The growth of the public discourse on college completion and student debt has pushed policymakers and institutional leaders to implement a variety of policies aimed at incentivizing student completion. This article examines state-adopted excess credit hour (ECH) policies on student completion and median debt outcomes. Using a quasi-experimental…

This study examines the efficacy of a scholarship program designed to assist single parent, post-freshmen, full time undergraduate students and predictors of success among a sample of said students, where success is defined as progress toward completion, academic achievement, and degree completion. Results of fixed effects regression and…

The present study examines the outcomes of a 5-week summer bridge writing program at a Midwestern, urban, public university designed to provide remedial instruction for incoming first-year college students, approximately 500 students annually for 7 years. Regression results showed that program participation was a positive, significant predictor on…

The adoption of a system based on cycles has been one of the core action lines in the Bologna Process. It represents the base for promoting student mobility, employability, and international competitiveness. The implementation of the degree-cycle system -- conditioned by the achievement of other policy objectives (i.e. ECTS) -- started hot debates…

Background/Context: Underprepared students at community colleges are often assigned to a sequence of developmental education courses that can substantially delay, or even halt, their progress to degree completion. In 2014, Florida implemented a comprehensive reform under Senate Bill (SB) 1720 that allowed the majority of incoming students to…

Research on dual credit (DC) programs highlights the benefits including enhanced post-secondary access, higher GPAs, lower remediation, increased persistence, and higher graduation rates. Most of this work focuses on students, analyzing local, state, and federal data. The purpose of this study is to present the perspectives of high school support…

Developmental mathematics, which is designed to prepare students for college-level mathematics courses, can be a barrier to students' success. In the United States, the majority of students placed into developmental mathematics courses fail to complete the developmental sequence. Alternative mathematics pathways offer some benefits when integrated…

This article describes a research study determining the most significant academic challenges experienced by Chinese transfer students in engineering at an American university. The survey-based study examined eight areas where transfer students may have academic difficulty and determined that the most significant of those concern transfer credit…

Urban universities have long faced a critical challenge to help K-12 schools, students, and families effectively access a college education. While colleges and universities have embraced strategies such as charter and partner schools, these interventions do not always result in a robust pipeline of students entering the higher education system.…

Background/Context: Underprepared students at community colleges are often assigned to a sequence of developmental education courses that can substantially delay, or even halt, their progress to degree completion. In 2014, Florida implemented a comprehensive reform under Senate Bill (SB) 1720 that allowed the majority of incoming students to…

The British Columbia Council on Admissions & Transfer (BCCAT) commissioned Plaid Consulting to conduct a study focused on Academic Dual Credit (ADC) in British Columbia post-secondary institutions (PSIs). This study follows up on a 2017 BCCAT study on dual credit programs "Dual Credit Programs: Exploring Dual Credit Student Transition and…

The quality of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) is an important topic to be addressed by different stakeholders: higher education institutions, MOOC providers, education companies, educational providers. National and international agencies are or will be deeply involved in preparing or attending common guidelines in order to fulfill quality of…

Increasing 4-year graduation rates among US students, particularly those historically disadvantaged in higher education, is a national imperative. The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of the multifaceted Research Aligned Mentorship Program in advancing the academic success of low income, first generation college, and minority students…

In recent years, the goal of 60 percent of adults holding a postsecondary degree has been set as a key benchmark for the United States to build a skilled workforce and remain economically competitive. Engaging adults with some college credit but no degree is critical to reaching this goal. Efforts to increase adult degree attainment, however, have…

As community colleges across the country implement large-scale reforms to improve student success, they need timely and actionable metrics to determine if the changes they are making in a given year or term will likely improve student outcomes in the long run. In this brief, the authors examine how well nine measures of students' progress in their…