One third of undergraduate students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities are considered nontraditional as defined by the single criterion of being aged 25 years and older. Nontraditional students have significantly lower graduation rates than traditional students. Using a role theory perspective this mixed-methods study examines the factors…

In January 2010, the General Assembly passed the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), a comprehensive reform agenda that seeks to transform public higher education through changes in academic, fiscal and administrative policies at the state and institutional levels. While the higher education landscape has been shaped by the CCTA, higher…

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) has long collected and reported data on tuition, required fees, and room and board charges for first-time, full-time undergraduate (FTFTUG) students. These charges, along with other miscellaneous expenses, constitute what is known as the "published price of attendance" or the…

For-profit institutions are more visible today among policymakers, researchers, and investors, due in large part to the sharp rise in the number of students attending them over the last decade. From 2000 to 2009, enrollment in the for-profit sector tripled while enrollment in the public and not-for-profit sectors increased by less than 25 percent.…

The Student Right to Know Act requires institutions that participate in any student financial assistance program under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as amended) to disclose graduation rates. To assist institutions in meeting this requirement, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) collects these rates as part of the…

This report summarizes fall enrollment in Iowa's community colleges. Every year, Iowa's 15 community college districts submit data on the tenth business day of the fall semester. This report summarizes several aspects of community college enrollment from fall 2013. Highlights from this report include: (1) Fall 2013 enrollment was 94,234 students,…

Community colleges report opening Spring term opening enrollment figures to the Illinois Community College Board using a brief web based survey. This report contains information on student enrollments as of the end of registration -- usually the 10th day of the term -- for the Spring 2010 semester. Overall, statewide results of the fiscal year…

As a brief review of retention and graduation rate policy, in 2006 the Board of Governors revised Code Section 400.1.5 on "Improving Retention and Graduation Rates" and asked each campus to establish, in consultation with the University of North Carolina General Administration (UNC-GA), goals for increasing retention and graduation rates…

Since 1998, the Iowa Department of Education's Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation (Division) has compiled and published "The Annual Condition of Iowa's Community Colleges," commonly known as the "Condition Report." The intent of this report is to provide clear, objective data about Iowa's community…

The prominence of discourse on postsecondary degree completion, student persistence, and retention has increased in the national dialogue. Heightened attention to college completion rates by the federal government and pressure to tie state funding to performance metrics associated with graduation rates are catalysts for the discussion.…

The purpose of this research was to identify the impact of students' choice of time of day for class activity and their sleep quality on academic performance in multidisciplinary distance education courses at a southeastern U.S. state college. The research addressed the relationship of other individual student characteristics (i.e., age, gender,…

The Fall 2013 Enrollment Fact Book details current fall enrollment data including on- and off-campus enrollment by ethnicity, gender, residency, degree program level, and program category. [This report was produced by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Office of Academic & Student Affairs.]

To improve student access and success in North Dakota University System (NDUS) institutions, the State Board of Higher Education has implemented enrollment policies that better reflect the differentiated missions of research universities, regional universities, and community colleges. This report addresses the transition in policy by grouping data…

Despite enrolling almost half of all undergraduate students in the United States, community colleges have struggled for decades with low degree-completion rates. CUNY community colleges struggle with the challenge of low completion rates even when the degree timetable is expanded. According to the CUNY Office of Institutional Research and…

The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto study was to provide a description of the student engagement of commuter students attending a large urban public university located in a mid-Atlantic state using the five National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) benchmarks of student engagement. In addition, the study examined the relationship…