To attract and retain more academically qualified students to science and mathematics, we developed a merit-based scholarship program for incoming students with STEM interests. Scholarship recipients participate for the first two years in an interdisciplinary learning community and declare a STEM major by the sophomore year. STEM Learning…

"Check & Connect" aims to help students stay in school by continually monitoring school performance and providing individualized attention through mentoring, case management, and other supports. In 2006, the WWC published a systematic review of all the studies that examined the impact of "Check & Connect" on high school…

The idea behind guided pathways is straightforward. College students are more likely to complete a degree in a timely fashion if they choose a program and develop an academic plan early on, have a clear road map of the courses they need to take to complete a credential, and receive guidance and support to help them stay on plan. However, most…

Nationwide, almost a third of 1st-year college students do not return to begin their sophomore year, and the 5-year graduation rate for undergraduates is only around 40%. It is important for universities to implement interventions, such as freshman transition courses, to help new students adjust to college life and succeed, and it is critical that…

This article examines definitions, rationales, and calculations associated with higher education performance measures: persistence, retention rate, attrition rate, drop-out rate, and graduation rate. Strengths and limitations of these measures are scrutinized relative to online master's programs. Outcomes of a sample of students (N = 96) enrolled…

The academic achievement gap between African Americans and their White counterparts has been an issue that has been discussed and dissected for several decades. In 2010, the Schott foundation released a report on Black males in school. It was reported that for the 2007-08 school year, there was only a 47% high school graduation rate for Black…

Under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City's education system embarked on a massive change effort, known as Children First, that produced significant results: new and better school options for families, more college-ready graduates, and renewed public confidence in New York City's schools. New York City's reform effort has also produced…

The Title VI Indian Education Formula Grants program represents the U.S. Department of Education's largest investment in addressing the unique academic and cultural needs of American Indian and Alaska Native children. The program is aimed at supporting services that (1) are responsive to the unique cultural, language, and educational needs of…

This is the technical appendices for the report, "Implementation of the Title VI Indian Education Formula Grants Program." Three appendices are included. The appendices are: (1) Supplemental Exhibits; (2) Data Collection Instruments; and (3) Title VI Indian Student Eligibility Certification Form (ED 506 Form). [For "Implementation…

Indian Education Formula Grants represent the U.S. Department of Education's largest investment in addressing the unique academic and cultural needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students. The program is aimed at supporting services that are responsive to the unique cultural, language, and educational needs of these students and help them…

The Tennessee Technology Center system has become something of a darling among college-completion advocates. Comprising 27 locations across the state, the system boasts graduation and job-placement rates that many colleges only dream of: 75 percent and 83 percent, respectively. Such achievements are even more noteworthy given the population the…

The Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES) program is a collaboration between MCPS, Montgomery College, and the Universities at Shady Grove to create a seamless pathway from high school to college completion; it targets students who are underrepresented in higher education, the first in their family to attend college, or both. As one…

Despite enrolling almost half of all undergraduate students in the United States, community colleges have struggled for decades with low degree-completion rates. CUNY community colleges struggle with the challenge of low completion rates even when the degree timetable is expanded. According to the CUNY Office of Institutional Research and…

Half of all college students will enroll in remedial coursework but evidence of its effectiveness is mixed. Using a regression-discontinuity design with data from a large urban community college system, we make three contributions. First, we articulate three alternative hypotheses regarding the potential impacts of remediation. Second, in addition…

The task of recruiting and retaining ethnically diverse, qualified, and committed social workers in child welfare is challenging. Federal funding supporting BSW and MSW education has been a catalyst for university-agency partnerships across the country. An important goal of these partnerships is to prepare social work students with the knowledge,…