This study aims to examine the concept of "time to degree" in relation to community college students. Because many community college students take longer than 2 to 3 years to complete the equivalent of a 2-year Associate Degree, and because many community college students have no intention of graduating with a degree or certificate,…

In accordance with Florida state law, this progress report informs the Legislature of actions taken by Florida's Community College System in response to a 1999 Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) review. The OPPAGA found that the Legislature and the Division of Community Colleges have implemented several of…

This study examined the relationship between the time taken to obtain a baccalaureate degree and the type of financial aid received and/or student employment. Institutional data were analyzed for 4,403 nontransfer students attending a large urban public university. Data sets analyzed included: a longitudinal student master file, the undergraduate…

A study drew on data from a major longitudinal study to examine whether graduate business administration students experienced a hiatus in educational careers and whether work/education profiles differed from other graduate students. Results indicate interrupting education between bachelor's and master's degrees correlates with part-time enrollment…

A Markov chain is used to model the movement of undergraduates through the higher education system in Australia. Given the student's age on commencing a course of study, the model provides estimates of the probability of course completion, mean time for completion, and mean time spent in the higher education system. (Author/MSE)

This report presents a summary of findings from the Emerging Pathways project, which seeks to identify the diverse needs and characteristics of adult learners, understand patterns of enrollment in credit and non-credit-bearing courses and offer advice to postsecondary institutions and policymakers committed to adult learners' success. Among its…

This report discusses measures taken in response to Colorado Senate Bill 92-155, which requests institutions of higher education in the state to ensure that students have the opportunity and needed assistance to complete degrees in a reasonable time. The report also examines degree completion times at Colorado colleges and universities, and…

This report presents background information on possible strategies for shortening degree-completion times at Texas universities. A brief discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy is presented, along with a rough estimate of the fiscal consequences of each. The report notes that the percentage of students who complete their…

A study was conducted at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Victoria (UV) to assess the academic performance of community college and technical institute transfer students in terms of baccalaureate degree attainment, time taken to complete the degree, rate of withdrawal, and final academic standing at the time the…

Student characteristics of 1982-83 earned doctorate recipients include sex, racial or ethnic group, citizenship, marital status, age, years from bachelor's degree to doctorate, percentage with bachelor's degree in the same field, planned postdoctoral study and employment, primary postdoctoral work, and region of postdoctoral employment. (MSE)

This report analyzes the statistics regarding college transfer issues in Texas higher education. Thousands of individual student transcripts were reviewed by the Transfer Advisory Committee, which was appointed by the Commissioner of Higher Education. The Committee's goal was to determine how many courses were accepted by the receiving…

This report examines undergraduate persistence and time to degree at public universities in Illinois, focusing on the year-to-year persistence of cohorts of freshmen students admitted to 10 universities between 1983 and 1993. It also examines the public university graduating class of 1993-94 and describes the factors influencing time to degree. It…

The completion rate and median time to degree of three doctoral cohorts at the University of Manitoba were analyzed by gender and by field of study and the results were compared to studies elsewhere. To evaluate factors affecting students' progress, a mail questionnaire was sent in the fall of 1993 to all students (N=105) first admitted to the…

This working paper is a staff paper prepared to elicit discussion of issues as they relate to degree completion and persistence in Indiana's public postsecondary education. This is based on a requirement from the Indiana General Assembly for the Commission of Higher Education to "develop a definition for and report biennially on" degree…

This report uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 and the High School & Beyond/Sophomores Study to summarize information on what is studied, where, and by whom, in the nation's colleges, community colleges, and postsecondary trade schools. Section 1 describes how the data is based on that which the…