ERIC Number: ED466105
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2002-Feb
Pages: 5
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Access & Persistence: Findings from 10 Years of Longitudinal Research on Students. ERIC Digest.
Choy, Susan P.
To answer questions about who goes to college, who persists toward a degree or credential, and what happens to students after they enroll, the National Center for Education Statistics launched three national longitudinal studies to track students movements into and through the postsecondary education system. These three surveys, the National Education Longitudinal Study, the Beginning Postsecondary Student Longitudinal Study, and the Baccalaureate and Beyond Study, provide findings about college access, student characteristics, and academic persistence. College students today are a diverse group; 30% are minorities, 20% were born outside of the United States or have a parent who was, and 11% spoke a language other than English while growing up. Only 40% of college students fit the traditional mold of enrolling immediately after high school and depending on their parents to take care of financial responsibilities. About three-quarters of all four-year college students now earn a paycheck, and about one-quarter work full time. A young persons likelihood of attending a four-year college increases with the level of their parents education. More at-risk students apply to college if their friends plan to go, but the price of attending college is still a significant obstacle for students from low- and middle-income families. Financial aid is an equalizer to some degree. Most students who leave college enroll again within 6 years, but many enroll in other institutions. As a result, the records of individual institutions often understate the overall postsecondary persistence. (SLD)
Descriptors: Academic Persistence, Access to Education, College Bound Students, College Students, Diversity (Student), High School Students, Higher Education, Longitudinal Studies, National Surveys, Student Characteristics, Student Employment
ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education, Institute for Education Policy Studies, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, One Dupont Circle, Suite 630, Washington, DC 20036-1183. Tel: 800-956-7739 (Toll Free). For full text: http://www.eriche.org/digests/2002-2.pdf. For full text of American Council on Education report: http://www.acenet.edu/bookstore/pdf/2002_access&persistence.pdf.
Publication Type: ERIC Publications; ERIC Digests in Full Text
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education, Washington, DC.; American Council on Education, Washington, DC. Center for Policy Analysis.
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (NCES); Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
IES Cited: ED506465