Although not a new phenomenon, student swirl and drift continues to grow, and student enrollment patterns are becoming progressively more complex. Many students attend multiple institutions throughout their academic careers, either separately or concurrently, often starting while they are still enrolled in high school. The role of institutional…

The U.S. federal government identifies many science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors as "areas of national need" that are "crucial to national innovation, competitiveness, and well-being and in which not enough students complete degrees." Underrepresentation of women in STEM in the United States has economic…

As leading measures of student success and institutional quality, persistence and graduation rates are intensely debated at education conferences, institutional meetings and legislative sessions (Adelman, 1999; American Association of State Colleges and Universities [AASCU], 2002; Gold & Albert, 2006; Perna & Thomas, 2006; Tinto &…

Research on the validity of psychosocial factors (PSFs) and other noncognitive predictors of college outcomes has largely ignored the practical benefits implied by the validity. We summarize evidence of the validity of PSF measures as predictors of college outcomes and then explain how this validity directly translates into improved identification…

Rates of tuition increases in both private and public higher education that continually exceed inflation, coupled with the fact that the United States no longer leads the world in terms of the fraction of young adults who have college degrees, have focused attention on why costs keep increasing in higher education and what categories of higher…

In this article, the authors report on research that aims to understand diversity in STEM and the principles of good practice in undergraduate science education that will improve rates of degree attainment and advancement into graduate studies in related fields among underrepresented racial minorities (URMs). Although students' precollege…

During the last two decades, median instructional spending per full-time equivalent (FTE) student at American 4-year colleges and universities has grown at a slower rate than median spending per FTE student in a number of other expenditure categories including academic support, student services and research. Our paper uses institutional level…

This chapter examines lessons learned by states that are using student unit record (SUR) data to improve outcomes for community college students and recommends steps states can take to strengthen their use of SUR databases to benefit students and communities. (Contains 1 exhibit.)

The effect of alternative census dates on the determination of student enrollment and retention rates and the accuracy of tuition revenue projections was analyzed at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. A set of pseudo-extract files was created for the first 8 weeks of two consecutive fall semesters (1993 and 1994). The accuracy of…

This study explored how logit, probit, and more traditional linear regression techniques compare in predicting college student retention, using data provided by registrars from a national sample of colleges and universities. Results showed little practical difference among the techniques, despite theoretical advantages offered by the first two.…

It has been more than a decade since the U.S. Congress enacted the "Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act," which requires colleges and universities to make public their six-year degree completion rates. Based on the "Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act," prospective students and their parents are being encouraged to make…

This paper describes a Developmental Education Outcomes Study being conducted for 21 Minnesota state community colleges. The goals of the study were to examine the academic performance of students placed into developmental reading, writing, and mathematics courses and to identify areas where improvement was needed. Subjects were all 20,543…

Using discriminant analysis, a study examined (1) the extent to which the new Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire (SACQ) accurately predicts student departure for a private, comprehensive university (n=1,978 students); (2) SACQ items distinguishing nonpersisters; (3) use with an incoming class; and (4) evidence linking the SACQ with…

Two types of national data sets are described and used to analyze minority student equity in higher education: longitudinal survey data for tracking student persistence and cross-sectional data for monitoring the performance of institutions. Development of additional data sets of institutional characteristics that can provide true explanatory…

Previously performed analyses of the relationship between college choice and persistence in both public and private colleges and universities illustrate the direct and indirect effects of financial factors that influence college choice and subsequent persistence decisions, and the direct effects of the actual dollar amounts of costs and financial…