College Completion

Report from CAEL on their research into the use of prior learning assessments

Survey found that high unemployment and state budget cuts have made it harder for community colleges to offer workforce training. Survey also found that community colleges are being pushed to offer quick job training without academic credit at the expense of more costly long-term programs. (Education Policy Center, U of AL, December 2011)

Paper from Iowa Department of Education aligning graduates with area of employment

Focuses on four areas where states can drive a more productive higher education system to improve degree completion while maintaining quality. The four steps include: Performance funding, student incentives, new models and business efficiencies. (Lumina Foundation for Education, August 2011)

Summarizes state models for performance-based funding, as well as reported results.The policy brief also summarizes recent and proposed state policies or plans. (AASCU, June 2011)

Provides a summary of major, national college completion initiatives, including: sponsoring organization, origins, goals, accomplishments and participation by states or organizations. (AASCU, October 2011)

The report finds that the postsecondary systems need a more deliberate strategy for dividing precious state resources among themselves to produce the necessary college degrees. Report looks at Who attends? What We Spend, Who Pays, and What the Money Buys, and offers policy considerations for each question and three crucial questions for policy leaders. (Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy, October 2011)

A new report says California's public higher education segments are not on track to significantly boost the number of undergraduate degrees granted each year in order to turn around the state's economy. The report finds that the postsecondary systems need a more deliberate strategy for dividing state resources among themselves to produce the necessary degrees. (California Watch, 10/12/11)

Discusses Georgia and other state's efforts to reward schools doing the best job graduating students, and move away from funding colleges based solely on how many students they enroll. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/10/11)

The Asian-American and Pacific Islander population is one of the fastest-growing groups, but is often overlooked in setting of higher education policy priorities, including college completion goals. (The National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education, October 2011)

Describes new CUNY guidelines to improve and streamline transfers between two-year and four-year institutions. (Chronicle of Higher Education, 06/27/11)

Report concludes that the U.S. will need an additional 20 million workers with at least some postsecondary education over the next 15 years to meet future economic requirements and to reduce income inequality. (Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, June 2011)

Article describes the efforts at two universities to create reverse transfer data systems. These systems would reward community colleges where students accumulate substantial amounts of credit but transfer prior to completing a degree. Once students complete the requirements of an associate degree at university, the community college will award the student a degree.

Report from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce that showcases the value of higher education, particular majors.

Examines connection between college majors and career earnings. Difference in earnings potential between one major and another can be more than 300%. Further, majors are highly segregated by race/ethnicity and gender, with few exceptions. (Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, May 2011)

Story on the role of community colleges in economic development.

Editorial in Georgia on focusing on college completion, rather than access

Paper by Davis Jenkins finds that students should take their remedial education courses as part of a focused program of study, rather than as a stand alone academic activity.

The paper offers suggestions for ways community colleges can rethink their practices at key stages of students' engagement to substantially increase rates of program entry and completion. (Community College Research Center, January 2012)

Paper studying how technical colleges move students to completion when compared to traditional community colleges

Editorial on Georgia's need for a more targeted strategy for higher education