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College-bound Students

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Commentary

College Ratings and Affordable Education

Dec 24, 2014

There are reasons to believe American students from the middle- and lower-income tiers aren't making affordable college choices. Can a new ratings system help them make better, more affordable decisions?
Commentary

Cost of College in the United States

Jan 16, 2015

For middle- to lower-income families in the U.S., in particular, the costs associated with attending a four-year university are becoming nearly impossible to bear. More and more students are ending up with significant debt after graduating from college, putting financial pressure on them at the outset of their professional careers.

Explore College-bound Students

Commentary

The Case for Corequisites: What Are the Ingredients of Success?

More than two-thirds of community college students and 40 percent of four-year college students take at least one developmental education course. States and colleges across the United States are experimenting with innovative approaches to developmental education to improve graduation rates for struggling students.

May 23, 2018
Report

Sustaining Pennsylvania's State System Universities

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is facing considerable challenges, such as demographic shifts, limited state funding, and strong competition. Options are available to address the system's long-term sustainability and viability, but major changes would be needed.

Apr 25, 2018
Testimony

Five Options for Long-Term Sustainability of Pennsylvania's State System Universities

Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education faces significant challenges to its long-term sustainability, including population shifts and limited state funding. There are options to address these issues and avoid closures, but major structural changes will be needed.

Apr 25, 2018
Commentary

Bridging the Growing College Divide Among Young Americans

Over the last decade, more Americans age 25 to 34 earned four-year college and graduate degrees, but the number of those without college degrees also increased. New ways of communicating educational options and outcomes to young people are needed.

Apr 13, 2018
Commentary

Ready, Set, College

With the nation investing at least $1 billion a year in developmental education, states and colleges are rethinking their approaches to reform. Are states moving too fast to mandate developmental education policy? It depends on the policy.

Mar 5, 2018
Report

Designing and Implementing Corequisite Models of Developmental Education: Findings from Texas Community Colleges

This report describes the implementation of integrated reading and writing corequisites -- a reform to developmental education that accelerates students into college-level courses, while providing academic support -- in Texas community colleges.

Feb 12, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Effects of Antismoking Media on College Students' Smoking-Related Beliefs and Intentions

Among college students, anti-smoking media messages appear to shift the beliefs and intentions of experimental smokers, a group that is at high risk of becoming regular smokers.

Jan 25, 2018
Report

Dual Credit Education in Texas: Interim Report

Examines the accessibility, diversity, quality, and efficiency of dual credit education programs in Texas, and proposes areas of dual credit education to investigate in the second phase of the study.

Aug 29, 2017
Commentary

National Database Could Help Students Pick College—and Income

A bill introduced in May would create a searchable database of students' college majors and earnings after graduation. The data could help U.S. students make informed decisions and could also be used to better allocate resources that benefit students.

Aug 1, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Innovative Pathways Through Developmental Education and Postsecondary Success: An Examination of Developmental Math Interventions Across Texas

This study assessed alternative course delivery for developmental education (DE) math and student outcomes in community colleges in Texas.

Mar 15, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Brief Online Interventions Targeting Risk and Protective Factors for Increased and Problematic Alcohol Use Among American College Students Studying Abroad

Interventions that target risky drinking behavior among college students studying abroad are still in their infancy.

Mar 14, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Text-based Writing Assignments for College Readiness

The authors describe the features of text-based writing assignments that increase students' reading comprehension and analytic writing skills and put students on the path to college readiness.

Mar 13, 2017
Report

Report

Combining Entrepreneurship and Web Development for High School Students: A Pilot Evaluation of the Startup Tech Program and High School Students' College and Career Aspirations

This pilot evaluation of Startup Tech assesses whether 12th-grade students experienced either improved self-efficacy or changes in their college and career plans during the year in which they were in the program.

Jan 6, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Non-citizen Mexican Youth in U.S. Higher Education: A Closer Look at the Relationship Between State Tuition Policies and College Enrollment

This paper examines state policies that extend or deny in-state tuition to children of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

Nov 1, 2016
Commentary

The High Cost of Free College

Tuition subsidies may encourage institutions to raise tuition, since the government would foot the bill. One possible solution: develop and implement policies that encourage greater productivity from higher education institutions.

Aug 1, 2016
Commentary

Making the 'Gap Year' More Inclusive and Purposeful

High schools and universities should work together, with the support of policymakers, to develop programs that would provide a wider spectrum of U.S. students with the opportunity to take a purposeful gap year—and enter college with some real-world adult experience behind them.

May 19, 2016
Journal Article

Journal Article

Can College Outreach Programs Improve College Readiness? The Case of the College Bound, St. Louis Program

In the past decade, there has been a proliferation of community- and school-based college readiness programs designed to increase the participation of students who have traditionally been underrepresented in higher education.

Apr 11, 2016
Commentary

Should Undocumented Immigrant Youth Pay In-State Tuition to Attend College?

Undocumented children are entitled to free primary and secondary public education everywhere in the United States, regardless of their legal status. But when they finish high school, their options for college vary depending on the state in which they live.

Jul 28, 2015
Testimony

Higher-Education Benefits for Post-9/11 Military Service Members and Veterans

Many types of federal educational benefits are available to U.S. veterans. However, there are many ways Congress can ensure long-term viability of assistance, thus improving access to affordable higher education for the post-9/11 generation and their families.

Mar 17, 2015
Commentary

America's College Promise: Meeting the Higher Education Challenge

President Obama's proposal to cover the costs of two years of community college offers hope to many American students, but two key challenges should be addressed: meeting the needs of underprepared students and devising a system to smooth the transfer of credits from one institution to another.

Jan 19, 2015

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