Early childhood educators have a unique opportunity to foster the development of cognitive, behavioral, and social skills. But the work is not easy. Effective educators need both a deep understanding of child development and mastery of a complex set of skills to meet the learning needs of young children. Accordingly, there is a growing demand…

This brief on debt-free college by Rosa García looks at federal and state policies through an anti-poverty, racial equity lens. The brief calls on federal and state lawmakers to prioritize low-income students, students of color, and immigrants in federal-state partnerships and College Promise programs by ensuring that low-income students can…

Using data on over 41,000 students in one state who entered community college before transferring to a 4-year institution, this study examines the following question: Are community college students who earn an associate degree before transferring to a 4-year college more likely to earn a bachelor's degree? Due to the causal nature surrounding this…

This article was written in response to concerns that have been expressed about the possible consequences of an increasing number of countries overtaking the United States in educational attainment. International statistics on educational attainment were analyzed, questions about comparability of data were discussed, and the impact of different…

The purpose of this research study was to examine how chefs and other individuals in the food industry understood the field of culinary arts. This study used an instrumental case study with purposeful sampling of multiple cases. Through a series of open-ended interviews using snowball-sampling strategy that concluded with 45 participants sharing…

In the classic game of "Chutes and Ladders," the player can see square 100--the finish line--but it is not easy to get there. The player may climb one ladder only to land on the wrong spot and be sent spiraling down a chute. In the game, players are aiming for the blue ribbon on square 100, but for students enrolling in college, the…

The California Community Colleges (CCC) are central to the economic strength and social mobility of California and its residents. They serve the majority of undergraduates in California. Each year, over 2 million students attend one of the 116 community colleges across the state, including the online campus--Cal Bright. Like "Chutes and…

This article utilizes data from eight surveys of national samples of college graduates conducted by the Institute of Economics of Education at Peking University in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 to conduct a trend analysis on employment status and job-seeking status among graduates, summarizing 12 overarching employment…

The Current Term Enrollment Estimates Report Series is published every December and May by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. It provides national enrollment estimates by institutional sector, enrollment intensity, age group, gender, major field as well as state-level enrollment estimates. In this edition, the average age for…

When authorizing community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees in 2007 the legislature intended for these degrees to serve students enrolled in professional-technical education. This report explores the extent to which programs serve the intended population, how demographics relate to program enrollment, and enrollment shifts over time.…

This report tracks 42,856 students who graduated from a Kentucky high school in 2010 until 2018, the most recent year of data available. Over half of these students entered an in-state college or university directly from high school. Another 5,000 had enrolled in college by 2018. All in all, 13,576 (32%) completed a postsecondary credential, and…

This set of Web Tables is the second in a series of four that together provide key information about 2011-12 first-time postsecondary students' characteristics and their 6-year retention, persistence, attainment, withdrawal, stopout, and transfer rates. The series draws on data collected for the 2012/17 Beginning Postsecondary Students…

This set of Web Tables is the third in a series of four that together provide key information about 2011-12 first-time postsecondary students' characteristics and their 6-year retention, persistence, attainment, withdrawal, stopout, and transfer rates. The series draws on data collected for the 2012/17 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal…

This set of Web Tables is the fourth in a series of four that together provide key information about 2011-12 first-time postsecondary students' characteristics and their 6-year retention, persistence, attainment, withdrawal, stopout, and transfer rates. The series draws on data collected for the 2012/17 Beginning Postsecondary Students…

This report describes the state of Kentucky's postsecondary education degree and credential attainment between Academic Years (AY) 2013-14 and 2017-18. Using data from the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Data System (KPEDS), the report details the number and types of credentials earned at Kentucky's public universities, the campuses of the…