This study provides an overview and a snapshot of new student orientation (NSO) and new student e-orientation (NSEO) programs, with a focus on the content and feature analysis of the NSEOs. It offers an overview of currently available NSO programs of 100 randomly selected community colleges from a master list of nearly 900 community colleges in…

Local-level, place-based scholarships -- synonymous with "promise" scholarships -- are a policy strategy to improve college completion in the United States by directing financial aid to students in a particular school, district, or geographical area. There are currently upwards of 90 place-based scholarship programs across the US, most…

This "First Look" presents findings from the provisional data of the IPEDS winter 2014-15 data collection, which included four survey components: (1) Graduation Rates (GR); (2) 200 Percent Graduation Rates (GR200); (3) Student Financial Aid (SFA); and (4) Admissions (ADM). GR and GR200 present graduation rates for selected cohorts within…

The collision between funding realities and the paramount goal of increasing educational attainment has brought new attention to ways to reduce postsecondary attrition and get more students who enroll in college to complete a degree or credential. Reductions in attrition are both educationally effective and cost effective. Students reach…

This report describes the universe, methods, and editing procedures used in the 2012-13 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data collection. IPEDS data consist of basic statistics on postsecondary institutions regarding tuition and fees, number and types of degrees and certificates conferred, number of students enrolled, number…

This report describes the universe, methods, and editing procedures used in the 2011-12 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data collection. IPEDS data consist of basic statistics on postsecondary institutions regarding tuition and fees, number and types of degrees and certificates conferred, number of students enrolled, number…

This report was produced for the 2012 Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers meeting in Mauritius. Its main purpose is to track the historical progress and likelihood of attainment of Education For All and education-specific Millennium Development Goals while also critically reviewing the methods used to track this progress. The analyses…

This paper reviews state cross-institutional policies designed to better integrate state community colleges with traditional four-year colleges and university system schools, commonly referred to as "transfer and articulation policies," and examines how patterns of college attendance, transfer, and degree earning vary across states with different…

When U.S. News & World Report began its ranking of American colleges in 1983, publishers in other countries quickly followed with their own hierarchical measures, providing consumer information (and opportunities for institutional marketing) while attempting to impact the quality of higher education. In the course of the last two decades,…

Many states (18 of 39) use revenue generated by lotteries to help fund higher education. The revenue is generated as a regressive tax disproportionately collected. As such, do state lotteries contribute toward facilitation of equal access to higher education for low-income and minority citizens? Given population trends, college enrollment, and…

Over the last decade, policymakers, educators, and researchers have increasingly sought to understand community college policies and practices that promote students' success. This effort has been partly driven by an increased emphasis on outcome accountability, but it has also promoted a productive discussion about improving institutional…

The problem of social exclusion in Poland was examined along with possible strategies for combating social exclusion through vocational education and training (VET). The examination began with an analysis of the special needs of individuals who have reduced opportunities within the labor market and/or are members of national and ethnic minorities.…