Focusing on community colleges' role in enrolling students for their first year of postsecondary education, this monograph provides 17 essays on characteristics, programs, and outcomes related to students' freshman year. The following essays are included: (1) "The Freshman Year Experience: A Philosophy for Higher Education in the New Millennium,"…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

This national study of doctoral students examined various components of human capital and their effects upon doctoral students' experiences and achievement. Participants were 13,160 graduate students in 11 fields from 21 universities, including all African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American students, 300 white…

This study, done at Syracuse University in 1975, investigated the multidimensional differences in freshman perceptions and experience of the academic and non-academic aspects of college associated with varying amounts of informal contact with faculty. Discriminant analysis indicated that factor dimensions, termed Interest Value, Practical Appeal…

This study was conducted in order to reveal the nature of community college life at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and investigate the transfer process through the "eyes" of CCSF students. Interviews were conducted on approximately 30 faculty, 15 administrators, and 60 students to discover the motivations behind decisions to…

Responding to changes in the demands on the country's science and engineering research community since the end of the Cold War, the National Science Foundation (NSF) introduced the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program in 1997 to encourage science and engineering Ph.D. programs to provide their students with…

This report of the High School and Beyond (HS&B) study (a national longitudinal study of over 30,000 sophomores and 28,000 seniors enrolled in 1,015 public and private schools) contains nine graphs and 28 tables summarizing data on students' high school experiences, activities outside school, values and attitudes, plans for college, and plans…

Minnesota has long prided itself on providing ample higher education opportunities for its citizens. However, there is a well-documented and growing disparity in Minnesota and nationally between various racial and economic groups' participation in college and technical college. This study's charge was to determine if participation in higher…

This document provides a framework for academic and career/technical teachers who want to raise students' achievement through real-life projects reflecting the rigorous academic and technical standards needed for further learning in the workplace and postsecondary education. The document begins with definitions of the six A's of project-based…