Multiple studies show that outcomes, whether they be better degree completion rates or successful short-term workforce training, are negatively affected by inadequate funding (Kahlenberg, 2015). To bolster their case for underfunding, researchers and college advocacy groups produce studies that rely on an important federal dataset--the Integrated…

Using the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 2012/17 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:12/17), this research study explores the persistence to bachelor's degree attainment of adult students. Specifically, this study looks at adult students who expected to earn a bachelor's degree or higher, and analyzes whether…

In this chapter, the authors examine considerations necessary for seeking a terminal degree. Information on program types, pros/cons of full-time and part-time enrollment, and funding opportunities are explored.

In this study I deployed quasi-experimental methods to explore enrollment responses to a unique statewide college promise program for adult students attending college within the two-year public postsecondary education sector in Tennessee. State policymakers implemented Tennessee Reconnect in 2018 to encourage adult students without a college…

Objective: Students' enrollment intensity during their first academic semester and year are highly influential in their success and decisions to persist in community college. Limited research, however, has focused on understanding how students navigate the decision-making process of determining their credit load or how institutional support…

Community colleges report opening spring term enrollment figures to the Illinois Community College Board using a brief web based survey. These figures reflect student enrollments as of the end of registration for the Spring 2020 semester--usually the 10th day of the term. Overall, compared to the same term one year ago, statewide Spring 2020…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which the rates of students who did not persist or graduate had changed from the 2014-2015 academic year through the 2019-2020 academic year for first-time in college students by their ethnicity/race (i.e., Hispanic, Black, White, and Asian) and enrollment…

A commonly used metric for measuring college costs, drawn from data in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), is expenditure per full-time equivalent (FTE) student. This article discusses an error in this per FTE calculation when using IPEDS data, especially with regard to community colleges. The problem is that expenditures…

Simplified categorizations have often led to college students being labeled as full-time or part-time students. However, at many universities student enrollment patterns can be much more complicated, as it is not uncommon for students to alternate between full-time and part-time enrollment each semester based on finances, scheduling, or family…

Community colleges report opening spring term enrollment figures to the Illinois Community College Board using a brief web based survey. These figures reflect student enrollments as of the end of registration for the Spring 2019 semester--usually the 10th day of the term. Overall, compared to the same term one year ago, statewide Spring 2019…

Community colleges report opening Spring term enrollment figures to the Illinois Community College Board using a brief web based survey. These figures reflect student enrollments as of the end of registration for the Spring 2017 semester B usually the 10th day of the term. Overall, compared to the same term one year ago, statewide Spring 2017…

Community colleges report opening spring term enrollment figures to the Illinois Community College Board using a brief web based survey. These figures reflect student enrollments as of the end of registration for the Spring 2018 semester--usually the 10th day of the term. Overall, compared to the same term one year ago, statewide Spring 2018…

Community colleges report opening Spring term enrollment figures to the Illinois Community College Board using a brief web based survey. These figures reflect student enrollments as of the end of registration for the Spring 2016 semester B usually the 10th day of the term. Overall, compared to the same term one year ago, statewide Spring 2016…

With ongoing campus shutdowns and online-only classes amid the COVID-19 crisis, uncertainties abound for students and colleges planning for the fall. There is a critical need for real data and reliable information about how students are responding. By leveraging the student-level data that colleges submit multiple times per term to the National…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of first-year seminar (FYS) course modality on first-semester GPA and second-semester retention of community college students' system-wide. For many student's community colleges serve as an affordable option for higher education. The first-year seminar course connects students to the college to…