While many Americans may be questioning the value of a college degree due to rising costs, on virtually every measure of economic well-being and career attainment--from personal earnings to job satisfaction to the share employed full time--young college graduates are outperforming their peers with less education. Yet college dropout rates indicate…

Since its inception in 1955, dual credit has become an increasing popular way to not only prepare high school students for the rigors of college courses but to give some high school students the opportunity to complete anywhere from a few college courses to a complete associate degree while still in high school. High school dual credit programs…

Higher education institutions in the United States currently face ongoing challenges and difficulties beginning in 2008 with the fiscal crisis which created a need for education and retraining for man, demand for greater accountability by institutions and a fundamental shift in the perceived value of higher education. Academic leaders of…

The value of a college degree has grown significantly for both society and individuals over the last decades. Research shows a large earning gap between individuals with a high school diploma or GED and higher education levels. Many individuals start their postsecondary journey with a public institution. Community colleges must design academic…

Completing a college degree is major accomplishment under the best of circumstances. The economic and societal value of a college degree has the potential to produce residual benefits for one of the most vulnerable populations, foster care alumni. A specific group of foster care alumni, those who "age out" of foster care share the same…

This study explores the relationship between school affluence and ethnicity/gender on the outcomes of African-American female high school students enrolled in a concentrated technology program at a large, urban public school district. A quantitative correlational research design was utilized. Binary logistic regression was conducted to determine…

Students, parents, and government leaders continue to question the value of higher education in general and of a liberal arts education in particular (Council of Independent Colleges, 2015; Fischer, 2022; Strauss, 2019). With students enrolling in liberal arts programs in significant numbers, and with the majority of those students now reflecting…

Nationally, reverse credit transfer is a practice of transfer credit. The reverse transfer program at the study site was implemented in 2013, but no information had been analyzed about the experiences of participating students. This study explored students' experiences of the reverse transfer program at the study site. The theory of student…

This qualitative study examined the experiences of eight Black male higher education doctoral students attending a predominantly White institution in the South. Interviews were conducted asking the participants to reflect upon their educational experiences. The primary overarching research question guiding this study was: What factors contribute…

Given the value of obtaining a college degree, it is the responsibility of educational administrators and faculty to understand what contributes to or detracts from student success in college. Researchers have shown a strong relationship between students' level of integration with the institutions and persistence to graduation. One factor that…

Texas has approximately 200 designated early college high schools (ECHS). The present study aimed to acquire feedback from ECHS graduates to identify how students could be prepared more effectively for postsecondary education degree attainment and identify potential areas of disconnect between ECHS and 4-year colleges. To explore early college…

Life roles of nontraditional college students impact their retention and degree completion. Based on the literature, it was not known how nontraditional students describe how their life roles influence their experiences while they complete a 2-year associate degree from a 2-year college in the southern United States. The purpose of this…

Foster youth graduate from college at lower rates than their nonfoster youth peers. Only 10% of foster youth graduate with an associate degree, and less than 3% graduate with a bachelor's degree (Courtney et al., 2011), and there is a significant achievement gap between foster youth and nonfoster youth students (Emerson & Bassett, 2010; Hussar…

The study examined how the NSF-funded, Maryland , the Summer Success Institute, functions as what is known as a third space. Ten African American doctoral students in STEM disciplines shared their perceptions of the benefits of being in a third space. The study hypothesized that SSI operates as a third space, promotes persistence, and combats…

Degree completion rates have recently dominated national debates regarding the value of higher education (Gagliardi et al., 2018). Inherent in this debate is the issue of how to utilize institutional data to evaluate student performance (Hubbard et al., 2020). This process, known as data-driven decision-making (DDDM), has been studied at four-year…