, none of which has revealed obvious opportunities for policy interventions that would slow this…

Janet Marling is the Executive Director of the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS), which is housed at the University of North Georgia. NISTS was established in 2002 at the University of North Texas and later moved to its present location in 2012. During this time, NISTS has grown into one of the largest national…

This national report reflects the current state of college student satisfaction at four-year institutions, two-year public colleges, and career and private institutions. It examines the satisfaction and priorities of more than 578,000 college students across the United States. The report details what students identified as their biggest issues…

In this paper I investigate whether students self-select into the U.S. for-profit colleges or whether the choice of for-profit sector is accidental or due to the reasons external to the students (geographic exposure to for-profit providers, tuition pricing, or random circumstances). The main student-level data samples come from the National…

Today a college degree is considered the ticket to a good job and the gateway to economic advancement. A student's chances of gaining admission to college, however, are often based more on parental wealth than the student's achievements. At the nation's most selective colleges, three percent of incoming freshmen come from families in the bottom…

This paper presents a case study in which the authors attempted to understand the impact, on student choice, of reforms in tertiary education in Australia, namely, a shift towards a demand-driven system and the blurring of the distinction between vocational education and training (VET) and higher education. The authors compared the advanced…

The authors examine the factors that influence the college choice process of two-year college students and explore the effect these variables have on the two-year/four-year college choice dichotomy, using the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) of 1995-96 and the Beginning Postsecondary (BPS) component of that survey. This study…

Close to 50% of all college students attend 2-year colleges, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics (2003). The common assumption is that students who choose 2-year schools do so because they are academically deficient or price conscious. However, little research has been done on why students choose to attend a 2-year college.…

The "International Student Guide to U.S. Community Colleges" is the only publication of its kind that targets prospective international students. Published annually, the Guide is designed to inform, advise, assist, and influence postsecondary students in other countries who plan to pursue education options in the United States. The Guide…

This guide was produced for prospective students considering studying in the United States. The guide is organized to help students through all stages of the process, including learning about the U.S. higher education system, finding the right college, benefits of attending community college, obtaining a student visa, estimating expenses, living…

Most Americans expect the nation's colleges and universities to promote the goal of social mobility to make it possible for anyone with ability and motivation to succeed. But according to Robert Haveman and Timothy Smeeding, income-related gaps both in access to and in success in higher education are large and growing. In the top-tier colleges and…