Examines the relationship between selected demographic and situational variables and completion of doctorate in educational administration from the West Virginia University-Marshall University Cooperative Doctoral Program. Analysis of survey responses (n=140) identified six factors positively related to degree completion: student financial…

A speech given by Harold Hodgkinson on the demographics of higher education in the near future is summarized and excerpted. Topics discussed include growing ethnic diversity in the college-student population, applicant-pool projections, the relationship between education and income, attendance patterns (part- vs. full-time, time to degree), and…

The work of the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education (ACPE) is guided by a 5-year strategic plan. The purpose of the plan is to provide focus for the activity of this small agency and its eight staff members in order to increase productivity and impact in the areas of its statutory authority. The mission and goals were accepted by…

This study examines the default behavior of 3,325 undergraduate student borrowers who attended Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) and entered repayment on their TG-guaranteed Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans between October 1, 2000 and September 30, 2002 (fiscal years 2001-2002). Using the Department of Education's official…

This paper identified factors within the higher education environment that significantly influence student retention rates and the timely graduation of traditional full-time, first-time, degree seeking students in the state of Colorado. The paper uses the research findings of national studies and other studies conducted by Wisconsin and…

This paper provides initial results of a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of first-generation students, their college choices, their academic and social integration into the institution, their postsecondary persistence and attainment outcomes, and their labor market outcomes. The study analyzed data from the 1989-90…

Most students planning to enter college do so immediately after graduating from high school, and most baccalaureate programs can be completed within 4 years. Taking longer may have a variety of causes and a number of implications, including costs for the individual and the institution. Approximately 31% of college graduates in 1990 completed their…

Studies conducted by the University of California and California State University, concerning the time students take to complete the baccalaureate degree, are synopsized and reported. The methodology, findings, and conclusions of each report are provided separately, and the reports themselves are appended, along with the survey instruments. A…

All students receiving master's degrees, doctoral candidacy status, and doctorates at the University of Washington between fall 1974 and the summer quarter 1975 were studied. Data are reported for male, female, and total groups on source of bachelor's degree, age at entry, number of years since receipt of the most recent degree, credits earned,…

This study addressed the question of how much graduation rates would improve if new students were followed for 10 instead of four or six years from their date of first enrollment; it also compared enrollment and graduation patterns of new freshmen and new transfers to see if graduation rates were similar after 10 years. Participants were all…

National longitudinal retention data on 52,898 students at 65 colleges and universities were used to generate formulas for estimating any institution's expected retention rate based on its students' high school grades, admission test scores, and racial and gender composition. Separate formulas were computed for estimating degree completion rates…

Using data on degree completion among black and white community college students, a study investigated how rates in different postsecondary programs vary for blacks and whites, changes over the course of the 1980s, and institutional characteristics encouraging program completion for the two groups. The most striking result was a decline in…

A study of Brigham Young University (Utah) graduates, 1980-88, looked at patterns in change of major among transfer students and those entering as freshmen. Results are reported concerning early statement of major, open vs. specified major, gender differences, academic achievement, frequency of change, and time to graduation in each year's cohort.…

National data on doctoral recipients include information on students' gender, citizenship, racial or ethnic background, planned postdoctoral study and employment, and primary postdoctoral employment activity by field. The median age, time from bachelor's to doctoral degree, years as a graduate student, and proportion with same-field undergraduate…

Low graduation rates and excessive time to degree have cost implications for students, institutions, and the state and raise fundamental questions about priorities. This report examines graduation and time-to-degree rates at 10 Illinois public college and universities; the potential factors affecting graduation and timely completion; and the issue…