Establishing early academic momentum via credit accumulation is strongly associated with community college student success. Using data from one of the nation's largest and most racially diverse community college systems, our quasi-experimental study examined how different first-semester credit loads influenced persistence. For part-time students…

In the UK, higher education (HE) policy discourse over the past 60 years has advocated flexible part-time HE for social mobility, personal development, economic advantage and leisure. However, part-time undergraduate HE in the UK is in steep decline. Against this backdrop, we were interested in how universities promote, or fail to promote,…

Community colleges provide postsecondary education to millions of students in the United States each year, but their graduation rates are low. Many community colleges have implemented interventions to help students persist in college and earn degrees. MDRC has studied many such interventions; several of them improved students' academic outcomes,…

Part-time study in the UK is significant: nearly 40 per cent of higher education students study part-time. This article reports on a literature review that sought to understand the economic and social benefits of part-time study in the UK. It concludes that there are substantial and wide-ranging benefits from studying part-time. The article also…

This report examines the efforts of 46 European nations to harmonize (not "standardize") their higher education systems and indicates that the United States higher education system needs to adopt some of the features of the Bologna Process. Based on what can be learned from the Bologna Process, this report makes concrete suggestions for…

The title of this document is a deliberate play on the title of the biennial reports on the progress of Bologna produced by the European Students' Union, "Bologna With Student Eyes." It is a way of paying tribute to student involvement in the Bologna reforms, and marking a parallel student working participation in the state system…

In fiction, night school students are usually stereotyped as outsiders: either losers incapable of functioning in academia or worthy achievers who are hard working, bright, and goal oriented. Public opinion and evening students' self-perceptions may be affected by these stereotypes. (SK)

In recent years, increasing numbers of students have enrolled in colleges and universities on a part-time basis. However, this analysis indicates that, although the number of part-time students has increased markedly, the growth has not been uniform among all kinds of institutions. Public two-year institutions show the strongest increases. (JMD)

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…

A questionnaire survey sought to determine the characteristics of part-time university students in Great Britain, the reasons why they choose part-time study, the difficulties they encounter, the extent and incidence of non-completion, and to identify examples of "good practice" in the provision and management of part-time degree…

The demand for postsecondary education on a part-time basis has been rising rapidly in Canada, due in part to the growing need of students to maintain full-time employment and due also to increasing requests for continuing professional education. Since part-time students are often unable to attend regularly scheduled classes and may find frequent…

Contrasts the characteristics of the 16- to 19-year-old population in England and Wales with some foreseeable requirements of industry and the economy in the 1980s. Major skill development programs are evaluated and various policy options are explored. (DB)

Recent developments in econometrics that are relevant to the task of estimating costs in higher education are reviewed. The relative effectiveness of alternative statistical procedures for estimating costs are also tested. Statistical cost estimation involves three basic parts: a model, a data set, and an estimation procedure. Actual data are used…

Presents citations and abstracts for six documents from the ERIC Clearinghouse for Junior Colleges collection dealing with continuing education enrollments and community service programs. (CAM)

Discusses research on understanding the learning process involved in acquiring basic computer skills for nontraditional adult students. A survey is described that compares learning patterns of part-time adult students with traditional college students in introductory computer courses, and teaching recommendations for nontraditional learners are…