Getting to Graduation: The Completion Agenda in Higher Education
What will it take to achieve President Obama’s higher education completion agenda?

The United States, long considered to have the best higher education in the world, now ranks eleventh in the proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds with a college degree. As other countries have made dramatic gains in degree attainment, the U.S. has improved more slowly. In response, President Obama recently laid out a national “completion agenda” with the goal of making the U.S. the best-educated nation in the world by the year 2020. Getting to Graduation explores the reforms that we must pursue to recover a position of international leadership in higher education as well as the obstacles to those reforms.

This new completion agenda puts increased pressure on institutions to promote student success and improve institutional productivity in a time of declining public revenue. In this volume, scholars of higher education and public policymakers describe promising directions for reform. They argue that it is essential to redefine postsecondary education and to consider a broader range of learning opportunities—beyond the research university and traditional bachelor degree programs—to include community colleges, occupational certificate programs, and apprenticeships. The authors also emphasize the need to rethink policies governing financial aid, remediation, and institutional funding to promote degree completion.

1110919345
Getting to Graduation: The Completion Agenda in Higher Education
What will it take to achieve President Obama’s higher education completion agenda?

The United States, long considered to have the best higher education in the world, now ranks eleventh in the proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds with a college degree. As other countries have made dramatic gains in degree attainment, the U.S. has improved more slowly. In response, President Obama recently laid out a national “completion agenda” with the goal of making the U.S. the best-educated nation in the world by the year 2020. Getting to Graduation explores the reforms that we must pursue to recover a position of international leadership in higher education as well as the obstacles to those reforms.

This new completion agenda puts increased pressure on institutions to promote student success and improve institutional productivity in a time of declining public revenue. In this volume, scholars of higher education and public policymakers describe promising directions for reform. They argue that it is essential to redefine postsecondary education and to consider a broader range of learning opportunities—beyond the research university and traditional bachelor degree programs—to include community colleges, occupational certificate programs, and apprenticeships. The authors also emphasize the need to rethink policies governing financial aid, remediation, and institutional funding to promote degree completion.

50.0 In Stock
Getting to Graduation: The Completion Agenda in Higher Education

Getting to Graduation: The Completion Agenda in Higher Education

Getting to Graduation: The Completion Agenda in Higher Education

Getting to Graduation: The Completion Agenda in Higher Education

Hardcover

$50.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

What will it take to achieve President Obama’s higher education completion agenda?

The United States, long considered to have the best higher education in the world, now ranks eleventh in the proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds with a college degree. As other countries have made dramatic gains in degree attainment, the U.S. has improved more slowly. In response, President Obama recently laid out a national “completion agenda” with the goal of making the U.S. the best-educated nation in the world by the year 2020. Getting to Graduation explores the reforms that we must pursue to recover a position of international leadership in higher education as well as the obstacles to those reforms.

This new completion agenda puts increased pressure on institutions to promote student success and improve institutional productivity in a time of declining public revenue. In this volume, scholars of higher education and public policymakers describe promising directions for reform. They argue that it is essential to redefine postsecondary education and to consider a broader range of learning opportunities—beyond the research university and traditional bachelor degree programs—to include community colleges, occupational certificate programs, and apprenticeships. The authors also emphasize the need to rethink policies governing financial aid, remediation, and institutional funding to promote degree completion.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781421406220
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date: 09/01/2012
Pages: 344
Product dimensions: 9.00(w) x 6.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Andrew P. Kelly is a research fellow in education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction Andrew P. Kelly Mark Schneider 1

Part 1 The Challenges

1 Increasing Higher Education Attainment in the United States: Challenges and Opportunities Arthur M. Hauptman 17

2 Graduation Rates at America's Universities: What We Know and What We Need to Know Matthew M. Chingos 48

Part 2 The Performance and Potential of Sub-Baccalaureate Programs

3 Can Community Colleges Achieve Ambitious Graduation Goals? Thomas Bailey 73

4 Certificate Pathways to Postsecondary Success and Good Jobs Brian Bosworth 102

5 Apprenticeships as an Alternative Route to Skills and Credentials Diane Auer Jones 126

Part 3 The Relationship between Policy and Completion

6 Financial Aid: A Blunt Instrument for Increasing Degree Attainment Eric Bettinger 157

7 Remediation: The Challenges of Helping Underprepared Students Bridget Terry Long 175

8 Equalizing Credits and Rewarding Skills: Credit Portability and Bachelor's Degree Attainment Josipa Roksa 201

Part 4 The Lessons from Three States

9 The Challenge of Scaling Successful Policy Innovations: A Case Study of Three Colorado Community College System Grants Elaine DeLott Baker 225

10 Efforts to Improve Productivity: The Impact of Higher Education Reform in Texas Geri Hockfield Malandra 246

11 The Ohio Experience with Outcomes-Based Funding Richard Petrick 269

Conclusion Andrew P. Kelly Mark Schneider 293

List of Contributors 313

Index 321

What People are Saying About This

Jane Wellman

A solid body of work on an important topic that is not getting the kind of analytical attention it deserves.

From the Publisher

A solid body of work on an important topic that is not getting the kind of analytical attention it deserves.
—Jane Wellman, Delta Project on Postsecondary Costs, Productivity, and Accountability

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews