Other publications

A path to alignment: Connecting K-12 and higher education via the Common Core and the DQP

A proposal to use Common Core State Standards with the Degree Qualifications Profile to develop a comprehensive preparedness strategy for the nation. (Oct. 2013)

Four Steps to Finishing First in Higher Education

Four Steps to help state policymakers and higher education leaders in their efforts to fashion policy agendas that focus on graduating more students with the resources available while maintaining quality. (Sept. 2011)

Lumina Foundation™ Lessons (2007 – 2010)

When networks build a platform, students step up

This issue of Lumina Foundation Lessons highlights three organizations working tirelessly to promote college success among low-income and minority students. (Spring 2010)

Students aren’t just data points, but numbers do count

America’s colleges and universities cannot fulfill their mission if large numbers of students fail to complete a program of study. Learn how the power of data can inform and transform postsecondary institutions. The imperative is to collect better student-success data. (Winter 2008)

Places—and faces—that foster student success

In 2002, universities across Indiana began experimenting with strategies to enhance persistence rates among freshmen and sophomore students. See what our grantees have learned. (Spring 2007)

Research Reports (2001 – 2007)

Returning to Learning: Adults’ Success in College is Key to America’s Future

Read a summary of findings from the Emerging Pathways project, which seeks to identify the diverse needs and characteristics of adult learners and understand patterns of enrollment in credit and non-credit-bearing courses. (March 2007)

Critical Connections: Linking States’ Unit Record Systems to Track Student Progress

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. (February 2007)

Fixing the Formula: A New Approach to Determining Independent Students’ Ability to Pay for College

See how flawed calculations of independent students’ financial capacity can jeopardize educational opportunities for those truly in need. (May 2006)

Data Don’t Drive: Building a Practitioner-Driven Culture of Inquiry to Assess Community College Performance

Review data-based benchmarking practices. These assessment efforts aim to improve student learning and help students complete their courses of study. (December 2005)

Paths to Persistence: An Analysis of Research on Program Effectiveness at Community Colleges

Learn why an increased commitment to research on community colleges must play a role in strategies to increase student success. (January 2005)

Powerful Partnerships: Independent Colleges, Share High-impact Strategies for Low-income Students’ Success

Read a volume of essays illustrating the range of institutional efforts that can influence access and success for low-income students. (October 2004)

Fifty Years of College Choice: Social, Political and Institutional Influences on the Decision-making Process

Review 50 years of changes in student demographics, admissions practices and shifts in public policies relating to student choice. (September 2004)

When Saving Means Losing: Weighing the Benefits of College-savings Plans

Learn why federally subsidized college savings plans seldom aid low-income families and may even penalize these families. (July 2004)

Unintended Consequences of Tuition Discounting

Find out why tuition discounting may carry unintended, negative consequences for colleges and universities and some low-income students. (May 2003)

Following the Mobile Student

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. (April 2003)

Meeting the Access Challenge: Indiana’s Twenty-first Century Scholars Program

Examine a program that has been shown to improve postsecondary opportunity for low-income students. (August 2002)

Hope Works: Student Use of Education Tax Credits

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. (November 2001)

Learning in the Fast Lane: Adult Learners’ Persistence and Success in Accelerated College Programs

Compare the success rates of adult students in traditional and accelerated college programs. (August 2001)

Debts and Decisions: Student Loans and Their Relationship to Graduate School and Career Choice

Learn how student-loan debt affects post-baccalaureate educational and career choices. (June 2001)

Learning between Systems: Adapting Higher Education Financing Methods to Early Care and Education

Explore features of higher education financing as potential strategies for financing a system of high-quality early care and education. (July 2001)

Funding the ‘Infostructure:’ A Guide to Financing Technology Infrastructure in Higher Education

Learn how campus officials can improve efforts to plan and pay for the infrastructure that makes technology work. (April 2001)