NEWS ARCHIVE
As we add new items to the News column, we'll remove older entries to keep page lengths short. Older entries will appear below in reverse chronological order.
Undergraduate Studies Website, 04/12/12; The Graduation Initiative reports to The Office of Undergraduate Studies. Visit their website to meet the Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Lawrence Williams.
GI News, Spring Newsletter, 02/29/12; newsletter published by the GI to highlight current UTSA graduation rates, UT System component graduation rates, UTSA degrees awarded and applications denied, new Finish in Four, about debt and work, and special recognition of GI Good Guy(s).
Degree Attainment After Denial of Graduation Application, 02/15/12; A fact sheet about the percentage of students who obtain a degree after the denial of graduation application.
Graduation Rates at UT Components, 02/10/12; A fact sheet comparing 4 and 6-year graduation rates among UT system components.
Welcome Back Spotlight, 11/30/11; focus on an upcoming December graduate who began his journey 15 years ago.
Adult Degree Attainment in the US,10/13/2011; A fact sheet about level of degrees attained by ethnicity.
GI News, Fall newsletter,10/07/11; newsletter published by the GI to highlight current trends in retention and graduation, degree attainment in the US, transfer student success, and the people at UTSA who make a difference.
Education & Work-Life Earnings, 09/27/11; US Census Bureau releases the American Community Survey Reports that show a strong relatationship between levels of education and earnings over life.
Closing the Gaps by 2015,
09/02/11;
Texas Commissioner Raymund Peredes presents an update on the progress of higher education achievement in Texas.
Student Success Handbook,
07/7/11; released by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board highlights programs of student success in Texas and around the country.
Welcome Back Spotlight ,5/18/11: focuses on a recent UTSA Welcome Back program participant who earned degree after entering UTSA 10 years earlier. Read about her graduation journey!
GI News, spring newsletter, 4/25/11: newsletter published by the GI to highlight current trends in retention and graduation rates, legislative watch, and Kudos to the UTSA people who make a difference.
Education Pays 2010 3/7/2011: report published every three years by the CollegeBoard presents information highlighting the benefits of obtaining a degree to include increased earnings, lower unemployment rate, and better health.
Adults with College Degrees in the US - Interactive Map 03/04/2011: article featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education showing counties by state with number of college-degree adults using 2005-2009 data compiled by the Minnesota Population Center.
College is still worth it , 01/14/2011: article featured at insidehighered.com makes a strong case about the present value of a higher education degree. The article is authored by Anthony Carnevale, Director of the Goergetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
History of Graduation Rates, 11/02/2010: report released by The American Council on Education (ACE) explaining the types, advantages, and disadvantages of databases most often used to calculate graduation rates.
Fifty-three , fall newsletter 09/01/2010, by the Graduation Initiative contains updates on programs, a Texas legislative review, and two new features, Kudos Corner and the first GI Good Guy award.
Meet new GI staff member, 09/01/2010: Ms. Shannon Rios, Retention & Graduation Analyst.
THECB Publishes Higher Education Quick Facts 2008, 4/12/2010: The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has released a summary of higher education facts. This summary provides an overview of Texas higher education funding, institutions, enrollment, and outcomes for the 2008-09 biennium.
Graduation Initiative Featured in San Antonio Express-News, 1/4/2010:, On Saturday, December 19, 2009, the San Antonio Express-News ran a front-page story titled "Timely Push to Get a Degree" in which the Graduation Initiative office and Late Intervention program were prominently featured.
Late Intervention Receives THECB Star Award, 12/9/2009: On December 4, the Graduation Initiative's Late Intervention program received the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 2009 Star Award at the Ninth Annual Star Awards Ceremony in Dallas.
Graduation Initiative Fall Newsletter Available, 10/29/2009: The Graduation Initiative has released its fall newsletter. This issue of Fifty-three contains stories about our students, updates on programs, an overview of state legislation affecting higher education and more.
Graduation Initiative Launches Welcome Back Program, 10/6/2009: Recently, the Graduation Initiative launched its newest program, Welcome Back which encourages students who left UTSA to return to campus to earn their undergraduate degree.
Profile of Successful Pell Grant Recipients, 7/21/2009: The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics recently released a report looking at the time to bachelor's degree completion along with early enrollment in graduate school for recipients of Pell Grants.
Education Sector report
on Higher Education Accountability Systems,
7/6/2009:
At the end of June, Education Sector released their report, Ready to Assemble: Grading State Higher Education Accountability Systems. The report provides an overview of the methodology used in assessing the systems used and information provided on higher education accountability by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Texas (along with 9 other states) was found to be a "Best Practice" state. Individual reports for each state, D.C., and P.R. can be found on the Education Sector web site.
New Report on Financial Attitudes and Behaviors of College Students, 6/15/2009: The Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students (APLUS) at the University of Arizona recently published their latest results from a longitudinal study of college students and the impact of their financial behaviors on academic performance and other life activities.
Department of Education Report on Trends in Reading and Mathematics Preparation, 5/04/2009: In April, the Institute of Education Sciences: National Center for Education Statistics of the Department of Education released a report detailing longitudinal trend assessments in reading and math for elementary and secondary school students, an important factor in preparation for college-level work. Generally positive over the long-term (mid-seventies to present), showing increases in student performance, shorter-term results for math have remained fairly flat.
Fifty-three, 4/07/2009: The Graduation Initiative has released the third installment of its newsletter, Fifty-three. Topics include the Outstanding Sophomore Scholarship, results from the Late Intervention, the Teaching and Learning Center, looking Beyond Graduation Rates, Student Money and Time Matters, Progress Update on overcoming institutional barriers to graduation, a look at the Student Population, a note on our Move, Policy Watch, Distance Education, our developing Welcome Back! program, and a Team Member profile.
Department of Education Report on Distance Education, 1/06/2009: In December, the Institute of Education Sciences: National Center for Education Statistics of the Department of Education released a report on the prevalence of distance education at degree-granting postsecondary institutions.
College Board Proposes 10-step Agenda to Improve U.S. Education, 12/11/2008: Yesterday, the College Board released its report Coming to Our Senses: Education and the American Future. The report proposes several means for improving educational attainment in the U.S. and provides metrics for measuring progress.
Measuring Up 2008 Reports Released, 12/04/2008: This month, the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education released Measuring Up 2008, its biennial National Report Card on Higher Education. The site contains links to the national report, individual state report cards, and online state report cards.
NCES Report on Degrees Conferred - 2006-2007, 11/25/2008: In October, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released its First Look report on the national production of degrees. For the 2006-2007 academic year, there were 1,524,081 Bachelor's degrees conferred in the United States.
Tell Us What You Think, 11/03/2008: We've added the option for you to directly send us your comments. We'll review all feedback and post selected comments on our Feedback page.
GI Newsletter 2.1, 10/8/2008: The Graduation Initiative has released its second newsletter. Topics include: Jump Start, Graduation Improvement Plans, Dialing for Freshmen, the Role of the Retention and Graduation Analyst, and more.
Glenn & Rodenfels Present at CSRDE Symposium, 9/30/2008: Dr. Patricia Glenn & Clint Rodenfels present at the CSRDE National Symposium on Student Retention. Their paper and presentation focuses on the efforts of the UTSA Graduation Initiative beyond retention, in helping students to graduate.
Closing the Gaps Progress Report - 2008, 9/25/2008: In July, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) released its 2008 progress report on state-wide efforts to meet the Closing the Gaps goals. Texas is on- or above-target for 50% (9 of 18) of identified goals.