In this brief, the authors have corralled existing research to make the point that while on average the return to college is highly positive, there is a considerable spread in the value of going to college. A bachelor's degree is not a smart investment for every student in every circumstance. The authors have outlined three important steps…

A primary goal of the U.S. Department of Education's Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Blueprint for Reform is to improve the college readiness of high school graduates (U.S. Department of Education 2010). College readiness is a complex benchmark and has been measured in several ways, including transcript analysis (Adelman 2006) and…

Gaps in average college success among students of differing backgrounds have persisted in the United States for decades. One of the primary ways governments have attempted to ameliorate such gaps is by providing need-based grants, but little evidence exists on the impacts of such aid on longer-term outcomes such as college persistence and degree…

This paper reports on a new experience carried out at school associated with the Technical University of Catalonia, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in September 2010. The aim is to describe the organization, funding and results of a preparatory course in Physics for a bachelor's degree in Engineering. We assess the students' opinions…

Training programmes for the information professions worldwide have been shifting and diversifying the scope of their claimed domains and curricula in order to empower their graduates with diverse knowledge and versatile technical skills required to compete successfully in the highly competitive job markets in the information industries. In line…

While promoting postsecondary credential completion is a national priority intended to help graduates secure good jobs, the value of credentials in the labor market from the perspective of employers is not well understood. Specifically, more attention is needed to understand how credentials align with employer needs. Through in-depth interviews…

While a substantial proportion of students delay entry into higher education, sociologists are only beginning to understand the consequences of this phenomenon for educational attainment. Previous studies have reported a negative relationship between delayed entry and degree completion, but they have not been able to explain it with a range of…

The trend in U.S. undergraduate economics degrees continued its upward trajectory in 2008-9. (Contains 3 tables.)

In this study, the perceptions and experiences of an interprofessional team responsible for the development and delivery of the Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) Blended Learning Program at Nipissing University were examined. In this program, RPNs can acquire a BScN through distance-based part-time study,…

The present study aimed to explore the contribution of a mathematics in-service training course to elementary school teachers (1st-6th grades) in Israel. The study was conducted among 449 educators. They were required to respond to background questions. Moreover, they were asked to indicate their expectations from the in-service training course…

The objective of this study was to identify the reasons for shortage of Mathematics teachers at Thai Basic Education level. This research is both quantitative and qualitative in nature. For the purpose of study, survey was conducted with senior high school students, in order to find out their willingness to pursue mathematics in Bachelor of…

Parental income and wealth contribute to children's success but are at least partly endogenous to parents' cognitive and noncognitive skills. We estimate the degree to which mothers' skills measured in early adulthood confound the relationship between their economic resources and their children's postsecondary education outcomes. Analyses of…

Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with nearly 107,000 degree-seeking students and thousands more who are enrolled in certificate and other career-development programs. With almost 90 percent of students coming from Pennsylvania and the vast majority of graduates…

This Accountability Report shows the status and progression of the University of South Florida System (USF) from one year to the next. The Executive Summary is divided into the following sections: (1) Dashboard; (2) Performance Funding Metrics; (3) Key Achievements; and (4) Narrative. Data tables on USF's financial resources, personnel,…

This Accountability Report shows the status and progression of the Florida State University (FSU) from one year to the next. The Executive Summary is divided into the following sections: (1) Dashboard; (2) Performance Funding Metrics; (3) Key Achievements; and (4) Narrative. Data tables on FSU's financial resources, personnel, enrollment,…