Students leaving institutions of higher education prior to graduation leads to millions of dollars in lost revenue (Sutter & Paulsen, 2016; Undergraduate Retention and Graduation Rates, 2018). Retention theorists Tinto (1975) and Kuh (2008) recommend practices such as academic interaction, social interaction, faculty engagement with students,…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the academic experiences of low socioeconomic status ESL learners enrolled in a mid-sized urban community college located in Pennsylvania. The theory that guided this study is Walberg's theory on educational productivity, as it looks at how learners' psychological…

We compiled the first longitudinal data set with detailed state funding information to examine whether different funding strategies for public higher education correlate with college access and completion, with a focus on outcomes among racially minoritized students. We found no relationships between funding mechanisms and student outcomes at…

This brief analyzes 4-year graduation rates among students ever classified as English learners (ever-ELs) and those never classified as English learners (never-ELs) at the intersections of gender, race/ethnicity, and neighborhood income. We follow two cohorts of New York City students who entered ninth grade in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 (N =…

This brief analyzes 4-year graduation rates among students ever classified as English learners (ever-ELs) and those never classified as English learners (never-ELs) at the intersections of gender, race/ethnicity, and neighborhood income. We follow two cohorts of New York City students who entered ninth grade in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 (N =…

School assignment policies are a key lever to increase access to high performing schools and to promote racial and socioeconomic integration. For over 50 years, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) has bussed students of color from Boston, Massachusetts to relatively wealthier and predominantly White suburbs. Using a…

With a decade-long stagnant 34% Black male college graduation rate, there was little understanding of how and why Black male initiatives, designed to improve Black male persistence and graduation in 4-year colleges, affected retention and graduation-related behaviors, as understood by the Black male participants in such initiatives. This…

School grades provide an easily understandable metric to measure the performance of a school. Parents and the general public can use the school grade and its associated components to understand how well each school is serving its students. The purpose of this technical guide is to provide a description of the procedures used to determine school…

Students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, defined as both first-generation and low-income, represent a growing population attending 4-year universities with the hopes of social mobility and the economic benefits of a bachelor's degree. However, the graduation rates of these students are 43% lower than that of their more affluent peers, a gap…

Performance-based funding policies for postsecondary institutions have been enacted throughout the United States as an answer to reductions in public funding and increased accountability mandates. Institutional effectiveness, as demonstrated through metrics such as graduation and retention rates, dictates the level of funding received. Educational…

This qualitative phenomenological study investigated the perspectives of university students who self-identified as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) regarding the academic support systems they received and/or required to graduate on time. The study's primary objective was to discover support mechanisms that supported DACA recipients…

"Scaling Completion" highlights Complete College America (CCA)'s work in 2023 to: (1) Lead the field to improve college completion rates, particularly for historically underserved students; (2) Engage and bring together leaders to eliminate institutional performance gaps; and (3) Build capacity to create and implement data-informed…

Policy research established that it is possible to predict a student will drop out of school based on academic, attendance, behavior indicators. Little is known about the processes that put Early Warning Systems (EWS) in place. This case study of the Montana EWS describes the characteristics of a statewide implementation, the efficiency of the EWS…

As demand for college graduates grows (Times Higher Education, 2023) persistence rates for first-generation students continue to lag (Toutkoushain et al., 2018, 2021). Complicating our understanding of this opportunity gap is the diversity of how first-generation student status is defined (Jo Peralta & Klonowski, 2017). We argue that while…

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page sheets on a variety of subjects. This fact sheet focuses on: (1) State-Level High School Graduation Rate Percentages for English Learners: School Year 2017-18; (2) Graduation Rate Percentages for English Learners by State: School Year…