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In this book, the author describes the actions that US colleges and universities can take to ensure that great numbers of their students succeed in their studies. A strategic framework for institutional action is proposed, based on past research on student retention and completion. The framework is based on four key conditions within educational institutions that promote retention and graduation: (1) student expectations of themselves; (2) support of various kinds, such as academic, social and, in some cases, financial; (3) assessment and feedback that enables students and staff to adjust their behaviours to better promote student success; and (4) involvement, or what is now commonly referred to as engagement, both academically and socially, with staff and peers. The author addresses each of these conditions in detail then examines institutional policy required to support these conditions and the institutional actions required, including support for teaching staff. Show less

This review aims to assess the study of education and social attainment; what has been done thus far and what needs to be done. The author begins with a brief sociological overview of education as being tied into the wider system of social stratification in society. Also considered are problems in the measurement of status in studying the impact of education on social attainment. The discussion then turns to the current state of knowledge concerning the separate and interactive effects education has on access to jobs and performance on the job. The author aims to determine to what degree and in what manner these effects, if any, vary as a function of sex, race, and college origins.

The focus is then on the limits of large-scale research as a tool for understanding the educational processes that affect subsequent social attainment. Several alternative methods are suggested as promising, especially in terms of yielding insight into problems in the study of inequality. The author concludes with a brief summary of important points raised in the review and comments on the need for future studies designed to increase understanding of the way education impacts on the complex process of status attainment.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less