Finance — Early/Middle Colleges
A StateNote brief from the Education Commission of the States (ECS) reviews the funding polices of seven states with state-wide early/middle college programs. These programs allow students to earn a high school diploma free of cost while gaining postsecondary credit in a small school environment. The brief focuses on three questions: (1) how the state funds early/middle colleges compared to traditional high schools; (2) if the state provides additional funding to the higher education institution; and (3) if a student is required to pay tuition. (3/08)
Campus Law Enforcement, 2004-05
A report from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics presents information on the characteristics of campus law enforcement agencies. The report examines differences between public and private institutions and looks at changes from 1994-95 to 2004-05. Changes in crime statistics over this ten-year period also are examined. Highlighted findings include the following:
- Three-quarters of campus law enforcement agencies used sworn officers with full arrest powers.
- Nearly all campuses had 24-hour patrol, a 3-digit emergency number, and emergency blue-light phones.
- Among schools with 5,000 or more students, private campuses had more law enforcement employees per capita than public campuses. (2/08)
Projections of Education Statistics to 2016
This annual publication from the National Center for Education Statistics provides projections for key education statistics, including enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary schools; and enrollment, earned degrees conferred, and current-fund expenditures of degree-granting institutions. (1/08)
The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2007
The Higher Education Research Institute has released results of its 2007 survey of college freshmen. The survey covers a wide range of student characteristics, including parental income and education; ethnicity and other demographic items; financial aid; secondary school achievement and activities; educational and career plans; and values, attitudes, beliefs, and self-concept. The 2007 survey also includes information about students’ perceptions of parental involvement in their college search process as well as information about students’ use of social networking sites. A research brief summarizing the results is available online. The full report is available for purchase. (1/08)
Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning
The Sloan Consortium’s fifth annual report on the state of online learning in U.S. higher education indicates that nearly 20 percent of all students (3.5 million) were taking at least one online course in Fall 2006, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. Two-year associate’s institutions have the highest growth rates and account for over one-half of all online enrollments for the last five years. (11/07)
Experiences That Matter: Enhancing Student Learning and Success
Findings from the 2007 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) show that taking part in certain activities during college boosts students’ performance in many areas, such as thinking critically, solving real world problems, and working effectively with others. These “high impact” activities include learning communities, undergraduate research, study abroad, internships, and capstone projects. (11/07)
Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002): A First Look at the Initial Postsecondary Experiences of the High School Sophomore Class of 2002
A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics provides selected, nationally representative information about the transition of 2002 high school sophomores to college, the selectivity and other characteristics of the institutions in which they enrolled, their choice of major and other characteristics of their enrollment. (10/07)
Postsecondary Institutions in the United States: Fall 2006 and Degrees and Other Awards Conferred: 2005-06
This report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) provides data on postsecondary institutions, including tuition and fees and price of attendance for the 2006-07 academic year. Completions data (degrees, certificates, and other formal awards conferred) for the 2005-06 academic year also are presented. (10/07)
Persistence and Attainment of 2003–04 Beginning Postsecondary Students: After Three Years
A ‘First Look’ report from the National Center for Education Statistics provides a brief description of the persistence and degree attainment of a nationally representative sample of students who began postsecondary education for the first time in the 2003–04 academic year. The report provides information about rates of program completion, transfer and attrition for students who first enrolled at various types of postsecondary institutions. Findings show that—among the beginning students who were recent (2003) high school graduates, enrolled full time in the fall of 2003 and had bachelor’s degree plans—70 percent were still enrolled at their first institution without a degree, 4 percent had attained a degree or certificate at their first institution and 20 percent had transferred elsewhere without a degree. (8/07)
Part-Time Undergraduates in Postsecondary Education: 2003–04
The National Center for Education Statistics profiles part-time undergraduates enrolled in U.S. postsecondary institutions in 2003–04. Just over half (51 percent) of undergraduates were enrolled either exclusively part time or had mixed enrollment intensity in a report. Part-time undergraduates, especially exclusively part-time students, were at a distinct disadvantage relative to those who were enrolled full time: they came from minority and low-income family backgrounds; they were not as well-prepared for college as their full-time peers; they were highly concentrated in two-year colleges and non-degree/certificate programs; and many of them worked full time while enrolled and were not enrolled continuously. The study also found that, regardless of whether they resembled full-time students, part-time students (especially exclusively part-time students) lagged behind their full-time peers in terms of their postsecondary outcomes even after controlling for a variety of related factors. (7/07)
College and University Ranking Systems: Global Perspectives and American Challenges
A monograph edited and released by the Institute for Higher Education Policy contains three commissioned papers that examine various perspectives on rankings around the world and lessons they might provide for the U.S. The monograph also discusses the implications of rankings for college access, choice and opportunity, particularly for disadvantaged students. (7/07)
Back to School: 2007–2008
An installment of Facts for Features from the U.S. Census Bureau highlights many statistics related to the return to school by our nation’s students. The data presented cover a variety of topics including Pre–K through 12 and college enrollment, number of public elementary and secondary schools and degree-granting postsecondary institutions, availability and use of technology, college prices and financial aid, number of diplomas and college degrees awarded, and earnings by educational attainment. (7/07)
Career/Technical Education Statistics (CTES)
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has expanded and renamed its Data on Vocational Education (DOVE) website. The website is now called Career/Technical Education Statistics (CTES), and includes a new section of "CTES Tables on the Web." Based on analyses of NCES datasets, this section provides summary data tables that describe career/technical education at the secondary and postsecondary levels and adult education for work. (4/07)
Voices of Students on Engagement: A Report on the 2006 High School Survey of Student Engagement
The Center for Evaluation and Education Policy has released results of the latest High School Survey of Student Engagement. Three-quarters of students surveyed said they were bored in class because the "material wasn't interesting," and students said activities in which they learn with and from peers are the most exciting and engaging. (3/07)
Research Studies Database
The Education Commission of the States’ (ECS) High School Policy Center has launched an online research database that provides concise summaries of research studies related to student success in high school and college. The database currently has only 12 studies, including several directly related to counseling, but the database will expand in the coming months. (2/07)
State Tuition, Fees, and Financial Assistance Policies for Public Colleges and Universities, 2005-06
The State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) have released a report that outlines the philosophies, policies, and procedures that drive decisions about public college and university tuition, fees and student financial aid programs. (2/07)
Tough Choices or Tough Times: The Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce
A report from the National Center on Education and the Economy argues that many other nations are passing the United States in the quality of their education systems. The report proposes a restructuring of educational priorities that will have a major impact on all levels of education, from preschool to college and beyond. (1/07)
Postsecondary Institutions in the United States: Fall 2005 and Degrees and Other Awards Conferred: 2004-05
This First Look from the National Center for Education Statistics presents findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) fall 2005 data collection, which included two survey components: Institutional Characteristics for the 2005-06 academic year, and Completions covering the period July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005. Key findings include:
- Among the 6,600 Title IV postsecondary institutions in the United States and other jurisdictions, 40 percent were classified as 4-year institutions, 34 percent were 2-year institutions, and the remaining 26 percent were less-than-2-year institutions.
- During 2005-06, undergraduates attending private not-for-profit 4-year institutions paid $16,888 on average for tuition and required fees. Undergraduates attending private for-profit 4-year institutions paid $13,894 on average, and out-of-state undergraduates attending public 4-year institutions paid $12,652 on average for tuition and required fees. Public in-state undergraduates paid an average of $5,206 in tuition and required fees during 2005-06.
For the 2004-05 academic year, about 2.3 million degrees were awarded by 4-year Title IV institutions and about 557,000 were awarded by 2-year institutions. (1/07)
Required Reading: A Look at the Worst Publishing Tactics at Work
The Student Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) reveals in a study that the overall cost of textbooks has increased four times the rate of inflation since 1994. (1/07)
Recession, Retrenchment, and Recovery Volume II: State Profiles
The Recession, Retrenchment, and Recovery Project is studying how recessions affect financial access for students attending public institutions. The second volume of this project examines states' enrollment trends, appropriations for higher education, allocations to need-based student financial aid, and changes in tuition and fees at public institutions. (12/06)
Placing College Graduation Rates in Context: How 4-Year College Graduation Rates Vary With Selectivity and the Size of Low-Income Enrollment
A report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) provides a systemwide overview of how graduation rates of comparable 4-year institutions vary with institution selectivity and the size of the low-income population enrolled. Results clearly shows that graduation rates dropped systematically as the proportion of low-income students increased, even within the same Carnegie classification and selectivity levels. Variations by gender and race/ethnicity also were evident. (12/06)
Engines of Inequality: Diminishing Equity in the Nation’s Premier Public Universities
According to the Education Trust, research shows the nation’s 50 flagship universities serve disproportionately fewer low-income and minority students than in the past. Students in the entering and graduating classes at these schools look less and less like the state populations those universities were created to serve. The study shows how financial aid choices made by these prestigious public universities result in higher barriers to college enrollment and success among low-income students and students of color. (11/06)
Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006
The Sloan Consortium—a consortium of institutions and organizations committed to quality online education—has released its fourth annual report on the state of online learning in U.S. higher education. The report, based on responses from over 2,200 colleges and universities, examines a number of key questions, including: Who is learning online?; What types of institutions have online offerings?; Have perceptions of quality changed for online offerings?; and What are the barriers to widespread adoption of online education? (11/06)
Engaged Learning: Fostering Success for All Students
Findings from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) show that while student engagement helps all learners, those who come to college less well prepared academically or are from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds tend to benefit even more. Being involved in educationally purposeful activities such as interacting with faculty members and working with peers on projects inside and outside of class has positive effects on grades and increases the odds that students will return to college for a second year. (11/06)
Where Are They Now? A Description of 1992-93 Bachelor's Degree Recipients 10 Years Later
A report from the National Center for Education Statistics provides an overview of the status of 1992–93 college graduates 10 years after graduation using data from the 2003 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:93/03). The report presents highlights of these college graduates’ lives in 2003 in five areas—education after the bachelor’s degree, labor force participation, opinions about their undergraduate education, family status, and civic participation. (11/06)
College Rankings Reformed: The Case for a New Order in Higher Education
A new report from EducationSector discusses the flaws of current ranking systems and proposes a new one—using newly available metrics— that would benefit both students and colleges. (11/06)
En Route to the Baccalaureate: Community College Student Outcomes
An American Association of Community Colleges research brief examines how studentsincorporated community college attendance or courses into their undergraduate studies and how the outcomes of community college students differed from those who attended four-year institutions. (11/06)