Community Colleges: Across the United States nearly 1,200 community colleges play a vital role in higher education. They enroll more than 11.5 million students — nearly half of all undergraduates — and they attract high proportions of low-income, minority and first-generation college students. Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count is a national initiative to help more community college students succeed, particularly students of color and low-income students. The initiative works on multiple fronts — including efforts at community colleges and in research, public engagement and public policy — and emphasizes the use of data to drive change. More...

Synopsis

Each of these eight- to 12-page periodicals offers a brief report on a Foundation research topic.

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If you are unable to download these reports, please e-mail us to request a printed copy. (In your e-mail message, please include your name and mailing address and the title of the publication you are requesting.)

Early Exit: Understanding Adult Attrition in Accelerated and Traditional Postsecondary Programs (PDF) by Raymond J. Wlodkowski, Jennifer E. Mauldin and Scott Campbell, the Center for the Study of Accelerated Learning, School for Professional Studies, Regis University — This paper, a follow-up to a longer Foundation report titled “Learning in the Fast Lane,” identifies factors that influence adult learners to leave college and offers recommendations to the institutions that serve these students. (July 2002)

Student Loan Forbearance and its Relationship to Default (PDF) by Derek V. Price, director of higher education research at Lumina Foundation for Education — As the number and volume of student loans increase, lenders and policy-makers are looking closely at the effects of forbearance on default rates. This report examines that relationship by tracking more than 9,800 loans, all in forbearance in December 1996. (November 2001)

Designing a State Student Grant Program: A Framework for Policy-Makers (PDF) by Jerry S. Davis, vice president for Research at Lumina Foundation for Education — Economic trends and recent events in higher education have focused new attention on states' student aid programs and policies. This report can serve as a primer for policy-makers who are considering changing their grant programs or designing new ones. (September 2001)

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