What do students learn in school? In the 21 century, this question has become a political dilemma for countries around the globe. It is a deceptively simple question, but there has never been an easy answer. The problem of measuring student learning appears to express an educational problem: What and how much do students learn? Most student…

The persistence of postgraduate research students is an ongoing challenge for many university programs. The author describes several curriculum innovations that were implemented based on the recommendations in the literature for improving student persistence and self-efficacy for conducting research and the results of a qualitative needs…

An estimated 1,400 colleges and universities nationwide have invested in predictive analytics technology to identify which students are at risk of failing courses or dropping out, with spending estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars. How accurate and stable are those predictions? The authors put six predictive models to the test to gain…

Although many institutions and government agencies count degrees as the sole measure of determining departmental or program viability, this method fails to consider other factors such as how many students who are within programs are present to replace students who graduated from those programs or how many credit hours were generated in the area.…

We study the combined effects of charter schools, and their various mechanisms, on a national level and across multiple outcomes. Using difference-in-differences and fixed effects methods, we find that charter entry (above 10 percent market share) increases high school graduation rate in geographic districts by about 2-4 percentage points and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictability of types of mentoring relationships on the perceived academic success, retention status, graduation status, and progression status of undergraduate students in the United States. Specifically, this study focused on the predictable relationship between types of mentoring relationships such…

In an era of accountability for educational performance, community colleges should know whether student success is influenced by hiring racially diverse employees. Student interactions with diverse individuals improve student achievement on key performance indicators. This correlational study expands the limited body of knowledge on the…

This research study provides campus-type specific insight into the graduation rates of students of color at a departmental (i.e., School of Business) level. With underrepresented student populations comprising up to a third of business school enrollment, there is institutional and departmental value in understanding how, and at what levels,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between funding and the attainment of a high school diploma for students with a disability in the state of Michigan. The high school graduation rate continues to remain stagnate for students with disabilities in the state of Michigan. The research examined the role of school finance and…

Student retention and graduation in higher education are important goals for institutions across the U.S., yet improving rates of first-year retention and graduation has proven challenging. One strategy promoted for improving these rates of student success is increasing levels of student engagement in the classroom and within the larger academic…

Purpose: Postsecondary institutions use metrics such as student retention and college completion rates to measure student success. Multiple factors affect the success of first time in college (FTIC) and transfer students. Transfer student success rates are significantly low, with most transfer students nationwide failing to complete their degrees…

Guided pathways, a program that aims to improve college completion and student success through remodeling of the student journey, supports learners in choosing a program of study, ideally resulting in transfer to a four-year school or the start of a lucrative career with a two-year degree. Colleges that employ a guided pathways model are seeing…

The purpose of this study was to determine if discipline strategies, gender, and disabilities impact the successful cohort graduation of African American students with special needs. While much research has been conducted to investigate the achievement gap and discipline gap, there is a paucity of research on how discipline affects the graduation…

TICAS, in partnership with MDRC and LEO, has worked for more than a year and a half with a community of seven evidence-based college completion programs. These programs, which span the country geographically, all employ a similar model that uses counselors, coaches, or case managers to connect students with a range of support -- personal,…

The transition into high school is a critical time to act for students with a history of academic difficulty. In this study, researchers examined the impact of a learning strategies intervention program called High School Success on performance of students demonstrating deficits in literacy and academic skills. Data were collected on performance…