Minnesota is home to some of the finest postsecondary institutions in the country. From campuses large to small, urban to rural, close to home or far away, the state's public and private colleges and universities offer a broad spectrum of surprising educational opportunities and experiences. This guide can help students explore Minnesota College…

This article stems from a grounded theory study of leadership among urban youth. It reports the perspective of students in a college preparation program by examining how they participated in leadership. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and field observations of 20 incoming college freshmen. Students conceptualized…

Nationwide, students are entering college unprepared for college-level work. Recent high school graduates are placing into developmental courses at an alarming rate. The purpose of this research study is to examine the effect of a developmental boot camp on standardized placement test scores of students enrolling at a community college in North…

The "ex post facto" causal-comparative study examined the academic achievement of high school students who took their dual credit English or mathematics college credit-bearing course in two different environments, namely, the college setting and the high school setting. Due to non-experimental nature of the study, no causal inferences…

Educators face significant changes today that affect their daily work lives. Chief among those changes is the national expectation that every student will graduate from high school, college and career ready. Common core state standards adopted in 46 states, as well as college- and career-ready standards established in other states, define what…

Many states are experimenting with mechanisms for making college more affordable while maintaining quality and access. This report examines promising or innovative state programs to improve college affordability and credential attainment. Many of these approaches show innovative thinking and bear watching to see if they result in meaningful…

Increasing the number of college students who graduate prepared for participation in the workforce and civil society will require a redoubling of efforts to improve college-going and completion rates for students traditionally underrepresented by higher education--individuals from low-income backgrounds and young people of color, who currently…

Michael Thompson, a psychologist who consults in K-12 schools, describes the high levels of anxiety he sees among high school juniors and seniors as they go through the college application process. Thompson believes the admissions process is a poor rite of passage to young adulthood because it focuses on the wrong questions. Parents and families…

School-wide approaches to increase college-going can potentially improve postsecondary education outcomes for all students. The ongoing process and challenges to establish such approaches are, however, little understood. Using qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with leaders at five public high schools in the Southwest,…

Federal student aid comes from the federal government--specifically, the U.S. Department of Education. It is money that helps a student pay for higher education expenses (i.e., college, career school, or graduate school expenses). Federal student aid covers such expenses as tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and transportation.…

This quantitative study examined first-year university and community college students who were former Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) high school students. Participants in this study were students from groups that are underrepresented in higher education. In the first sample of 329 graduates, grade point average and college credit…

A secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 examined the relationship between demographic, disability-related, secondary school preparation, and transition planning variables and receipt of accommodations and other disability-specific services at the postsecondary level for 2,470 postsecondary students with disabilities.…

A secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 examined the relationship between demographic, disability-related, secondary school preparation, and transition planning variables and receipt of accommodations and other disability-specific services at the postsecondary level for 2,470 postsecondary students with disabilities.…

Especially in research on the "classed practice" of educational decision-making, it is striking how the Bourdieuian concepts of habitus and capital have dominated. With a tendency to focus on the middle-classes' ability to accumulate and deploy cultural capital, less attention has been given to the role of the educational institution and…

This individual profile provides information on North Dakota's college and career readiness assessment policy. Some of the categories presented include: (1) CCR assessment policy; (2) Purpose; (3) Major changes in CCR assessment policy since the 2009-10 school year for financial reasons; (4) State financial support for students to take the CCR…