This update contains analyses of legislative initiatives being tracked by CPEC (California Postsecondary Education Commission) staff, including bills that have been introduced since the June Commission meeting. It has positions as adopted in the Commission meeting on September 28. A matrix of bills tracked by CPEC staff is included. Contents…

This report provides the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving three key priorities for Nebraska's postsecondary education system: (1) Increase the number of students who enter postsecondary education in Nebraska; (2) Increase the percentage of students who enroll and successfully…

By late 2008, the United States was in the midst of its most severe economic recession since the 1930s, brought on by a collapse in real estate prices and exacerbated by the failure of many large banks and financial institutions. Heeding calls from economists, Congress and the Obama administration passed a historic law in early 2009 to stimulate…

National statistics indicate that approximately 50 percent of all graduate students fail to complete their degree; thus, understanding the factors that influence their persistence is an important research objective. Using data from a nationally representative sample of bachelor's degree recipients, the study aimed to answer three questions: What…

This study of a Mid Atlantic Historically Black Institution (MAHBI) examines cognitive, social, and institutional factors to identify those that are most critical in contributing to the steady decline of the rate of student retention for this institution and others with similar characteristics. Secondary source data pertaining to three cohorts…

In this article, the author examines the challenges of highly mobile students and what educators can do to retain and support them. The findings and recommendations presented here are based on two complementary research projects conducted with homeless students transitioning from high school to college. The author focuses on the residential…

This workshop guide for financial aid administrators provides training in the federal student financial aid delivery system. An introduction enables the participant to share some information about his or her responsibilities and to reflect on the relevance of the training to the job. Session 1, "Application Systems," identifies methods of applying…

Despite near universal acceptance in the value of higher education for individuals and society, college persistence rates in 4-year and community colleges are low. Only 57% of students who began college at a 4-year institution in 2001 had completed a bachelor's degree by 2007, and only 28% of community college students who started school in 2005…

This chapter presents findings from two recent Pell Institute studies, which explored the characteristics and experiences of low-income, first-generation community college transfer students in Texas and two-year and four-year institutional approaches to facilitating transfer student degree completion. Specifically, the first study asked the…

The State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report is produced annually by the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) to broaden understanding of the context and consequences of multiple decisions made every year in each of these areas. No single report can provide definitive answers to such broad and fundamental questions of public…

In January 2010, the General Assembly passed the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), a comprehensive reform agenda that seeks to transform public higher education through changes in academic, fiscal and administrative policies at the state and institutional level. At the center of these reforms is the need for more Tennesseans to be better…

Economic inequality is high and rising in a number of developed countries, including in the United Kingdom and the United States. There are growing concerns that this may have negative implications for equality of opportunity, and the extent to which social disadvantage is transmitted across generations. It is widely believed that providing…

In September 2007, Congress voted to cut subsidies to lenders in the federal guaranteed-student-loan program and use much of the savings to increase student aid. Congress also passed other significant provisions, including modified repayment periods and loan forgiveness for certain students. Such legislation came on the heels of New York Attorney…

The purpose of the United States Department of Education's (the Department) Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 "Agency Financial Report" (AFR) is to inform Congress, the President, and the American people on how the Department has used federal resources entrusted to it to promote achievement and preparedness of youth entering a global environment by…

This is the first edition of the "Mobile Digest of Education Statistics." This compact compilation of statistical information covers prekindergarten through graduate school to describe the current American education scene. The "Mobile Digest" is designed as an easy mobile reference for materials found in detail in the…