RESEARCH

Research will be conducted on promising and best practices in related subjects, such as:

First-Year Experience (FYE):  What works?  Who is doing what?   How can national best practices inform Connecticut campuses?   How, if at all, do such courses carry over to “sophomore year experience”?  What do students think about FYE courses?

Retention:  What do current data tell us?   How do public and private institutions differ regarding retention and why?  How can national, proven practices be applied without breaking already strained budgets?  What can students tell us?

Bridge Programs:  Researching “summer before”, high-school “catch-up” and “reach-back” programs to help challenged high school students see higher education as an option, and overcome deficits that compromise their readiness for beginning college.

“Seamless Support” programs:  Studying programs that help high school students plan for higher education, find the most appropriate choice, apply for admission, secure financial aid – and equally important, once enrolled, continue helping them succeed in postsecondary education.

Developmental Education: Evolving approaches to implementing Connecticut’s Public Act 12-40, academic vs. non-academic issues, “affording” best practices, role of K-12 systems.

Vocational-Technical Education: Inventorying, and when possible, evaluating V-T programs that attract many challenged high school students, but with widely disparate outcomes re. retention, graduation, and ultimate debt levels in relation to ability to manage debt once employed.