Each of these 40- to 60-page monographs explores a particular topic affecting access to higher education.
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Returning to Learning: Adults’ Success in College is Key to America’s Future PDF
March 2007 lead author, Brian Pusser of the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education—Read a summary of findings from the Emerging Pathways project, which seeks to identify the diverse needs and characteristics of adult learners, understand patterns of enrollment in credit and non-credit-bearing courses and offer advice to postsecondary institutions and policymakers committed to adult learners’ success. Read Illuminations PDF, a two-page summary. |
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Critical Connections: Linking States’ Unit Record Systems to Track Student Progress PDF
February 2007 by Peter Ewell and Marianne Boeke, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems—Learn why better student-tracking data would enhance efforts to help college students succeed and fill a critical economic need to increase the number of students who earn college degrees. Read Illuminations PDF, a two-page summary. |
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Fixing the Formula: A New Approach to Determining Independent Students’ Ability to Pay for College PDF
May 2006 by Sandy Baum, senior policy analyst for the College Board and professor, Skidmore College, shows how flawed calculations of independent students’ financial capacity can jeopardize educational opportunities for those truly in need. Baum proposes a more reliable method of determining the subsidies required by independent students. Read Illuminations PDF, a two-page summary. |
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Data Don’t Drive: Building a Practitioner-Driven Culture of Inquiry to Assess Community College Performance PDF
December 2005 by Alicia Dowd, assistant professor, the University of Massachusetts, Boston, reviews data-based benchmarking practices. These assessment efforts aim to improve student learning and help students complete their courses of study. Read Illuminations PDF, a two-page summary. |
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Paths to Persistence: An Analysis of Research on Program Effectiveness at Community Colleges PDF
January 2005 by Thomas R. Bailey and Mariana Alfonso, Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University—Learn why an increased commitment to research on community colleges must play a role in strategies to increase student success. |
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Powerful Partnerships: Independent Colleges, Share High-impact Strategies for Low-income Students’ Success PDF
October 2004 Read a volume of essays solicited and chosen by the Council of Independent Colleges illustrating the range of institutional efforts that can influence access and success for low-income students. |
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Fifty Years of College Choice: Social, Political and Institutional Influences on the Decision-making Process PDF
September 2004 by Jilian Kinzie, Megan Palmer, John Hayek, Don Hossler, Stacy Jacob and Heather Cummings—Review 50 years of changes in student demographics, admissions practices and shifts in public policies relating to student choice. |
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When Saving Means Losing: Weighing the Benefits of College-savings Plans PDF
July 2004 by Roberto M. Ifill and Michael S. McPherson—Learn why federally subsidized college savings plans seldom aid low-income families and may even penalize these families. Read Illuminations PDF, a two-page summary. |
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Unintended Consequences of Tuition Discounting PDF
May 2003 Find out why tuition discounting—the strategic use of financial aid to lower the sticker price of a college education for designated applicants—may carry unintended, negative consequences for colleges and universities and some low-income students. Read Illuminations PDF, a two-page summary. |
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Following the Mobile Student: Can We Develop the Capacity for a Comprehensive Database to Assess Student Progression? PDF
April 2003 by Peter T. Ewell, Paula R. Schild and Karen Paulson, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems—There is a growing need for more complete measurements of student success in the nation’s colleges and universities. Learn why it is both feasible and desirable to develop a comprehensive system to follow students’ progress. Read Illuminations PDF, a two-page summary. |
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Meeting the Access Challenge: Indiana’s Twenty-first Century Scholars Program PDF
August 2002 by Edward P. St. John, Glenda Droogsma Musoba, Ada B. Simmons and Choong-Geun Chung, Indiana Education Policy Center—Examine a program that has been shown to improve postsecondary opportunity for low-income students. Read Illuminations PDF, a two-page summary (PDF). |
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Hope Works: Student Use of Education Tax Credits PDF
November 2001 by Barbara A. Hoblitzell and Tiffany L. Smith, University of California, Office of the President—Examine the effectiveness of the Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits in helping students at a large state university system meet the cost of college. |
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Learning in the Fast Lane: Adult Learners’ Persistence and Success in Accelerated College Programs PDF
August 2001 by Raymond J. Wlodkowski, Jennifer E. Mauldin and Sandra W. Gahn, the Center for the Study of Accelerated Learning, School for Professional Studies, Regis University—Compare the success rates of adult students in traditional and accelerated college programs. |
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Debts and Decisions: Student Loans and Their Relationship to Graduate School and Career Choice PDF
June 2001 by Donald E. Heller, University of Michigan School of Education—Learn how student-loan debt affects post-baccalaureate educational and career choices. |
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Learning between Systems: Adapting Higher Education Financing Methods to Early Care and Education PDF
July 2001 by independent early-childhood consultant Teresa Vast. Explore features of higher education financing as potential strategies for financing a system of high-quality early care and education. Supplementary technical report: A Financial Aid Need Analysis Methodology for Early Care and Education PDF by Teresa Vast and Sandy Baum. Supplementary technical report: Assessing the Feasibility of Family Loans for Early Care and Education PDF by Jerry S. Davis and Jill Wohlford. Supplementary technical report: Community Endowment Funds for Early Care and Education PDF by Helen Monroe |
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Funding the ‘Infostructure:’ A Guide to Financing Technology Infrastructure in Higher Education PDF
April 2001 by Ronald A. Phipps and Jane V. Wellman, senior associates at the Institute for Higher Education Policy—Learn how campus officials can improve efforts to plan and pay for the infrastructure that makes technology work. |
