2012 Dissertation Grants

2011 Research Grants

Principal Investigator: Dr. Xueli Wang
Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Award Amount: $39,378
Proposal Title: Modeling Student Entrance into STEM Fields of Study at Community Colleges and Four-Year Institutions: Towards a Theoretical Framework of Motivation, High School Learning, and Postsecondary Context of Support
Forum Presentation: Factors Influencing Entrance into STEM Fields of Study: Motivation, High School Learning, and Postsecondary Context of Support
Final Report: Modeling Entrance Into STems Fields of Study Among Students Beginning at Community Colleges and Four-Year Institutions
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

Principal Investigator: Dr. Yonghong Xu
Institution: University of Memphis
Award Amount: $40,000
Proposal Title: College Graduates’ Persistence in STEM Career Paths: Influential Factors, Major-Based Comparisons, and Gender-Related Differences
Forum Presentation: Career Outcomes of STEM and non-STEM College Graduates: Persistence in Majored-field and Influential Factors in Career Choices
Final Report: Career Outcomes of Stem and Non-Stem College Graduates: Persistence in Majored-Field and Influential Factors in Career Choices and Advance to and Persistence in Gradute School: Identfiying the Infuential Factors and Major-Based Differences
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

Principal Investigator: Dr. Jaekyung Lee and Dr. Lois Weis
Institution: University at Buffalo
Award Amount: $38,867
Proposal Title: High School Pathways to Postsecondary Education Destinations: Integrated Multilevel Analyses of NELS, ELS and NCES-Barron’s Datasets
Forum Presentation: High School Pathways to Postsecondary Education Destintions: Integrated Multilevel Analyses of NELS, ELS, and NCES-Barron's Datasets
Final Report: High School Pathways to Postsecondary Education Destinations: Integrated Multilevel Analyses of NELS, ELS, and NCES-Barron's Datasets
Grant Program: NCES

Principal Investigator: Dr. Nick Hillman
Institution: University of Utah
Award Amount: $39,100
Proposal Title: College on Credit: Student and Institutional Factors Associated with Default
Forum Presentation: College on Credit: A Multi-level Analysis of Student Loan Default
Final Report: College on Credit: A Multi-level Analysis of Student Loan Default
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

Principal Investigator: Dr. Alyssa Bryant Rockenbach
Institution: North Carolina State University
Award Amount: $39,960
Proposal Title: Fostering Meaning, Purpose, and Enduring Commitments to Community Service in College: A Multidimensional Conceptual Model
Forum Presentation: Fostering Meaning, Purpose, and Enduring Commitments to Community Service in College: A Multidimensional Conceptual Model
Final Report: Fostering Meaning, Purpose, and Enduring Commitments to Community Service in College: A Multidimensional Conceptual Model
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

2011 Dissertation Grants

Principal Investigator: Ms. Mina Dadgar
Institution: Teachers College, Columbia University
Award Amount: $20,000
Proposal Title: Balancing Work and Study: Evaluating the Effects of Community College Students’ Term-time Employment and Credential Type
Final Report: To Work or Not to Work? Understanding the Academic Consequences of Community College Students' Employment While Enrolled
Grant Program: NPEC

Principal Investigator: Sarah Ryan
Institution: University of California at Riverside
Award Amount: $19,800
Title: (Mis)Aligned Ambitions? Parent Resources, Student Alignment, and Piecing Together the Puzzle of Latino Postsecondary Attainment
Forum Presentation: Aligned Ambitions on the Path to College: Insights in the Hispanic College Puzzle
Final Report: ​(Mis)Aligned Ambitions? Parent Resources, Student Alignment, and Piecing Together the Hispanic College Puzzle
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

Principal Investigator: Ms. Di Xu
Institution: Teachers College, Columbia University
Award Amount: $20,000
Proposal Title: Does Course Delivery Format Matter? Evaluating the Impacts of Online Learning on Student Success in a State Community College System
​Forum Presentation: Does Course Delivery Format Matter? Evaluating the Effects of Online Learning in a State Community College System Using an Instrumental Variable Approach
Final Report: Heterogeneity in Online Course Enrollments and Impacts
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

2010 Research Grants

Principal Investigator: Peter Bahr
Institution: University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Award Amount: $39,000
Proposal Title: The “Black Hole” of Remedial Mathematics: Toward an Explanation for the Disparities in Successful Remediation between Severely, Moderately, and Mildly Deficient Community College Students
Final Report: The Aftermath of Remedial Math: Investigating the Low Rate of Certificate Completion among Remedial Math Students
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

Principal Investigator: Michael Bastedo
Institution: University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Award Amount: $39,000
Proposal Title: Stratification by Race and Gender: Tracking Change Across Four NCES Datasets
Forum Presentation: Stratification by Race and Gender: Tracking Change Across Four NCES Datasets (PDF)
Final Report: Access without equity: Longitudinal analyses of institutional stratification by race and ethnicity, 1972-2004 (PDF)
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

Principal Investigator: Rong Chen
Institution: Seton Hall
Award Amount: $39,000
Proposal Title: Do Colleges Matter? A Multilevel Hazard Analysis of Inequity in College Student Dropout Risks
Forum Presentation: Institutional Characteristics and College Student Dropout Risks: A Multilevel EVent History Analysis (PDF)
Final Report: Institutional Characteristics and College Student Dropout Risks: A Multilevel EVent History Analysis (PDF)
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

Principal Investigator: Mark Engberg
Institution: Loyola University Chicago
Award Amount: $39,000
Proposal Title: Access to Postsecondary Education: The Interrelationships Among High Schools Contexts and Socioeconomic Status
Forum Presentation: The Interrelationships Among High Schools Contexts and Socioeconomic Status: An Examination of Enrollment Outcomes (PDF)
Final Report: Access to Postsecondary Education: The Interrelationships among High School Contexts and Socioeconomic Status (PDF)
Grant Program:NCES & NPEC

Principal Investigator: Leslie Stratton
Institution: Virginia Commonwealth University
Award Amount: $39,000
Proposal Title: Relating Socioeconomic Status to Enrollment Flows and College Success: Using the BPS:96/01 Data to Estimate a Competing Hazards Model
Forum Presentation: Relating Socioeconomic Status to Enrollment Flows and College Success (PDF)
Final Report:: Are Students Dropping Out or Are They Simply Dragging Out the College Experience? Persistence at the Six-Year Mark (PDF)
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

2010 Dissertation Grants 

Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Flow-Delwiche
Institution: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Award Amount: $17,000
Proposal Title: Is More Better? A Case Study of the Impact on Student Success due to a Policy Change for Placement in Developmental Mathematics Courses at a Community College Level
Forum Presentation: Is More Better? A Case Study of the Impact on Student Success due to a Policy Change for Placement in Developmental Mathematics Courses at a Community College Level (PDF)
Final Report: Community College Developmental Mathematics: Is More Better? (PDF)
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

Principal Investigator: Matthew Gaertner
Institution: University of Colorado, Boulder
Award Amount: $19,000
Title: Assessing a New Approach to Class-Based Affirmative Action
Forum Presentation: Assessing a New Approach to Class-Based Affirmative Action (PDF)
Final Report: Assessing a New Approach to Class-Based Affirmative Action (PDF)
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

2009 Research Grants

Principal Investigators: Yasuko Kanno & Jennifer Cromley
Institution: Temple University
Award Amount: $39,919
Proposal Title: English Language Learners' Access to and Attainment in Postsecondary Education (PDF)
Forum Presentation: English Language Learners’ Access to and Attainment in Postsecondary Education (PDF)
Final Report: English Language Learners’ Access to and Attainment in Postsecondary Education (PDF)
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

Principal Investigators: Ryan Wells & Tricia Seifert
Institutions: University of Massachusetts Amherst & The University of Iowa
Award Amount: $39,918
Proposal Title: The Incongruity Between Education Expectations and Enrollment Behaviors: The Effects of Gender and Social Capital Over Three Decades (PDF)
Forum Presentation: Gender Incongruity (PDF)
Final Report: Gender and Incongruity between Educational Expectations and College Enrollment: The Roles of Race, Social Class, and Significant Others (PDF)
Grant Program: NCES

2009 Dissertation Grants

Principal Investigator: Ozan Jaquette
Institution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Award Amount: $20,000
Proposal Title: The Relationship Financial Strain and the Production of Postgraduate Degree, 1970-2006 (PDF)
Forum Presentation: In Pursuit of Revenue and Prestige: The Adoption and Production of Master’s Degrees by U.S. Colleges and Universities,1969-2008 (PDF)
Final Report: In Pursuit of Revenge and Prestige: the Adopation and Production of Master's Degrees by U.S. Colleges and Universities (PDF)
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

Principal Investigator: Giljae Lee
Institution: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Campus
Award Amount: $20,000
Title: Moving Toward A Truer Picture: Factors Affecting Undergraduate Degree Completion and Time-to-Degree (PDF)
Forum Presentation: Determinants of Baccalaureate Degree completion and Time to Degree for High School Graduates in 1992 (PDF)
Final Report: DETERMINANTS OF BACCALAUREATE DEGREE COMPLETION AND TIME-TO-DEGREE FOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES IN 1992
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC
*Recipient of the Cameron L. Fincher Award*

Principal Investigator: Sun Ah Lim
Institution: University of California, Santa Barbara
Award Amount: $20,000
Proposal Title: Ethnic and Racial Difference in Higher Education Attainment: Effects of Family Resources OR Effects of School Resources? (PDF)
Forum Presentation: Ethnic and Racial Difference in Higher Education Access: Effects of Family and School Resources (PDF)
Final Report: Ethnic and Racial Difference in Higher Education Access: Effects of Family and School Resources (PDF)
Grant Program: NCES & NPEC

Principal Investigator: Daniela Pineda
Institution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Award Amount: $20,000
Proposal Title: Exploring the Role of Hispanic Serving Institutions in Improving Latino Postsecondary Educational Attainment: Evidence from the Title V Program (PDF)
Grant Program: NCES

Principal Investigator: Cecilia Speroni
Institution: Teachers College
Award Amount: $20,000
Proposal Title: High School Dual Enrollment Programs: Are We Fast-Tracking Students Too Fast? (PDF)
Forum Presentation: High School Dual Enrollment Programs (PDF)
Final Report: High School Dual Enrollment Programs: Are We Fast-Tracking Students Too Fast? (PDF)
Grant Program: NPEC
*Recipient of the Charles I. Brown Award*

2008 Research Grants

2008 Dissertation Grants

2007 Research Grants

Principal Investigator: Dr. Michal Kurlaender
Institution: University of California, Davis
Award Amount: $30,000
Proposal Title: College Readiness to Degree Completion: Remedial Replacement and Patterns of College Persistence Project Description
Revised Proposal Title: Postsecondary Preparation and Remediation: Examining the Effect of the Early Assessment Program at California State University
Grant Program: NPEC
Forum Presentation: Postsecondary Preparation and Remediation at Cal State
Final Report: Kurlaender Final Report

Principal Investigators: Dr. Sukkyung You, Dr. Russell Rumberger
Institution: University of Southern California at Santa Barbara
Award Amount: $30,000
Proposal Title: Exploring School Effects on College Preparation of High School Students
Revised Proposal Title: Multilevel Analysis of Student Pathways to College
Grant Program: NPEC
Forum Presentation: Multilevel Analysis of Student Pathways to College
Final Report: You Final Report

2007 Dissertation Grants

Principal Investigator: Dai Li
Institution: Pennsylvania State University
Award Amount: $15,000
Proposal Title: Should Transfer or Not: The Effects of Academic Match on Student Decision to Transfer
Grant Program: NCES/NSF
Forum Presentation: College Choice and Degree Attainment Among Transfer Students
Final Report: Li Final Paper

Principal Investigator: Xueli Wang
Institution: The Ohio State University
Award Amount: $15,000
Proposal Title: Factors Predicting the Educational Pathways and Attainment of Baccalaureate Aspirants Beginning at Community Colleges
Grant Program: NPEC
Final Report as Presented at Forum: Factors Predicting the Educational Pathways and Attainment of Baccalaureate Aspirants Beginning at Community Colleges

2006 Research Grants

Principal Investigator: Patricia B. Cerrito
Proposal Title: Methods to Examine the Gatekeepers to Graduation
Institution: University of Louisville
Award Amount: $29,625
Program: NCES/NSF
Final Report: Cerrito Final Report

Principal Investigator: Anne M. Hornak
Proposal Title: Making it (or not) on a Dime in College
Institution: University of Toledo
Award Amount: $30,000
Program: NCES/NSF & NPEC
Final Report: Hornak_Final_06-520.pdf

Principal Investigator: Shouping Hu
Proposal Title: State Paying for Grades and Student Decisions
Institution: Florida State University
Award Amount: $27,728
Program: NPEC

Principal Investigator: Audrey J. Jaeger
Proposal Title: Is Freshman Retention a Consequence of Faculty Employment Status?
Institution: North Carolina State University
Award Amount: $29,914
Program: NPEC

Principal Investigator: Jeffrey D. Kromrey
Proposal Title: Correlates of Decision Making: Factors Associated with Degree Completion and Employment
Institution: University of South Florida
Award Amount: $29,857
Program: NCES/NSF  

Principal Investigator: C. Nathan Marti
Proposal Title: Beginning Community College Student Characteristics that Predict Postsecondary Persistence Trajectories
Institution: The University of Texas at Austin
Award Amount: $29,680
Program: NCES/NSF
Final Report: Marti_Final_06-521.pdf

Principal Investigator: Tatiana Melguizo
Proposal Title: The Relationship between College Costs, Local Labor Market Conditions and Persistence among Community College Students
Institution: University of Southern California
Award Amount: $30,000
Program: NCES/NSF
Final Report: Melguizo_Final_06-516.pdf

Principal Investigator: Stephen R. Porter
Proposal Title: Obtaining a Liberal Education and Breadth of Study: An Analysis of College Transcript Data
Institution: Iowa State University
Award Amount: $29,972
Program: NCES/NSF and NPEC

Principal Investigator: Vicki J. Rosser
Proposal Title: Measuring Female Faculty's Workload Productivity Over Time
Institution: University of Missouri-Columbia
Award Amount: $30,000
Program: NCES/NSF

2006 Dissertation Grants

Principal Investigators: Kristina M. (Goodwin) Cragg
Dissertation Chair: Douglas N. Harris, Ph.D.
Proposal Title: Matching Institutional Characteristics and Student Entry Characteristics for Student Success in Four-Year Colleges and Universities
Institution: Florida State University
Award Amount: $15,000
Program: NCES/NSF
*Recipient of the Cameron L. Fincher Award*

Principal Investigators: Melissa L. Freeman
Dissertation Chair: Valerie Martin Conley, Ph.D.
Proposal Title: Gender, Geography, Transfer, and Baccalaureate Completion
Institution: Ohio University
Award Amount: $15,000
Program: NCES/NSF and NPEC
Final Report: Freeman_Final_06-494.pdf
*Recipient of the Charles I. Brown Award*

2005 Research Grants

Principal Investigator: Thomas Bailey and Davis Jenkins
Proposal Title: Using State Student Record Data To Map Pathways to Success for Underserved Community College Students
Institution: Columbia University
Award Amount: $29,996
Program: NPEC
Final Report: Bailey_final 05-207.pdf

Principal Investigator: Crystal Muhammad
Proposal Title: The Black-Black Educational Attainment Gap: Socio-Cultural and Academic Identity at a Crossroads
Institution: North Carolina State University
Award Amount: $26,243
Program: NPEC
Final Report: Muhammad_ final 05-211.pdf

Principal Investigator: Sara Goldrick-Rab
Proposal Title:How Complex Postsecondary Educational Transitions Shape Student Success
Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Award Amount: $30,000
Program: NPEC
Final Report:Goldrick_final Report_05-214.pdf

Principal Investigator: James Wetzel
Proposal Title: Progress Towards a Degree: Comparison of Academic Degree Seeking Students from 90/94 and 96/01 BPS
Institution: Virginia Commonwealth University
Award Amount: $29,209
Program: NCES/NSF
Final Report: Stratton Wetzel_ final 05-220.pdf

Principal Investigator: Laura Wilson-Gentry; Merrill Pritchett; , Daniel Martin; and Daniel Gerlowski
Proposal Title:Student Success and Web-Based Graduate Education
Institution: University of Baltimore
Award Amount: $29,941
Program: NPEC
Fianl Report: Gentry_final 05-223.pdf

Principal Investigator: Rachelle Brooks; Dennis Kivlighan; Janet Schmidt
Proposal Title: A Longitudinal Study of Student Success
Institution: University of Maryland
Award Amount: $29,882
Program: NPEC

Principal Investigator: Hansel Burley and Bonita Butner
Proposal Title:Predicting Remedial Students’ College Performance: Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to A National Sample
Institution: Texas Tech University
Award Amount: $30,000
Program: NCES/NSF and NPEC

Principal Investigator: Lamont Flowers
Proposal Title: Exploring Racial Differences in the Effects of College on Students’ Law School Admission Test Scores
Institution: University of Florida
Award Amount: $30,000
Program: NPEC

Principal Investigator: Paul Umbach
Proposal Title: Equity in the Academic Labor Market: An Analysis of Academic Disciplines
Institution: University of Iowa
Award Amount: $27,092
Program: NCES/NSF and NPEC

2005 Dissertation Grants

Principal Investigators: Sandra Kortesoja
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Stephen L. DesJardins
Proposal Title:Factors Influencing Nontraditional Age Student Participation in Postsecondary Education
Institution: University of Michigan
Award Amount: 15,000
Program: NPEC
Final Report:Kortesoja_ final 05-402.pdf

Principal Investigator: Po Yang, Recipient of Charles I Brown Award
Dissertation Chair: Prof. Thomas R. Bailey
Proposal Title:A Generation on the Move: Education and Economic Attainment of Four-year College Transfer Students
Institution: Columbia University
Award Amount: 15,000
Program: NPEC

Principal Investigator: Jeannette Colyvas
Dissertation Chair: Walter W. Powell
Proposal Title:Academic Entrepreneurship and Tranformation in University Science
Institution: Stanford University
Award Amount: 15,000
Program: NCES/NSF

Principal Investigator: Amanda Camp
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Diane Gilleland
Proposal Title:Higher Education's Impact on Women's Educational Attainment and Outcomes Across Science and Engineering Disciplines
Institution: University of Arkansas Little Rock
Award Amount: 15,000
Program: NCES/NSF and NPEC

Principal Investigator: Anna Chung, Recipient of the Cameron Fincher Award
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Edward St. John
Proposal Title:For-Profit College -- An Opportunity for Under-Served? Analysis of Educational and Economic Outcomes for Proprietary Students
Institution: Indiana University
Award Amount: 15,000
Program: NPEC

Principal Investigators: Rong Chen
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Stephen L. DesJardins
Proposal Title:Exploring the Effects of Financial Aid on the Gap in Student Dropout Risks by Family Income
Institution: University of Michigan
Award Amount: 10,000
Program: NPEC

2004 Research Grants

Principal Investigator: Dr. Consuelo Arbona and Dr. Amaury Nora
Proposal Title: Predicting College Attainment of Hispanic Students: Individual, Institutional, and Environmental Factors
Institution: University of Houston
Award Amount: $30,000
Program: NCES

Principal Investigator: Dr. Amy Caison
Proposal Title: Analysis of Institutionally-Specific Retention Research Methods: A Comparison Between Survey and Institutional Database Approaches
Institution: North Carolina State University
Award Amount: $29,778
Program: NPEC

Principal Investigator: Dr. Lora Cohen-Vogel
Proposal Title: Allocating College Financial Aid on the Basis of Merit: Program Impact on Student Success in Terms of Whether and Where to Attend College
Institution: Florida State University
Award Amount: $29,998
Program: NPEC

Principal Investigator: Mr. James Cole and Dr. David Bergin
Proposal Title: Association Between Motivation and General Education Standardized Test Scores
Institution: University of Missouri-Columbia
Award Amount: $29,932
Program: NPEC

Principal Investigator: Ms. Kathryn Corder, Ms. Tracey Pattok, and Dr. Kevin Corder
Proposal Title: College Financing and College Completion: Using Ecological Inference to Investigate How Types of Aid Received Affects Retention and Graduation Outcomes
Institution: Western Michigan University
Award Amount: $20,606
Program: NCES

Principal Investigator: Dr. Susan Kahn and Dr. Sharon Hamilton
Proposal Title: Enhancing Student Success Through Electronic Portfolios
Institution: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Award Amount: $30,000
Program: NPEC

Principal Investigator: Dr. Wei-Cheng Mau, Dr. Randy Ellsworth, and Dr. Donna Hawley
Proposal Title: Finding Leakage in the Pipeline of Teacher Supply: Factors Influencing Youngsters to Aspire to and Stay in Teaching Careers
Institution: Wichita State University
Award Amount: $25,968
Program: NCES

Principal Investigator: Dr. Marvin Titus
Proposal Title: Examining the Private Benefit of Graduate Eduction: A Two-Stage Approach
Institution: North Carolina State University
Award Amount: $25,776
Program: NCES

Principal Investigator: Dr. Robert Toutkoushian
Proposal Title: Using NSOPF:99 to Examine the Effects of Gender, Race, and Family Status on the Careers of Faculty
Institution: Indiana University
Award Amount: $30,000
Program: NCES

2004 Dissertation Grants

Principal Investigator: Ms. Audrey Alforque Thomas
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Mary Waters
Proposal Title: The Effect of the Immigrant Family Experience on College Application and Attendance
Institution: Harvard University
Award Amount: $15,000
Program: NPEC

Principal Investigator: Ms. Kjersten Bunker Whittington
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Walter Powell
Proposal Title: Employment Sectors as Opportunity Structures: The Effects of Location on Male and Female Scientific Dissemination
Institution: Stanford University
Award Amount: $15,000
Program: NSF

Principal Investigator: Mr. Fernando Lozano
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Peter Kuhn
Proposal Title: High School Leadership Skills, Language Proficiency and the Educational Attainment of Hispanic Students
Institution: University of California
Award Amount: $15,000
Program: NCES

Principal Investigator: Mr. Kevin Murphy, recipient of the Charles I Brown Award
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Alan Clayton-Matthews
Proposal Title: Factors Affecting the Retention, Persistence, and Attainment of Undergraduate Students at Public Urban Four Year Higher Education Institutions
Institution: University of Massachusetts Boston
Award Amount: $15,000
Program: NCES

Principal Investigator: Ms. Ann Person
Dissertation Chair: Dr. James Rosenbaum
Proposal Title: Institutional Characteristics and Student Success in Sub-Baccalaureate Education
Institution: Northwestern University
Award Amount: $15,000
Program: NCES

Principal Investigator: Ms. Josipa Roksa, Recipient of Cameron Fincher Award
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Richard Arum
Proposal Title: States, Schools, and Students: Contextualizing Community College Outcomes
Institution: New York University
Award Amount: $14,980
Program: NCES