The National Center for Postsecondary Research (NCPR), http://www.postsecondaryresearch.org, is housed at CCRC and operated in collaboration with partners MDRC, the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, and faculty from Harvard University, was established through a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education in 2006. NCPR focuses on measuring the effectiveness of programs designed to help students make the transition to college and master basic skills needed to advance to a degree. While colleges employ multiple programs and policies designed to teach students the skills they need to succeed, there is little definitive research on the effects of some widely-used practices. NCPR employs rigorous research methodologies, including random assignment experimental design, to evaluate such practices.

 

As described below, NCPR’s current and planned research includes studies of remedial learning communities, summer bridge programs, and dual enrollment. Large-scale data analysis on the effects of remediation and dual enrollment using administrative data from various states is also underway. Additional research on need- and merit-based financial aid and on the use of a simplified financial aid application process is also in progress. NCPR, led by researchers from MDRC, is evaluating learning communities for students in need of remediation at six community colleges around the country. The sites cover a wide range of learning communities, with some focused on developmental math, others focused on developmental English or reading, and one with a career focus. These courses are linked with student success courses, other developmental courses, and college content courses in different configurations across the sites.

 

Transcript-level data are being used to evaluate the impact of assigning students to a learning community, using a number of outcome measures that include grade point average, credits earned, and degree completion. The design of this study is described in a paper titled The Learning Communities Demonstration: Rationale, Sites, and Research Design, and a report on early findings of the study, including impacts of learning communities on student outcomes for three study sites, will soon be available.

 NCPR is also preparing to conduct a random assignment evaluation of developmental summer bridge programs in Texas that are sponsored by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board or are locally funded. This work is led by Elisabeth A. Barnett of CCRC. Summer bridge programs offer intensive developmental education services to students with weak academic skills during the summer before they begin college along with opportunities to learn “college knowledge.” These programs are increasingly viewed as a promising intervention to help students arrive at college in the fall ready to enroll in college-credit bearing classes. They aim to promote college readiness and to reduce or even eliminate the need for developmental education. Seven Texas sites have been identified for inclusion in random assignment research planned for summer 2009 and beyond. Outcomes to be measured using transcript-level data include reduced need for developmental education in college, persistence, and college credit accumulation. Houston Endowment is providing support to ensure that these programs are well managed, well implemented, and consistent across sites. CCRC has for some time carried out research on dual enrollment programs, which enable high school students to enroll in college courses and earn college credits. While such programs were once limited to high-achieving, academically focused students, today many educators and policymakers view dual enrollment as a strategy to help a wider range of students, including career and technical education students, make the transition from high school to college.

 

To further strengthen the research base on dual enrollment, IES is, through NCPR, providing partial funding for the evaluation of the Concurrent Courses Initiative. Funded by The James Irvine Foundation and managed by CCRC, the Initiative supports eight secondary/postsecondary partnerships in California as they develop, enhance, and expand career-focused dual enrollment programs, particularly for low-income or underrepresented youth. Participating students will be tracked over time and their outcomes compared to similar non-participants.

 

NCPR is complementing its research on remediation and dual enrollment with large-scale statistical studies using state unit record data from at least two states, Florida and Tennessee. Last year, a paper on the impact of remedial courses in Florida, titled The Impact of Postsecondary Remediation Using a Regression Discontinuity Approach: Addressing Endogenous Sorting and Noncompliance, was released. A second paper using Florida data that examines how the impact of remediation varies by type of student (by gender, race, and age, for example) will soon be available.

 

Building on a project that began at CCRC, NCPR researchers are also conducting quantitative analyses of dual enrollment using Florida data. The original study (described in a report titled The Postsecondary Achievement of Participants in Dual Enrollment: An Analysis of Student Outcomes in Two States) found positive relationships between participation in dual enrollment and a range of postsecondary outcomes. Using more data and different statistical techniques, NCPR researchers will estimate the strength of any causal relationship between dual enrollment and those outcomes.

 

Other projects NCPR researchers are pursuing include studies on financial aid. This work is being led by Bridget Terry Long of Harvard University. Dr. Long’s comprehensive review of research findings on the effects of financial aid on college access, titled What Is Known About the Impact of Financial Aid? Implications for Policy, was released last year. Using unit record data from Florida, NCPR researchers now plan to investigate how both needbased and merit-based grants influence student access, choice, and persistence.

 

In addition, IES provides partial support for an ongoing NCPR-related project, called the H&R Block FAFSA experiment, co-led by Dr. Long. This project, being undertaken in Ohio and North Carolina, provides an intervention that streamlines both the aid application process and students’ access to accurate and personalized higher education financial aid information. The intervention consists of H&R Block tax professionals helping low- to middle-income families in the treatment group complete the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) and giving these families an immediate estimate of their eligibility for federal and state financial aid as well as information about local postsecondary education options. The study will answer questions about the importance of clear aid information and financial barriers in college access and persistence.

Visit the NCPR Web site at: http://www.postsecondaryresearch.org