We explore the impact of excess credits, defined as additional credit hours accumulated by students beyond the required number of hours, on labor market outcomes. We consider whether additional credits have any impact on the labor market outcomes of job mismatch and income. Data are taken from the Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) study, a…

Previous research has shown that when adult students receive credit for their prior learning (CPL), they are more likely to complete credentials while saving time and money doing so. In addition, colleges and universities can also benefit from CPL: adult students who earn credit through CPL are more likely to persist toward completion, and so they…

The majority of community college entrants aspire to earn a bachelor's degree; yet fewer than a third do. States use several strategies to support community college's transfer function, including a transferrable core curriculum, a block of pre-major coursework universally accepted at public postsecondary institutions. In this study, we used…

This study examined how transfer students perceived the value of the associate's degree in the context of reverse credit transfer. Five student focus groups of transfer students provided individual and collective discourses on the perceptions of the associate's degree. The findings show that transfer students perceived the associate's degree to be…

Educators seek to harness knowledge from educational corpora to improve student performance outcomes. Although prior studies have compared the efficacy of data mining methods (DMMs) in pipelines for forecasting student success, less work has focused on identifying a set of relevant features prior to model development and quantifying the stability…

An increasing number of universities have implemented prior learning assessment (PLA), but little research has examined the non-course matching approach referred to as block credit PLA. Adult learners pursuing a college degree often bring professional competencies, knowledge, and skills to the classroom. PLA enables adult learners to earn college…

Tracking is widespread in U.S. education. In post-secondary education alone, at least 71% of colleges use a test to track students. However, there are concerns that the most frequently used college placement exams lack validity and reliability, and unnecessarily place students from under-represented groups into remedial courses. While recent…

Some education programs' early positive effects disappear over time. Other programs have unanticipated positive long-term effects. Foundations warn of the dangers of putting too much weight on in-program effects, which, they say, often fade after a program ends. This Issue Focus tackles the topic of post-program effects in postsecondary education.…

Background: Some education programs' early positive effects disappear over time. Other programs have unanticipated positive long-term effects. Foundations have warned of the dangers of putting too much weight on in-program effects, which "often fade over time." The U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) even…

While numerous studies have shown evidence of higher completion frequencies for first-time freshmen who participate in four-year honors programs, research has yet to reveal how honors programs might impact outcomes for transfer students. Based on ex post facto data collected on transfer student graduation percentages at a large public university…

International student mobility (ISM) is often perceived to enhance career prospects. Surprisingly, the role of personality traits in explaining why students go abroad and relationships between ISM and labour market outcomes have received scant scholarly attention. Based on survey data from Norwegian graduates, we found that degree and credit…

The number of credits completed to earn a baccalaureate degree continues to be an important criterion for measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of transfer between post-secondary institutions. Many undergraduates -- both transfer and direct entry students -- complete more than 120 credits needed for a "traditional" degree. The…

Most students who begin at a community college do not complete their desired credential. Many former students fail to graduate due to various barriers rather than their academic performance. To encourage previously successful non-completers to re-enroll and eventually graduate, a growing number of community colleges have implemented re-enrollment…

Community colleges enroll a diverse set of students who often face challenges meeting their basic needs. This report describes the potential benefits and costs of one low-cost and relatively light-touch tool that colleges might use to increase students' access to basic needs assistance. The authors focus on the Findhelp platform, which is modeled…

In spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to switch quickly to online learning. Before then, Hawai?i had been expanding its dual credit program, in which high school students could take courses that would yield both high school and college credits. These dual credit programs require partnerships between high schools and colleges. RTI…