This paper describes some students, especially at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, who have graduated from college 3 or more years before the usual age of 22 or older. Such early graduation is not common, but neither is it extremely rare. Some young graduates seem to have been propelled through college under parental pressure, while others have…

The High School Sophomore Cohort of 1980 followed nine different pathways to a 4-year college degree. These paths were formed by a combination of different levels of academic preparation secured in high school and the first type of postsecondary institution attended. The pathway most likely to lead to a 4-year degree is one defined by acquiring…

This longitudinal cohort study followed students admitted to Saint Louis University (Missouri) with and without credits from either the university's dual credit program for high school students or the Advanced Placement Testing Program. Analysis indicated both programs significantly influenced students' ability to persist and graduate but did not…

Most economics students at two Swedish universities do not complete their undergraduate theses within the intended time. This paper finds that coauthoring, compared to writing alone, increases the probability of completing a thesis. A second thesis is less likely to be completed than a first, and the probability of completion decreases over time.…

Over the past few decades, the increase in contingent appointments--part- and full-time positions off the tenure track--has been dramatic. As of 2001, the most recent year for which U.S. Department of Education data are available, 44.5 percent of faculty appointments were part time. According to "Assessing the Silent Revolution: How Changing…

It has been found that students who took the traditional path to a bachelor degree--those who started and finished at the same institution--averaged 4.3 years to complete their degrees at State University System (SUS) institutions in 2002-03. 12.4% took 3.5 years or less, 54.2% took 4 years or less, 69.5% took 4.5 years or less, and 86.5% took 5…

The study compares the degree completion and persistence rates between two cohorts?students who first enrolled in postsecondary education in academic year 1989?90 and their counterparts who first enrolled in 1995?96. The analysis focuses on the rates at which students in each cohort completed a degree within 5 years or were still enrolled at the…

This paper presents results of a nationally normed achievement test given to two graduating classes of students from the first-in-the-nation Three-Year Bachelors Degree program in business administration. This 3-year 120-credit program at a small university in the northeast represents a new paradigm for postsecondary degree programs in that an…

This policy brief examines the graduation efficiency index (GEI), a measure developed by the University of Washington to enable the state to measure a student's or institution's efficiency in graduation. The study compares the GEI index with time-to-degree, the most widely used related measure, and finds that the latter does not measure student…

Describes how research training in Australia is shaped by the knowledge economy and emphasis on "fast" supervision that results in timely degree completion. This pressure limits development of subject-specific methods skills, general research skills, and employability skills. Reconfiguration of the research culture may be necessary. (SK)

A new study reanalyzing previous data suggests that the widely publicized sharp increase in number of years to doctorates in the humanities is largely a statistical artifact. The new analysis finds an increase of 15 to 20 percent rather than the previously reported 38 percent in number of years to doctorate between 1972 and 1988. (DB)

Interviews with nine undergraduate students who work part time identified positive effects of employment (transferable skills, enhanced employability) and negative ones, especially conflicts between work and school. The role of academic staff in helping students balance competing demands was highlighted. (SK)

This paper offers the viewpoint that franchised Further Education-based degree courses should be continued and expanded, since these colleges are less likely to intimidate adult (potential) students. A modified American "2 + 2" learning scenario (2 years in FE college followed by 2 years concluding the degree in a university) is discussed.

The expansion of the American community college has not been matched by the rapid, or even consistent, progress of all entering students toward postsecondary credentials. Instead, a significant proportion of students enrolled in community colleges appear "stuck" on the road to completion. This lack of progress is due to the complex ways in which…

This report describes a simulation of the supply and demand for science and engineering doctorates, time to complete the doctorate, departmental choice behavior, and related matters. An attempt was made to determine whether there is a credible case for long-term underemployment of people with doctoral degrees. It is concluded that about 22% of the…