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 Here you will find reports/research and articles covering a wide range of topics dealing with colleges/universities, technical colleges and other after-high school issues. Posting here does not imply Georgia Partnership endorsement. Top Ten Higher Education State Policy Issues for 2010 This report presents the top 10 issues most likely to affect public higher education across the 50 states in 2010. (January 2010) Calculating Cost-return for Investments in Student Success This pilot project tied program-level cost data to student outcomes and explored the extent to which the additional revenue that colleges and universities generate by increasing student retention offsets the additional cost of first-year programs. (January 2010) With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them - Myths and Realities About Why So Many Students Fail to Finish College According to the U.S. Department of Education, only 20 percent of young people who begin their higher education at two-year institutions graduate within three years. Why? (December 2009) Charting a Necessary Path: The Baseline Report of the Access to Success Initiative The report shows that low-income and minority students enroll in and graduate from four-year programs at disproportionately lower rates than do other high school graduates in their respective states. (December 2009) Why have college completion rates declined? An analysis of changing student preparation and collegiate resources Comparing two cohorts from the high school classes of 1972 and 1992, we show eight-year college completion rates declined nationally, and this decline is most pronounced amongst men beginning college at less-selective public 4-year schools and amongst students starting at community colleges. (December 2009) Promoting Gatekeeper Course Success Among Community College Students Needing Remediation: Findings and Recommendations from a Virginia Study This study of community college "gatekeeper" courses - those at the first level of college credit - raises as many questions about remedial education strategies as about the introductory college-level courses. (December 2009) Bridging the Gaps to Success - Promising Practices for Promoting Transfer Among Low-income and First Generation Students This report may provide clues on how best to shepherd students from two-year to four-year institutions. (November 2009) Measuring Student Achievement at Postsecondary Institutions This Issue Brief offers state leaders a formula for measuring systemwide student achievement at postsecondary institutions. (November 2009) The Spaces Between Numbers: Getting International Data on Higher Education Straight This essay seeks to answer four questions about data we use every day in comparing higher education in the U.S with that in other countries, particularly the 30 advanced post-industrial democracies. (November 2009) Progress and Gaps in College Preparation Policy Stagnant college completion rates, high postsecondary remediation rates — and the high costs associated with postsecondary remediation — make clear that better alignment is needed between K-12 and postsecondary. (October 2009) Projections for Education Statistics to 2018 This is the 37th report in a series begun in 1964. It includes statistics on elementary and secondary schools and degree granting institutions. It provides alarming college enrollment numbers. (September 2009) To renew America’s status as the world’s leader in college attainment, the federal government needs to transform America’s community colleges and equip them for the 21st century. (September 2009) Postsecondary Enrollment Report This first-of-a-kind study says two-thirds of Georgia's high school grads are enrolling in college. (August 2009) How Much Are College Students Borrowing? New data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National On Track to Complete? A Taxonomy of Beginning Community College Students and Their Outcomes 3 Years After Enrolling This study analyzes outcomes for beginning community college students according to how "directed" they are toward completing a program of study. (August 2009) The Dreaded "P" Word - An Examination of Productivity in Public Postsecondary Education This report is designed to gauge how successfully public colleges use their resources to produce graduates with credentials that are valued in the job market. (July 2009) Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow In this report, the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) presents a projection of potential developments in the U.S. labor market over the next five to ten years and discusses the preparations necessary to develop the 21st century workforce. (July 2009) College and University Mergers: Recent Trends Given the current economic turbulence characterized, in part, by unprecedented business consolidations, talk of mergers has spread to higher education. (July 2009) College of 2020: Students This is the first report in a three-part series on what higher education will look like in the year 2020. This is the Executive Summary. There is a $75 charge for the full report. (July 2009) Ready to Assemble: Grading State Higher Education Accountability Systems This report rates the effectiveness of every state higher education accountability system, calling attention to the need for policy change. (July 2009) SREB Fact Book on Higher Education, 2009 This publication has become one of the nation's most comprehensive collections of comparative data on higher education. (June 2009) Diplomas and Dropouts - Which Colleges Actually Graduate Their Students (and Which Don't) At a time when college degrees are valuable—with employers paying a premium for college graduates—fewer than 60 percent of new students graduated from four-year colleges within six years. (June 2009) What Does a College Degree Cost? This report lays out a range of possible approaches to calculating the cost of a college degree and then calculates them using data from the State University System of Florida. (May 2009) Transforming America's Community Colleges: A Federal Policy Proposal to Expand Opportunity and Promote Economic Prosperity The federal government should bolster its commitment to community colleges and help transform them into "engines of opportunity and prosperity." (May 2009) Young Lives on Hold: The College Dreams of Undocumented Students This report cites a need for the federal DREAM Act, which would open up in-state college tuition, financial aid and legal status to many illegal immigrants. (April 2009) No Jobs Without College as Employers Treat Degree as a Minimum Slowly but surely, employers are requiring a college degree as a baseline for hire. (April 2009) A Stronger Nation Through Higher Education College attainment is increasingly important to the U.S. economy as the workforce demands education and training that properly prepare our citizens for success in the global, knowledge economy. (April 2009) Black Men and Remedial Education As budgets thin, many public universities around the country have begun outsourcing remedial education to community colleges. Some scholars, however, maintain that these developmental programs should remain at four-year institutions. (April 2009) Community Colleges: A Route of Upward Economic Mobility This report takes a look at community colleges compared to traditional, four-year colleges--the advantages, the types of students, the economic ARCHE Issues Latest Poll: Georgia Voters View on Higher Education and the Issues That Affect It ARCHE conducted an online poll of registered Georgia voters for their views on higher ed quality, importance, funding, research and other policy topics. (January 2009) Referral, Enrollment, and Completion in Developmental Education Sequences in Community Colleges The purpose of this paper is to analyze the patterns and determinants of student progression through sequences of developmental education starting from initial referral. (December 2008) Ready to Assemble: A Model State Higher Education Accountability System This report describes the current state of the art in state higher education accountability and concludes with a set of guidelines for designing a model state higher education accountability system. (December 2008) The Forgotten Middle: Ensuring All Students are on Target for College and Career Readiness Fewer than two in 10 of the nation's 8th graders are on track to be academically prepared for college, and high school may be too late to bring them up to speed. The report found that how students fare in middle school is a leading predictor of their ability to succeed in college or the workplace. (December 2008) Coming to Our Senses: Education and the American Future The State Report Card on Higher Education According to this report, "Georgia's fairly low performance in educating its young population could limit the state's access to a competitive workforce and weaken its economy." Here is the report's introduction. (December 2008) University Tuition, Consumer Choice and College Affordability This report suggests that colleges are more affordable than many people realize, but also warns of a "looming affordability challenge" in which public institutions could move out of the reach of many Americans. (November 2008) High Expectations, High Support Though many community college students say their coursework is challenging, there is evidence colleges can do more to help more students do their best work. (November 2008) Trends in College Pricing College students should brace for sharp tuition increases as the widening economic downturn begins to hit campuses across the country. (November 2008) Generational Gains in Postsecondary Education Appear to Have Stalled (Press release - cost for full report) The tradition of young adults in the U.S. attaining higher levels of education than previous generations appears to have stalled, and for far too many people of color, the percentage of young adults with some type of postsecondary degree compared with older adults has actually fallen. (October 2008) A Developmental Perspective on College and Workplace Readiness This report maintains that, in addition to traditional assessments, criteria for determining college or job readiness could include positive mental health, resilience, social competence, and sense of purpose, and that high schools could make such criteria part of students' preparation. (September 2008) Report of the Commission on the Use of Standardized Tests in Undergraduate Admissions College admissions officers should pay less attention to SAT and ACT scores in evaluating applicants, if not do away entirely with requiring the exams, according to the report. (September 2008) Diploma to Nowhere An estimated one-third of American college students need to take remedial classes when they get to college. The cost to taxpayers: $2.3 billion to $2.9 billion a year. (September 2008) Community Colleges - Special Supplement to the Condition of Education 2008 This federal report examines community college enrollment, and persistence and attainment rates among students. It also compares the characteristics of community college students with those of four-year institutions. (August 2008) Building a Better Bridge - Helping Young Adults Enter and Succeed in College This report describes a model for college access and completion for students who have become marginalized in school or obtained only a General Education Diploma. (January 2008, posted June 2008) This report makes it clear: the harsh fact is that we have a crisis today in America. At a time when one out of three of our children is not graduating from high school, the competitiveness of our workforce at all levels has significantly declined.t is time to act. (June 2008) Higher Education in America's Metropolitan Areas - A Statistical Profile This study measures the higher education capacity of America's 50 largest metropolitan areas in students enrolled, degrees awarded, and college and university finances. (May 2008) The Atlanta Region: National Leader in Higher Education By any measure, Atlanta ranks as a leader in higher education. This report highlights the city's place in an ARCHE study of the higher education capacity of America's 50 largest metropolitan areas. See above. (May 2008) Cost Containment - A Survey of Current Priorities at America's State Colleges and Universities The report identifies eight avenues of cost containment and provides insight into highly replicable "best practices" that could produce effective cost savings and thus increase academic affordability, access and institutional accountability. (April 2008) Parent Expectations and Planning for College - Statistical Analysis Report This finds that 91% of students in grades 6 through 12 had parents who expected them to continue their education beyond high school, with 65 percent having had parents who expected them to finish college. (April 2008) This report suggests that, at many college campuses, the gap in the graduation rates of black and white students is embarrassingly large, raising questions about the experience of black students once enrolled. (April 2008) DENIED: Community College Students Lack Access to Affordable Loans This new study finds that more than 1 million community college students can't get federal loans because their schools decline to participate in the program. (April 2008) Disparities in Turnout and Civic Education According to this new research, 79 percent of young voters on Super Tuesday attended college. This is so remarkable because half of Americans ages 18 through 29 have never even enrolled in higher education. (April 2008) Opening Doors - A Good Start (Two Year Effects of a Freshmen Learning Community) This study suggests that "learning communities" in which students take several courses together as a cohort could significantly improve students' performance in remedial courses and ability to advance to college-level work. (March 2008) Lost in Transition - Building a Better Path from School to College and Careers According to this report, educators, policy makers and the public have been too willing to define "success" as a four-year college degree and tend to concentrate most resources toward that single goal. (March 2008) Graduates of Academic and Career Majors This report examines college gradutes' work experiences in 1994, 1997 and 2003, describing their labor force status, employment stability and intensity, occupations and industries, salaries and benefits and perceptions about their jobs. (March 2008) Getting Ahead or Losing Ground: Economic Mobility in America This report finds that economic mobility, the chance that children of the poor or middle class will climb up the income ladder, has not changed significantly over the past three decades. (February 2008) Peach State Poll: Georgians See Higher Education As Key to Success According to this report, almost all Georgians (98 percent) say that a college education is either very important (83 percent) or somewhat important (15 percent). Here is the the ARCHE analysis. (February 2008) Minding the Gap: Why Integrating High Schools with College Makes Sense and How To Do It This book underlines the fact that college has become the new high school. Most well-paying positions now require at least a two-year associates degree. Here is a companion Opinion piece from the October 10 USA Today, "The new high school." (October 2007) |
 For information about the best of Atlanta-area higher education, visit the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE) Web site. For campus happenings, research and trends, sign up for the ARCHEtype newsletter. Here's the latest edition. Higher Return - How Investing in Education Pays Off for Georgia Education yields dramatic returns for both individuals and society and is key to Georgia's growth and prosperity. Make the investment, and there are clear and measurable returns. Fail to invest, and we all pay the costs. Request a copy. Two New PSAs Encourage College Enrollment |
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