Individuals make a variety of choices over the course of their careers that impact their earning potential. These choices include how far to go in school, what to study in school, and what job to take. This brief explores the relationship between how far one goes in school (educational attainment) and how much money one might make over the course…

A successful internship experience can provide invaluable learning experiences connecting students' classroom knowledge to professional "know-how" in the field. Over the past three decades, post-secondary internship programs have flourished, generating considerable research literature from a variety of disciplinary perspectives; however,…

The topic of student success is a central focus for community college educators and researchers, yet little consideration is given to the long-term success that community college students may or may not be attaining. What role (if any) do concerns about social stratification have in the debate over student success? Exploring the ways in which…

"Strengthening the STEM Pipeline: The Contributions of Small and Mid-Sized Independent Colleges" demonstrates that small and mid-sized independent institutions are preparing students for careers and graduate study in STEM fields more efficiently than many public universities. Contrary to popular assumptions, the report shows that smaller…

This Statistics in Brief examines the employment outcomes of college graduates 1 year after earning a bachelor's degree. It compares 2007-08 bachelor's degree recipients who graduated at the start of the recent recession with their peers who graduated in 1992-93 and 1999-2000. Different labor market conditions characterized these three time…

Diversity is inherently valuable. Research shows that diversity in schools, including racial diversity among teachers, can provide significant benefits to students. While students of color are expected to make up 56 percent of the student population by 2024, the elementary and secondary educator workforce is still overwhelmingly white. The most…

This third installment of "Hard Times" updates the previous analyses of college majors, unemployment, and earnings over the Great Recession. While there is wide variation by college majors, hard times have become better times for most college graduates, but the recovery is far from complete. Hard times are becoming better times for most…

This report provides system-level graduation and retention rates for the University of North Carolina (UNC), with campus-level and corresponding peer benchmarks appended. Where possible, corresponding national rates are reported as well. In nearly all measures, UNC surpasses these national rates. Measuring rates of student retention and graduation…

For the past 10 years, there has been ongoing research at the University of Ghent on professionalism in childcare (the 0-3 age group) in the Flemish Community of Belgium. This research has been inspired by the "Contesting Early Childhood" movement, which is based on the premise that pedagogic research can lead to social change. The first…

The number of physics degrees earned in the U.S. continues to rise, with bachelor's and PhDs yet again reaching all-time highs. The 6,776 physics bachelor's degrees awarded in the 2011-2012 academic year represent an 8% increase over the previous year and an 86% increase from a recent low in 1999. Similarly, the number of PhDs (1,762) in…

Because of the surging demand for undergraduate business degrees and the increasing availability of effective online educational content, many traditional regional universities have added, or are now considering adding, online undergraduate business degree programs to their classroom programs. Through a review of the literature bearing on that…

The 2007-10 growth spurt (18 percent over three years) in U.S. undergraduate economics degrees stalled out in 2011. Degrees awarded have been relatively constant over the past three years.

Grounded in policy-relevant research, the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Florida is focused on supporting local, state, and national postsecondary policy development as well as training the next generation of institutional leaders. IHE conducts rigorous scholarship focused on postsecondary policy analysis and supporting the…

New physics bachelor's entering the workforce receive some of the highest starting salaries of any undergraduate majors. Each fall, the Statistical Research Center conducts its "Survey of Enrollments and Degrees," which asks physics and astronomy departments to provide information concerning the numbers of students they have enrolled and…

The purpose of this report on Arkansas STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program activity is to inform education and policy makers about the need to prepare and graduate more students with degrees in STEM related fields as defined by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Arkansas is witnessing a significant…