The problem targeted by the study was that while nontraditional students are increasingly attending college in record numbers, they are more than twice as likely as other students to drop out in their first year of study, indicating the delayed promise of degree completion may never be realized. The study focused on the opportunities and fiscal…

This study examined the relationship between student engagement and graduation rates between Black/African American students and White (Non-Hispanic) students in their senior year at faith-based institutions in the southeastern region of the United States using the NSSE benchmarks of effective educational practices. Specifically, scores from the…

A trend in high end-of-year academic attrition creates a negative impact on an institution's mission and in the community. In the community, attrition reduces the number of potential nurses during a looming nursing shortage predicted by the American Nurses' Association (2001). The mission of one two-year college is to produce successful nursing…

Adults are participating in all levels of higher education in increasing numbers due to a variety of societal, cultural, technological, and economic pressures. While many adult students attend 2-year colleges and technical institutions, 4-year colleges and universities are also enrolling substantial percentages of adult students. Nevertheless,…

This dissertation consists of three essays on education and macroeconomics. The first chapter analyzes whether public education financing systems can account for large differences among developed countries in earnings inequality and intergenerational earnings persistence. I first document facts about public education in the U.S. and Norway, which…

Urban high-school students' low average level of academic achievement is a national problem. A lack of academic progress is a factor that contributes to students failing to graduate. In response to these urban high school student problems, a growing number of urban charter high schools have opened as an alternative to the traditional public high…

Under the George W. Bush U.S. presidential administration, the federal government pushed for greater accountability among institutions of higher education for educational outcomes. Graduation rate is a key performance indicator of institutional accountability. Previous researchers of student attrition focused primarily on the effects of student…