Beginning in 2002, with the election of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City's Department of Education undertook an unprecedented overhaul of the largest school district in the United States. Over the next 10 years the Department of Education closed more than 25 large, underperforming high schools, and created almost 200 new, small high schools,…

This hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions examines reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, focusing on opportunities to improve student success. Following an opening and prepared statement by Honorable Lamar Alexander (Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) and an opening statement by Honorable…

Student affairs is a transformative profession, with professionals offering support and assistance to students as they pursue higher education. An increasing number of these professionals have been guided by a foundation in knowledge, skills, and attitudes gained in higher education graduate degree programs. It is estimated that between 15% and…

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education is committed to providing a clearer and more comprehensive picture of college completion in order to advance Indiana's collective efforts to boost education attainment. In partnership with Indiana public colleges and the National Student Clearinghouse, the Commission has collected completion data for…

Based on its research and review of fundamental changes in quality assurance in higher education in India, in 2006 World Education Services (WES) revised its assessment of selected the three-year Bachelor's degree awarded by Indian universities. This policy takes into account specific criteria regarding institutional standing and student…

Higher education often operates under old rules -- rules that continue despite an increasingly diverse student population and improved understanding of human behavior and choice. Under these old rules, fewer than half of students graduate on time, if at all, and troubling equity gaps exist based on income, race, and ethnicity. It is time for new…

The crisis in humanities graduate education is coming to an end. But academic jobs are still few and far between, and graduate education remains on shaky ground both institutionally and socially. Nevertheless, two generations of "crisis thinking" are finally giving way to the idea that graduate education is not in a crisis. Instead, it…

In 2001 the Italian tertiary education system embarked in a broad process of reform. The main novelty brought by the reform was a reduction of the length of study to get a first level degree together with the introduction of a two-years, second level, master degree. This paper aims at studying the effects of the reform in terms of fairness. To…

This brief focuses on the efforts of the nursing programs at Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (PCCUA) to reduce time to completion, increase achievement, and enhance student support. To accomplish these goals, PCCUA involved healthcare providers, faculty, students, college curriculum committees, the Accreditation Commission…

American higher education faces some serious problems--but they are not the ones most people think. In this brief and accessible book, two leading experts show that many so-called crises--from the idea that typical students are drowning in debt to the belief that tuition increases are being driven by administrative bloat--are exaggerated or simply…

In 2012 all Hong Kong universities will be extending the length of the undergraduate degree from 3 to 4 years and adding General Education as a degree requirement. This reform initiative represents a unique case of comprehensive organizational change of higher education on an unprecedented scale. This paper examines several of the most significant…

Hong Kong's higher education system is undergoing an enormous change. At great cost, higher education and the school systems that feed into it are moving from a three-year university system that favored early specialization within a discipline and very few conversations across disciplines to a four-year university system to be fully implemented…

Because federal financial aid guidelines stipulate that students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits per semester in order to receive the full amount of aid, many colleges and universities define full-time enrollment as 12 credits per semester. Yet, if a student takes only 12 credits each fall and spring term, it is impossible to complete…

When students are tracked into vocational and academic secondary schools, access to higher education is usually restricted to those who completed an academic track. Postponing such tracking may increase university attendance among disadvantaged students if additional time in school enables them to catch up with their more privileged counterparts.…

The study examines whether the reduction in the timeframe for the completion of university studies in Greece will affect students of different socio-economic background disproportionally. To this intent, it assesses the influence of the status of students, defined as working and non-working, on the duration of studies but the relevance of other…