Institutional Barriers Contribute to Low College Completion Rates

Institutions contribute to low college graduation rates by creating barriers. These are six common ones: degree requirements poorly described, not offering needed courses, unnecessary registration holds, inappropriate placement of transfer credits, financial aid policies that do not benefit the most needy students and not recommending students complete 30 hours a year. All of these barriers can be removed at little or no cost to the institution.

Perception of Undergraduate Students Towards Implementation of Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) in India

The study was conducted to explore the perception of students towards CBCS and the challenges faced by them in the progress for successful implementation of CBCS. Convergent Parallel design of mix-method approach has been used. A total 80 students from Ravenshaw University and from affiliated urban degree colleges of Utkal University were selected as sample of the study. Self-developed perception scale and an open-ended questionnaire were administered. The collected data were analyzed by using percentage, t-test, ANOVA. The research revealed no significant difference in perception towards CBCS between boys and girls and between Arts, Science and Commerce students. Majority of student respondents (87.5%) have a favourable perception towards introduction of GPA instead of marks. Students highly recommended for the provision of credit transfer system, employment-based skill enhancement courses, internal exams, appointment of student advisor and flexibility to study at different times and different institutions to complete one course and scope to transfer credits from one institution to other. Majority of Students highly satisfied with the semester system of examination, flexibility in subject selection, continuous comprehensive evaluation and skill enhancement courses. The study revealed some problem which are faced by students in the successful implementation of Choice Based Credit System such as; overburden of course, workload, exam oriented, inadequate library and infrastructure, absence of specialized teachers and references, text books. The findings of the present study yielded the necessity of developing strategies by all the stakeholders for successful implementation of Choice Based Credit System.

Reevaluating incarcerated juvenile education in the wake of COVID-19: Why the juvenile system should take advantage of the online learning wave

Incarcerated juveniles have the greatest need for education and potential for improvement, yet they are one of the most underserved populations in terms of public education. Juveniles in detention centers receive a lower quality education when compared to public education systems–courses exclusively based on worksheets, single-room style teaching methods, a shortage of textbooks, and underqualified teachers. They also struggle to earn and transfer credits. In addition, solitary confinement often denies access to education, adding further disadvantages. Currently, juveniles have a low reenrollment rate in the public education system after their release. This paper presents a solution for the future of juvenile education, using the national response to COVID-19 of moving education online as a blueprint, combined with social science research, to provide small amendments to promote an effective learning environment.

Through Army-Colored Glasses: A Layered Account of One Veteran’s Experiences in Higher Education

There is a lack of research on military veterans in higher education that captures the issues from an insider’s perspective. To that end, I sought to reflect upon my own experiences with higher education as military veteran—from a budding recruit all the way through to now being an administrator and faculty member. I utilized a layered-account autoethnographic approach (Ronai, 1995) to interrogate my multiple perspectives that developed over time on veterans’ issues in higher education. I found that the GI Bill—the modern iteration of the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944—was a powerful motivator both in starting my military career and continuing my studies; my thinking on transfer credits from the Joint Service Transcript evolved from seeing them as an entitlement to lacking rigor. I felt out of place as I left the military and attended a traditional university campus, and then I sought out the faculty members who reminded me of the no-nonsense military from which I had departed. My experiences in the military continually guided my behavior as a student and that of other student veterans I observed, thus, I recommend that institutions glean lessons from these experiences to better serve the unique demographic presented by the growing population of student veterans.

Postsecondary Student Mobility from College to University: Academic Performance of Students

This paper considers the impact of transfer credits on the GPA of college–university transfer students. The data come from the academic records of students enrolled at 2 different campuses at an undergraduate university in Ontario across a 4-year period. The results from multivariate regression analyses show that the number of transfer credits is significantly associated with a higher GPA, controlling for student status (part time/full time), campus of study, cohort, semester of study, and previous college background. Further analysis suggests that the credit–GPA relationship is nonlinear, peaking at 6 transfer credits. These findings can be used to help inform individuals and institutions about the past performance of students as further refinements to transfer policies between institutions are undertaken.