The purpose of this quantitative study is to investigate the relationship between federal Pell Grant status, campus diversity statistics, and their influence on graduation rates within higher education. This study focuses on higher education institutions in the state of Texas and adopts a quantitative design that utilizes a regression analysis to…

The Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program provided education and occupational training to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other adults with low incomes. HPOG training is for healthcare occupations that pay well and may experience labor shortages or be in high demand. This report details common themes…

Only 60 percent of students in post-secondary education in the United States graduate within six years of enrollment. Some minority and disadvantaged students graduate at significantly lower rates. As Congress considers reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, some consideration is being given to promoting greater use of evidence-based programs and…

The policy agenda provides a robust and compressive vision for Latino success in higher education; it outlines recommendations for how to make high-quality colleges and universities more affordable, increase access to financial aid, increase degree attainment, improve degree quality, and much more. The state of higher education today fails to…

When President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law in 2002, the U.S. national high school graduation rate was 72.6 percent. Today, the national high school graduation rate has reached an all-time high of 81 percent and the number of low-graduation-rate high schools has declined considerably. While this progress is notable,…

The report outlines ways colleges and universities can improve access and attainment for underserved students, particularly Pell Grant recipients, who come from low-income backgrounds. "Serving Their Share" lists 10 prominent public institutions who are failing to enroll as many low-income, high-achieving students as they could, based on…

Student loan default, defined as federal loan borrowers' failure to make any payments for at least 270 days, is an issue of increasing importance to community colleges and their students. This report takes a unique look at student loan default at nine community colleges across the nation, and how those colleges are working to help students avoid…

"A Closer Look at the Trillion: Borrowing, Repayment and Default at Iowa's Community Colleges," takes an unprecedented look at community college student borrowing and repayment behavior. The report uses data from all 16 community colleges in Iowa to examine the characteristics of borrowers and defaulters to help colleges and policymakers…

The School Improvement Grant (SIG) program funds reforms in low performing schools. Congress provided $3.5 billion for SIG in fiscal year 2009, and a total of about $1.6 billion was appropriated in fiscal years 2010-2012. SIG requirements changed significantly in 2010. Many schools receiving SIG funds must now use the funding for specific…

Early college schools are succeeding at our nation's most daunting educational challenge--propelling students from underserved backgrounds to graduate high school and earn postsecondary degrees. These schools combine high school and college in rigorous, yet supportive environments that embrace acceleration over remediation. Their "college for…

In the nearly fifty years since the adoption of the Higher Education Act of 1965, financial aid programs have grown in scale, expanded in scope, and multiplied in form. As a result, financial aid has become the norm among college enrollees. The increasing size and complexity of the nation's student aid system has generated questions about…

This hearing is the third in a series examining critical issues in postsecondary education as the committee looks to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The topic discussed is of paramount importance and is arguably the bedrock of Federal higher education policy, that is, the Federal financial aid programs and their effectiveness in providing…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA or the Recovery Act) of 2009 provided an unprecedented level of funding designed to "stimulate the economy in the short-term and invest wisely, using these funds to improve schools, raise achievement, drive reforms and produce better results for children and young people for the long-term…

The Study of School Turnaround is an examination of the implementation of School Improvement Grants (SIG) authorized under Title I section 1003(g) of the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" and supplemented by the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." "Baseline Analyses of SIG Applications and SIG-Eligible…

The "Personnel Development Program to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities" is authorized under Section 662 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and is known as the Personnel Development Program (PDP). The PDP is administered by the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) Office of Special…