The problematic persistence rates that many colleges and schools of engineering encounter has resulted in ongoing conversations about academic readiness, retention, and degree completion within engineering programs. Although a large research base exists about student preparedness in engineering, many studies report a wide variety of factors that…

Ensuring postsecondary readiness is a goal of K-12 education, but it is unclear whether high school students should get different messages about the required levels of academic preparation depending on their postsecondary trajectories. This study estimated readiness benchmark scores on a college admissions test predictive of earning good grades in…

Increasingly, young adults with autism spectrum disorder are attending 4-year universities. The transition to adulthood can be challenging for these students, and university life poses its own set of demands. The present article takes a mixed-methods approach by including two studies utilizing complementary methodologies. Through in-depth…

The federally financed GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program) was organized two decades ago with the purpose of increasing high school completion and college enrollment among low-income students. The College Crusade of Rhode Island's GEAR UP program was designed as a long-term effort to buttress student success…

Given the importance of a college degree for both individual and societal economic prosperity, policymakers and educators are focused on strengthening the path to college beyond college entry. In this report, we synthesize the existing literature on four factors key to educational attainment--aspirations and beliefs, academic preparation,…

The Indiana Commission for Higher Education's College Readiness Reports are designed to provide information on students entering college. The reports encompass the entire first year of college for students who graduated high school the previous academic year and enrolled in college within one year. The reports also provide data beyond freshman…

The increase of underprepared students entering college decreases persistence and graduation rates at postsecondary institutions, ultimately declining degree attainment and social mobility of American citizens (U.S. Department of Education, 2016; McGuire, 2018). ACT, Inc. (2017) data suggests that overwhelming percentages of high school graduates…

To support youth early motivation for college and careers that meet workforce needs, the Texas Legislature in 2013 passed House Bill 5 to adopt a new high school graduation program, which allows students to pursue "endorsements" as they begin 9th grade. Endorsements introduce high-school students to STEM, Business & Industry, Public…

Students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HASD) have specific challenges that can impede their successful transition from high school to college. The unique expertise of school counselors put them in an ideal position to assist these students with this process. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the social,…

A 'quantum leap' (Kift, 2015) in our understanding of the transition to university studies has brought about a reimagining of the role of transition programs from attempting to remediate deficiencies in 'underprepared' students, to instead using engagement with the curriculum to instil success-oriented behaviours and attitudes in them. In…

Many students enter higher education with poor preparation for college mathematics courses. These students are often placed through high-stakes placement testing into developmental coursework that bear no credit towards graduation, but many students who begin in developmental coursework never succeed in a college-level mathematics course. Recent…

Students with non-apparent, high-incidence disabilities encounter barriers in postsecondary STEM learning environments. These barriers negatively influence their success therein. Using Fishkin's (2014) theory of bottlenecks within opportunity structures, data from 16 qualitative interviews show how barriers encountered serve to constrain the…

Care experienced students are among the least represented university students and are more likely to undertake vocational courses in post-92 universities. This study aims to provide insight into understanding more about the journeys of five care experienced students into, through and beyond nurse education. Data was collected using individual…

In John Dewey's educational framework, the process and product are inseparable; achieving democratic ends cannot result from undemocratic means. For him, the full humanization of people depended not upon externally imposed curriculum and management systems, but rather on responding to the intrinsic needs, interests, and powers of the individual to…

Disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic introduced opportunities for PK-12 education systems to accelerate evidence-based innovations that may better prepare students to pursue their educational and career goals. Thoughtfully designed pathways--the programs and experiences that students complete to satisfy graduation requirements--can…