The Pell Institiute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education
 
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The Pell Institute publishes research and analyses that address equal educational opportunity, particularly the outcomes for low-income, first-generation, and disabled students. Additional publications include occasional papers, policy briefs, and an electronic newsletter.


Graduates of Denver Public Schools NEW! Graduates of Denver Public Schools: College Access and Success

NEW REPORT: APRIL 2009

Dr. Pamela Buckey, Research and Evaluation Officer for The Piton Foundation, in collaboration with Dr. Lana Muraskin, Pell Institute Senior Scholar, with support from Denver Public School (DPS), the Denver Scholarship Foundation, The Piton Foundation, and the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, completed this timely and useful report which examined how 18,000 DPS graduates, from 2002 to 2007, perform in college. The report describes who enrolls in college and who persists to obtain a certificate or degree. In addition, the study examines college entrance rates for DPS graduates who earn credit in accelerated courses or programs during high school. Finally, a discussion of recommendations for future research and ways to better increase college access and success for students is offered.


Moving Beyond Access Moving Beyond Access: College Success for Low-Income, First Generation Students

Dr. Jennifer Engle, Assistant Director for Higher Education, Ed Trust, and former Senior Research Analyst, Pell Institute in collaboration with Dr. Vincent Tinto, Pell Institute Senior Scholar and Distinguished University Professor, Higher Education Program, School of Education, Syracuse University, completed this new timely and informative Pell Institute report in which they examine the postsecondary characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of low-income, first-generation college students. The report highlights how the combined impact of being both low-income and first-generation correlates with a range of factors (i.e. demographic and enrollment characteristics) that lower the students’ chances of successfully earning a college degree. Thus, they show how the combination of these two characteristics put students who are both low-income and the first in their families to go to college at the greatest risk of failure in postsecondary education.

The report utilized data from the U.S. Department of Education datasets to describe:
  • The ways in which low-income and first-generation students participate in higher education, including persistence and degree attainment rates, and a comparison of their participation to other students, including those who are neither low-income nor first-generation.
  • A comprehensive delineation of the barriers that low-income, first-generation students face to achieving success in college.
  • A highlight of strategies that colleges and universities can pursue to address the barriers and improve low-income and first-generation students’ chances of earning degrees.
  • A practical set of recommendations for institutional and government actions that could go a long way towards closing the access and success gaps that exist today.

We extend our thanks to the 3M Foundation for providing support for this study.

Opportunity Matters Opportunity Matters: A Journal of Research Informing Educational Opportunity Practice and Programs

INAUGURAL ISSUE: June 2008

Opportunity Matters is a research journal from the Pell Institute that provides a scholarly forum to discuss, disseminate, and stimulate research related to educational opportunity programs and the populations they serve, primarily low-income, first-generation, and minority college students as well as students with disabilities. The journal aims to make research more accessible and useful to policymakers and practitioners in the field in order to advance the goal of improving access to and success in higher education for underrepresented and underserved student populations.




Black College DollarsBlack College Dollars: Scholarships for African-American Students, 2007-2008 Directory

With The Sallie Mae Fund and BET Networks, the Pell Institute has compiled a scholarship guide for African-American students to help pay for college. The guide contains information about more than 300 scholarships that are designed to reduce the cost of a college education for African-American students, and for all students of color. The guide is also available online at (www.blackcollegedollars.org), allowing students to search for scholarships by GPA requirement, academic and career interest, and application deadline. View the Scholarship Guide here


Demography is not DestinyDemography is not Destiny

The Pell Institute has released
Demography is not Destiny: Increasing the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College Students at Large Public Universities.” This report, funded with a grant from the Lumina Foundation for Education, documents research conducted by the Pell Institute at 14 public universities that serve relatively high numbers of federal Pell Grant recipients. “Demography is not Destiny” describes differences in institutional policies and practices, considers if practices aimed at improving overall graduation rates also work for low-income students, and offers recommendations for institutions and policymakers. In combination with our previous report, Raising the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College Students., we hope to better inform policymakers and practitioners who seek to improve the chances for success for low-income students in higher education.


Straight from the SourceStraight From the Source: What Works for First-Generation College Students

The Pell Institute has released “Straight From the Source: What Works for First-Generation College Students.” This report, funded with a grant from the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG), presents the findings from focus groups with first-generation students in Texas. The students shared what works to help them make the transition from college to high school, as well as what didn’t work or what could work better to get more first-generation students into college.

Expanding Access and OpportunityExpanding Access and Opportunity: The Washington State Achievers Scholarship

Prepared by the Pell Institute for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the College Success Foundation, Expanding Access and Opportunity synthesizes the findings of research conducted on the Achievers Scholarship program through Spring 2006. <



Indicators of Opportunity in Higher EducationIndicators of Opportunity in Higher Education

The Pell Institute has released the second edition of Indicators of Opportunity in Higher Education. The report continues to track the status of opportunity for higher education in the US, with an additional indicator that addresses a family’s ability to pay for college. The report also features a closer look at the diverse group of students captured in the category of low-income students.


The State of College Opportunity in Ohio

This report was prepared by the Pell Institute—with support from the GE Foundation-and was released in October by the Ohio College Access Network and the Ohio Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel. Download a copy of the report here.
The State of College Opportunity in Ohio 2005 is one of four state-level opportunity reports.



Raising the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College StudentsThe Pell Institute has released "Raising the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College Students." This report, which was published by the Pell Institute and Lumina Foundation for Education, presents the findings of research on retention at institutions that serve large numbers of Pell Grant recipients. The project sought to identify differences in institutional characteristics or practices that might help to explain differences in student outcomes.


Occasional PaperOccasional Paper: Student Retention and Graduation; Facing the Truth, Living with the Consequences
Pell Institute Senior Scholar Vincent Tinto has authored an Occasional Paper Student Retention and Graduation; Facing the Truth, Living with the Consequences. The report provides a broad survey of what is known about why students leave college before completing a degree, and closely examines who goes to college and who graduates from college. The report also offers specific action steps that the federal government can take to assure that low-income students not only get into college, but stay through the completion of a degree.


 
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