All the tutoring in the world cannot save students who run short of the money they need to pay for college. This year's Community College Survey of Student Engagement affirms as much. In the survey, known as Cessie, nearly half (45 percent) of respondents cited a lack of finances as a hardship that would likely cause them to withdraw from classes…

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…

This 2016 directory identifies, describes, and contains evaluative data evidence-based practices that improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented 6th grade through college students. The directory was a production of the…

Tertiary education is now accessible even to those who appear unlikely "ex ante" to succeed in jobs requiring post-high school education. Institutions that have broadened access to their programs must rely on two things to protect the quality of the degrees they award: selection mechanisms operating during students' tenure, and effective…

When students take courses out of sequence, it can have a detrimental effect on both teaching and learning. At California State University-Fresno, we see a considerable number of freshmen taking upper division classes and an even larger number of upper-division students taking lower level classes. The purpose of this study was to examine academic…

Each year , thousands graduate high school academically underprepared for college. Many must take remedial or developmental postsecondary coursework, and there is a growing debate about the effectiveness of such programs. This paper examines the effects of remediation using a unique data set of over 28,000 students. To account for selection…

Despite near universal acceptance in the value of higher education for individuals and society, college persistence rates in 4-year and community colleges are low. Only 57% of students who began college at a 4-year institution in 2001 had completed a bachelor's degree by 2007, and only 28% of community college students who started school in 2005…

"Black Men in College" provides vital information about how to effectively support, retain, and graduate Black male undergraduates. This edited collection centers on the notion that Black male collegians are not a homogenous group; rather, they are representative of rarely acknowledged differences that exist among them. This valuable text suggests…

Academic dismissal resulting from poor scholastic achievement is an unfortunate reality at American universities, and one that involves students, faculty, and academic advisers. This chapter analyzes learning outcomes of the academic dismissal process for first-generation college students (FGS) resulting from a year-long study conducted at a…

In this Brief, the authors focus on partnerships between community colleges and high schools that may make it more likely for students to complete "three important milestones" on the road to college completion: (1) Enrollment in college; (2) College readiness at enrollment; and (3) Persistence in college. There is a broad range of goals and…

A gap year allows people to step off the usual educational or career path and reassess their future. According to people who have taken a gap year, the time away can be well worth it. This article can help a person decide whether to take a gap year and how to make the most of his time off. It describes what a gap year is, including its pros and…

Students' lack of preparedness for the mathematical demands of higher education is affecting a wide range of programmes in universities worldwide. In the UK this has been recognized at the highest levels and provoked several inquiries. The ability to use mathematics in courses as varied as nursing, biosciences, and business is an essential skill…

Using student level data, the characteristics of STEM and Non-STEM students are examined for attributes associated with academic success. We use fixed effects models to analyze the variables' role in attaining graduation and college GPA and find preparation and ability, as evidenced by Advanced Placement course work, mathematical ability, gender,…

Retention and graduation are major challenges in South African higher education institutions. These phenomena are especially troubling among Black and Colored (BC) students at both historically advantaged and historically disadvantaged institutions. The retention and graduation rates of these groups are disturbingly low compared to those of White…

Applicants for college entrance may be deemed able to succeed based on a variety of screening factors: standardized test scores such as ACT or SAT, high school grade point average or completion of college preparatory coursework. Rio Grande University (pseudonym) offered provisional admission to applicants who met all entrance requirements with the…