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Postsecondary Education

From community college courses to doctoral programs, postsecondary education encompasses all forms of schooling after completion of high school or its equivalent. RAND's research on postsecondary education programs and institutions throughout the world has been influential; research in Qatar, for instance, led to reform of the National University and a realignment of postsecondary education to societal needs.

Blog

RAND's Summer Reading List for Congress

For busy staff, August's respite from back-to-back meetings, hearing preparation, and late votes is hard-earned. The summer recess also provides an opportunity to get ahead of issues that will resurface in the fall. To that end, we have compiled recent RAND research on topics likely to top the congressional agenda come September.

Aug 5, 2019
Commentary

How Work-Based Learning Can Bring Employers and Students Together

Work-based learning experiences help college grads better prepare for work. WBL programs often serve as a workforce pipeline for companies. WBL is also successful at the K–12 level and at "upskilling" adult workers. There are several ways Congress could foster and strengthen WBL.

Jul 24, 2019
Commentary

North Carolina Program Helps Former Prisoners Make It on the Outside

To avoid the all-too-common fate of ending up back in prison, incarcerated adults need skills and credentials they typically don't have. Helping them overcome the challenges of reentry is a net gain for them and for the communities to which they return.

Jul 11, 2019
Content

Tim Wolf: Carrying on His Family's Commitment to RAND

Charles Wolf, Jr. was an economist who spent more than 60 years at RAND and was the founding dean of what is now the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He and his wife, Theresa, included a $1 million bequest in their estate plans to support the school and its students. It's a commitment his son Tim plans to carry forward.

Jul 9, 2019
Commentary

Dual Enrollment for High Schoolers Can Expand Access to College—with Some Caveats

Targeted federal investments in high school and college dual enrollment programs can boost postsecondary access for students currently underrepresented in postsecondary education. But thoughtful implementation could be key to ensuring those students are successful in college.

Jun 6, 2019
Commentary

How Community Colleges Can Establish Better Partnerships with Employers

Career and technical education programs give students a chance to engage in learning relevant to their chosen fields and apply immediately for jobs. A strategic vision of collaboration between industry and community colleges can benefit all parties.

Jun 6, 2019
Commentary

Income Share Agreements: What's Risky, What's Promising, and What We Still Need to Know

While policymakers debate options to address college affordability and the nation's mounting student loan debt, an alternative education financing model has been gaining ground in a handful of schools and state legislatures: the income share agreement. While terms vary from institution to institution, they are all based on the same premise: The more income a graduate makes, the more they will pay back.

Jun 5, 2019
Commentary

Federal Policy Might Encourage Innovation to Cut the Cost of College

A big factor in the rise of college costs is the traditional seat-time model requiring undergraduate students to spend a specified amount of time in classrooms, frequently with doctorally qualified faculty. But there are alternative models that could enable colleges and universities to offer degrees more efficiently and affordably.

Jun 5, 2019
Tool

Tools for Improving Corequisite Models: A Guide for College Practitioners

This toolkit acts as a guide to improvement strategies for teams of practitioners at colleges, providing them with the knowledge and tools they need to carry out rapid cycles of data-driven improvement to address issues they face on the ground.

May 28, 2019
News Release

News Release

Creating Prison-Based College Program That Continues After Release Presents Challenges, but Can Have Success

Creating a prison-based program where incarcerated individuals can take college classes and then work toward a degree upon release can be successful, but many obstacles challenge the success of such efforts.

May 22, 2019
Report

Lessons from a Prison-Based College Program That Continues After Release

A prison-based program offered individuals college classes during the final two years of their incarceration and support for another two years after release to help them achieve their degree or certificate goal. How well did the program work?

May 21, 2019
Commentary

Addressing the College Completion Problem

More than half of students who enter college end up dropping out without ever completing a degree or certificate. Time and money are wasted without the benefits of a degree. While colleges are experimenting with novel techniques to boost completion rates, strategic support from the federal government could further these efforts.

May 9, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Market Power and Price Discrimination in the US Market for Higher Education

We estimate an equilibrium model of private and public college competition and pricing using the NPSAS. We find substantial exercise of inefficient market power and, importantly, sizable variation by both college quality and student characteristics.

Feb 15, 2019
Research Brief

Educators and Employers Could Align Efforts to Fill STEM Jobs

Middle-skills STEM workers are in high demand in the oil and natural gas industry, but they need the proper training and credentials. Better collaboration between employers and colleges could bridge the gap between the skills and knowledge employers seek and what instructors emphasize.

Feb 7, 2019
Report

Report

Supporting Middle-Skills STEM Workforce Development: Analysis of Workplace Skills in Demand and Education Institutions' Curricular Offerings in the Oil and Gas Sector

In this report, researchers examine the alignment of college STEM education with the needs of employers in the tri-state region of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, as well as STEM areas in which college students need more support.

Feb 7, 2019
Essay

Pardee RAND Reimagines the Future of Public Policy Problem Solving

The Pardee RAND Graduate School is taking a new approach to public policy education. Three new streams of study and action will better align with today's policy needs. Faculty and students will shift the focus from coming up with solutions to actually implementing them.

Jan 7, 2019
Report

Using Technology to Promote Postsecondary Success and Savings

In 2013, the University of Texas at Tyler began the implementation of the PATSS program, an initiative that seeks to increase the use of online technologies for instruction. What are the academic outcomes in PATSS courses relative to traditional courses?

Dec 13, 2018
Report

Report

A One-Stop Approach to Supporting the Nonacademic Needs of Community College Students: An Evaluation of Single Stop's Impact in North Carolina

This report examines the impact of using Single Stop (a program that connects college students to governmental, community, and institutional resources) on postsecondary outcomes for students at four community colleges in North Carolina.

Nov 12, 2018
Dissertation

Dissertation

Choose Wisely: A Study of College Major Choice and Major Switching Behavior

This dissertation explores the college major decision-making process, both for initial and subsequent major choices, and analyzes the associations between major choice behaviors and student outcomes such as time to degree and probability of graduation.

Aug 31, 2018
Dissertation

Dissertation

Financial Education among Financially Vulnerable Populations in the United States

Examines if state-mandated financial education improves debt-related and college-going behaviors among economically vulnerable young adults.

Aug 29, 2018

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RAND Topic:
Postsecondary Education

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