Policymakers' solutions to the problem of inequitable access to postsecondary institutions often focus on the financial barriers students face. However, other barriers are just as significant. Students may face barriers in the logistical aspect of applying to college. They may not have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college…

Many institutions of higher education struggle with low retention rates. One state liberal arts college addressed this concern by assigning an academic case manager to higher risk students. This project evaluated the effectiveness of the case manager on student credit hours and retention using a randomized control trial. The case manager contacted…

Community college transfer pathways, whereby students begin their postsecondary enrollment at a 2-year institution, are an increasingly popular option for students looking to complete a bachelor's degree. Designed to increase transfer efficiency, articulation agreements between community colleges and 4-year institutions provide structured pathways…

Objective: In 2009, the Kentucky General Assembly found unacceptable and costly the ongoing high numbers of high school students requiring remediation once they enter higher education. The state passed legislation to better align secondary and college education, establishing a diagnostic cycle that would become its Targeted Interventions (TI)…

Student retention is a key outcome measure for post-secondary education, but data show relatively stagnant retention rates over the past decade. Longstanding interventions such as counseling, academic advising, and mentoring provide crucial student services, but little change in retention rates suggest there is still need for additional student…

Credit momentum policies, or performance-based financial aid policies, have become increasingly popular among policymakers seeking to improve degree completion rates. This paper examines Indiana's 30-credit-hour completion policy on first-time, full-time students who receive the Twenty-First Century Scholars (TFCS) Promise Program. Using…

Aligned with the American Association of Community College's 21st Century Initiative for community college completion, coaching has emerged in higher education as a promising practice for student support. Although hundreds of community colleges have implemented coaching programs, few studies have explored the practice of coaching and its…

This paper reports on mathematics remediation efforts at a public 4-year institution. Specifically, it describes redesign efforts that led to the implementation of co-requisite mathematics remediation. Data on this program were collected and analyzed with respect to completion rates, length of time to earn college mathematics credit, and factors…

There are hundreds of recognized tuition-free college "promise" programs, but few are as generous or flexible as the Kalamazoo Promise (KPromise). Pre-COVID studies on KPromise have demonstrated effects on increased college attendance, credit completion, and persistence. Extending these findings to the COVID-19 pandemic context can help…

This research examines the dual credit and early college program options for school districts planning high school and college collaborations. It utilizes a quasi-experimental design from existing data at a community college that has a well-established dual credit and early college program that offers the students the option of Pell in high school…

This article reports on the findings of qualitative research which investigated appropriate means for measuring the efficacy of 3 + 1 transfer programs. In a 3 + 1 program, students complete 90 credits at the community college and are awarded a baccalaureate degree after completing their final 30 credits at a four-year college or university.…

This study examines the impact of an open-admissions summer bridge program geared toward first-year students at a large, public, land-grant university. The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of the program on first-year student success as defined by (a) first-year fall semester GPA, (b) end-of-first-year GPA, (c) first-year fall…

The first-year university experience is inherently linked to student satisfaction, retention and academic success. A sense of academic preparedness can enhance the first-year transition experience. Subjects designed to assist students to transition to university can improve the transition experience; however, there is very limited evidence of…

One explanation for negative or null findings in prior research on postsecondary remediation is that college may be too late to address issues of academic underpreparedness. This study evaluates the impact on student outcomes when college math remediation is offered in the senior year of high school. The Seamless Alignment and Integrated Learning…

This article presents an independent large-scale experimental evaluation of two online goal-setting interventions. Both interventions are based on promising findings from the field of social psychology. Approximately 1,400 first-year undergraduate students at a large Canadian university were randomly assigned to complete one of two online…