Enrollment/Persistence/Graduation

For students and their families, the higher education "pipeline" consists of three major sections:

• Enrollment:  Access to college for low-income and disadvantaged students, and getting into college -- with not just the implications of applying and being accepted, but also preparing academically and financially, plus making informed decisions on higher education options.
   
• Persistence:  Adjusting to a new phase of life early in the college years, honing time management study skills, and choosing the right programs and courses of study so that the student continues to progress in college.
   
• Graduation:  The "payoff" of persistence, as the student completes the required courses, meets the degree requirements for the chosen academic program, and prepares to move to the post-college phase of life.

Of particular interest to those in higher education is the subject of student persistence, which is one of the most studied areas of higher education.  U.S. Department of Education research reveals that students at independent colleges and universities are more likely to earn their bachelor's degrees on time than their counterparts at public institutions.  This is true even when comparing the success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds who attend independent and public universities.  (See "Twelve Facts That May Surprise You About America's Private Colleges" for more information.)

There are many complicated issues in understanding even the statistics related to enrollment, persistence, and graduation, let alone the factors that affect these sections of the higher education pipeline.  Here you will find information that will help shed light on these issues.
 

Resources & Studies

Enrollment/Access

Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions,
Fall 2000 and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2000

This report presents findings from the Spring 2001 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Web-based data collection.  Data were requested from over 6,600 postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV federal student financial aid programs.  The tables in this publication present enrollment data for fall 2000, financial statistics for fiscal year 2000, and student financial aid data for academic year 1999-2000.
 

The Condition of Education 2002

The Condition of Education summarizes important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. This edition also includes special analyses on the enrollment and persistence of nontraditional undergraduates.
 

Findings from the Condition of Education 2001:
Students Whose Parents Did Not Go to College

This booklet contains a topical essay from the Condition of Education 2001. The essay summarizes statistical evidence on the postsecondary access, persistence, and attainment of students whose parents did not attend college.
 

Access Denied: Restoring the Nation's Commitment to Equal Educational Opportunity, Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, February 2001
 

Persistence and Graduation

Descriptive Summary of 1995-96 Beginning
Postsecondary Students: Six Years Later

This report describes the enrollment, persistence, and degree attainment of students who began postsecondary education for the first time in the 1995–96 academic year.  It covers the experiences of these first-time beginners over a period of 6 academic years, from 1995–96 to 2000–01, and provides information about the rates at which students attained degrees, transferred to other institutions, and left postsecondary education without attaining degrees.
 

Short-Term Enrollment in Postsecondary Education: Student Background and Institutional Differences in Reasons for Early Departure, 1996–98

Using the 1996–98 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, this report, sponsored by the National Center of Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education, describes short-term enrollment in postsecondary education:  departure within three years of students’ first entry into postsecondary education without earning a credential and without returning. The analyses include exploration of factors associated with departure and the reasons students themselves gave for departure among students who began at public 4-year, private not-for-profit 4-year, and public 2-year institutions.
 

Persistence and Attainment of Beginning Students with Pell Grants

This NCES report describes Pell Grant recipients who began postsecondary education in 1995-96 and compares their postsecondary outcomes 3 years later with low- and middle-income students who did not receive a Pell Grant.  In examining outcomes, high school academic preparation and factors that place students at risk of not finishing postsecondary education were taken into consideration.  Despite the finding that Pell Grant recipients were less prepared academically and had more risk factors, the analysis could not detect a difference in the rate of persistence between Pell Grant recipients and their nonrecipient counterparts, either among those enrolled in all 4-year institutions or all less-than-4-year institutions.
 

Stopouts or Stayouts?  Undergraduates
Who Leave College in Their First Year

This NCES report examines the educational experiences of students who leave college in their first year. It tracks the path of those who return (stopouts) to determine where and when they enrolled.  The report also compares the background and school experience of stopouts with those who did not return (stayouts) to college.  The analysis reveals that nearly 30 percent of 1989-90 beginning students left postsecondary education in their first year. Among stopouts in the 4- year sector, 42 percent returned to the same institution, and 58 percent transferred elsewhere.  In the public 2- year sector, the opposite pattern occurred: 57 percent returned to the same institution, and 43 percent transferred.  A majority of stopouts transferred to the 2- year sector.
 

The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition has as its mission to build and sustain a vibrant campus-based and international educational community committed to the success of first-year college students and all students in transition.  It provides opportunities for the exchange of practical, theory-based information and ideas through conferences, teleconferences, institutes, and workshops; and publishes monographs, a peer-reviewed journal, a newsletter, guides, and books.
 

The Collegeways web site provides retention resources to individuals and the educational community with the latest research findings regarding the retention of students in higher education. It is also the home to The Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, a scholarly refereed quarterly journal.