This information brief examines four factors contributing to Florida's overall high graduation rates in public four-year institutions: (1) Graduation rates for the largest race/ethnic groups were higher than for the nation as a whole; (2) The gaps between racial/ethnic groups were smaller than in the nation as a whole; (3) Florida's largest…

This report addresses data gathered from the Miami-Dade County Public and Private Schools. This report covers Fall/Spring terms 1999-00 through 2001-02. Completers are from 28 traditional public and 11 special public high schools in Miami-Dade County. These completers are 21 years old or younger. In 2002, Miami-Dade County Public High School…

This report responds to a congressional request to assess the availability of information on the extent to which the increasing burden of student debt affects: (1) students' choices about whether and where to enroll in college and whether or how much to borrow; (2) the length of time it takes to earn the baccalaureate degree and student choices…

This publication is part of a series that reprints articles on a range of thematic issues published in the "Canadian Journal of Higher Education." This collection focuses on graduate education in Canada. After a preface and an introduction, the five articles are: "Graduate Student Supervision Policies and Procedures: A Case Study of…

Research indicates that students whose parents did not attend college are more likely than their non first-generation counterparts to be less academically prepared for college, to have less knowledge of how to apply for college and for financial assistance, and to have more difficulty in acclimating themselves to college once they enroll. They are…

Examined the submission rates of PhD theses by 3579 doctoral students at the University of Birmingham (England) from 1984 through 1993. The only reliable predictor of successful submission within either a 4-year or 10-year period was whether a student was researching a science-based or an arts and humanities-based subject with science students…

This study finds that at one university, college major, ethnicity, grade point average, age, and number of semesters required to complete a degree are relevant in determining the student loan debts of recent college graduates. Gender is found to be irrelevant in determining student loan balances. A large percentage of recent graduates have student…

This study analyzed the retention and completion rates of international students seeking a master's degree at an American university. Records of 866 international students from 1987-2002 were investigated. Of these, 622 graduated, 92 dropped out of the program, and 152 are still active. Predictor variables analyzed to determine retention to degree…

This paper presents the first results of a project initiated in 2004 by the OECD in collaboration with Eurostat and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, and aimed at developing a regular and internationally comparable production system of indicators on the careers and mobility of doctorate holders. A first data collection was launched in September…

The work of the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education (ACPE) is guided by a strategic plan. The purpose of the plan is to provide focus for the activity of this small agency and its five staff members in order to increase productivity and impact in the areas of its statutory authority. The mission and goals were accepted by Commissioners…

This report presents a summary of the 1991-92 results of the national Survey of Earned Doctorates conducted each year since 1958. The report presents an analysis of the numbers of doctorate recipients including data with regard to number of degrees by selected characteristics (gender, citizenship, minority groups), fields, time-to-degree,…

This report presents information on each of the groups of freshmen who entered Illinois public universities between the 1983-84 and 1991-92 academic years regarding retention and persistence of baccalaureate students, the proportion that graduate, and the length of time needed to complete the Bachelor's degree. The report shows that: (1) 55…

Rather than studying the structural paths through which variables affect student persistence in education, this paper offers a reduced form model that focuses on precollege, demographic, and certain current achievement and financial aid variables. This approach does not specify structural paths, but it does have the advantage of requiring only…

To measure the amount of time it takes to earn an Associate of Arts degree at the San Diego Community College District, a study was undertaken of the number of years and number of semesters graduating students at three district colleges had been enrolled. A random sample of 300 students was drawn from the 1,130 students graduating in June 1992,…

This paper uses the Chain of Response Model (CRM) to help explain retention in the community college population. In the CRM, the student's decision to remain at an educational institution is not an isolated act, but rather the result of a complex chain of responses based on her/his cognitive evaluation of the present situation. The authors applied…