The 2016 Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report is the 12th annual progress report designed to provide the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving three key priorities for Nebraska's postsecondary education system. These priorities were developed by the 2003 LR 174 Higher Education Task…

This report focuses on pathways to postsecondary education (PSE), including high school completion, for pregnant and parenting teens. Although birth rates among teens have declined in the United States over the last 20 years, one in seven adolescent females (14.4 percent) is expected to give birth before age 20 with females of color (24 percent of…

Student parents face many challenges to accessing, persisting, and completing postsecondary education. While some of these challenges are unique to student parents--such as finding quality child care during class and work hours and juggling studying and academic assignments with parenting duties--others are typical of low-income and underserved…

In the nearly fifty years since the adoption of the Higher Education Act of 1965, financial aid programs have grown in scale, expanded in scope, and multiplied in form. As a result, financial aid has become the norm among college enrollees. The increasing size and complexity of the nation's student aid system has generated questions about…

Dozens of organizations around the country share the goal of improving Latino college student success, but there's been little progress in closing the educational-attainment gap. The desire to close the gap is there, but what has been missing, one education advocate believes, are vehicles for collective action. "Excelencia" in Education, a…

Sixty years have passed since the pivotal 1954 Supreme Court case of "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas" and almost fifty years have elapsed since the Higher Education Act of 1965. The Brown decision dismantled public segregated schools in many parts of the country, especially in the South, and racial access in schools…

Despite increases in postsecondary enrollment at American universities and colleges, there are still significant gaps in who matriculates to college and persists through graduation. Low-income students and students of color continue to be underrepresented in institutions of higher education; for many of these students, a lack of awareness of…

This "College Choice Report" is part of a report series that focuses on the ACT-tested high school graduating class of 2013. The focus of this year's "College Choice Report" is students' selection of a college major or program of study among the ACT-tested high school graduating class of 2013. This year's report is provided in…

Districts now have access to a wealth of new information that can help target students with appropriate supports and bring focus and coherence to college readiness efforts. However, the abundance of data has brought its own challenges. Schools and school systems are often overwhelmed with the amount of data available. The capacity of districts to…

Students entering high school in 9th grade face a formidable challenge. The transition to high school from 8th grade brings with it increased risks for all students. For example, students in 9th grade are anywhere from three to five times more likely to fail a class than students in any other grade. Similarly, ninth grade retention rates are…

The purpose of this study was intended to examine the inner voices behind the students' choices of American higher education and their persistence in college in relation to financial factors, especially the student financial aid programs and their debt burdens during and after college. Case studies were used to answer the three research questions:…

Poverty in the US is growing at an alarming rate. The current economic climate demands higher education to embrace the economic diversity of all students and to prepare them, regardless of economic class, for a globally competitive workplace. Unfortunately, the higher education community is not as adept at serving low-income students, as it is…

This article sought to identify factors related to high school completion rates and college enrollment among Hispanic students. Hispanic students were found to have high attrition rates in institutions of higher education. Implications for the development and implementation of retention programs for Hispanic high school students, such as…

Minnesota's Intervention for College Attendance Program (ICAP) is a program of competitive grants awarded to postsecondary institutions, professional organizations and community-based organizations. Funded programs focus on increasing the access and success of groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education by strengthening their…

In 2002, the Stark County Preschool through College (P-16) Compact set the goal of achieving an 80% college going rate. Such a goal seemed both audacious and daunting for a community where in 2001 only 17.9% of the adults held a Bachelor's Degree, or higher, and where only 49% of all high school graduates went directly to college. Nine years have…