Category: Retention

2014, Research/Policy, Retention, ROI/College Outcomes, Student Success

Four Years Later: What Happens After College Graduation?

By Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scholar, Educational Policy Institute This morning I woke up to a New York Times article about an unemployed graduate of a for-profit institution. We’ve read many of these types of articles. Although they are mostly anecdotal, the sheer number of these articles, along with our unemployment data, assign more credibility to these writings. We know that … Continue reading Four Years Later: What Happens After College Graduation?

Unknown's avatarEducational Policy Institute1 Comment
2014, Retention, Student Success

The College Core Curriculum: Enlightenment or Gatekeeper?

By Watson Scott Swail, Ed.D. President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute According to the Community College Research Center[1] at Teachers College, approximately 60 percent of incoming community college students are referred to at least one developmental course, and less than a quarter of students who enroll in those courses complete a degree within eight years. Many of the students who take developmental courses do so … Continue reading The College Core Curriculum: Enlightenment or Gatekeeper?

Unknown's avatarEducational Policy Institute1 Comment
2014, College Access, Retention

Do We Have it All Wrong? Where Access & Retention Collide

By Watson Scott Swail, Ed.D. President and CEO, Educational Policy Institute The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center recently released a report updating data on student retention and persistence. Unfortunately, the news was not good, as the fall-to-fall retention rate (e.g., freshman-to-sophomore) fell 1.2 percent between 2009 and 2012 from 69.9 to 68.7 percent. Although one percent does not sound like very much, in a national context, that … Continue reading Do We Have it All Wrong? Where Access & Retention Collide

Unknown's avatarEducational Policy Institute2 Comments
2014, College Access, Retention, Student Success

Seven Guiding Questions for Student Retention

by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & CEO, Educational Policy Institute Eight years ago I wrote a piece for EPI’s Student Success Magazine titled “Seven Guiding Questions for Student Retention.” That seems ions ago, but people still come up to me and comment on that particular writing sample of mine. I came across it the other day and found that, for better or worse, the … Continue reading Seven Guiding Questions for Student Retention

Unknown's avatarEducational Policy InstituteLeave a comment
2014, Research/Policy, Retention

The Return of “Huge” Data

By Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist, Educational Policy Institute There seems to be renewed interest in the collection of student unit record in higher education. Back in 2008 during the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), a provision was added to the law that restricted the federal government from collecting student-based unit record data. This followed a multi-year dialogue about how … Continue reading The Return of “Huge” Data

Unknown's avatarEducational Policy InstituteLeave a comment