Ability to Benefit students, 133 Academically Adrift (Arum and Roksa), 307 Academic Competitiveness Grant, 159 academic preparedness attainment rate, 18, 120, 227 certificate programs, 118 for community college, 86 and credit portability, 209 degree attainment, 227 family background, 52, 204, 209 family responsibilities, 118, 126 and financial aid, 165–66, 230, 239 financial pressures, 118, 163 graduation rate, 65 and high school curriculum, 126, 163, 175, 176–77, 178, 182, 183 low-income students, 52 nontraditional students, 126 and remediation programs, 175, 176–77, 178, 184, 185, 187–88, 192, 193–94 for selective institutions, 51 socioeconomic status, 52–53, 62 and student expectations, 64–65, 126, 215, 256 Accelerated Learning Program (ALP), 86, 89 Access and Completion Fund, 6 accountability for institutional performance , 6, 7, 11–12, 122, 130, 228, 237, 239, 240, 241, 246, 247, 249, 251, 252, 253, 255–56, 259, 261, 269, 309 ACCUPLACER, 178 Achieving the Dream Initiative, 92 longitudinal tracking, 229 outcome of, 92 scaling of, 88 Texas reform influence on, 259 ACS, 111, 112 ACT scores. See SAT/ACT scores Adelman, Cliff, 176 admission standards to apprentice programs, 133, 144 increase in, 33 open-admissions policy, 133 and remediation placements, 177–78, 181, 182, 317 and selective universities, 52, 54, 63, 73, 286 for transfer students, 211 adult learners and competency-based models, 303 and for-profit institutions, 147, 302 learning assessments, 301 and online education, 299 prior learning assessment, 301 See also nontraditional students; working adults Advanced Federal PET (AFPET) exam, 138 Advanced Placement (AP) courses, 218 Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, 163 African American students associate’s degrees, 115 certificate programs, 115 Closing the Gap initiative, 246 college enrollment rates, 2, 105–6 degrees awarded, 262 enrollment of, 2, 246, 248 graduation rate, 85, 246 high school completion, 105 321 index Page numbers in italics refer to figures, tables, and charts. 322 Index African American students (cont.) in the labor force, 105 participation rate, 248, 249, 262 remediation, 175 Alliance for Excellent Education, 179 American Community Survey (ACS), 111, 112 American Council for Education (ACE), 215 American Public University, 304 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), 228 Apprenticeship Advisory Council, 130 apprenticeship programs Ability to Benefit students, 133 academic credit, 146, 147 accreditation of, 144, 149, 150 barriers to access, 10, 144 benefits of, 10, 128–29, 148 challenges to, 132 compensation during, 127, 129, 133, 141–42, 143, 148 completion rate of, 130, 132, 133 cost of, 146, 148 defined, 127–28 earning potential from, 141–42 employee-employer relationship, 133, 147 expansion of, 6–7, 127, 132–34 field industries, 131–32 financial aid, 145–46 and for-profit partnerships, 146–48 green energy jobs, 132 health care jobs, 132 incentives for participation, 145–46 journeyperson, 134, 143 and kinesthetic learners, 126–27, 128 lack of information about, 130–31, 144 legislation of, 129–30 need for, 143, 148, 149, 150 in non-U.S. countries, 127–28, 139 and Obama policy goals, 296 outcome tracking, 134 potential earnings, 143 and practical learning/application, 127, 128–29, 150 pretraining for, 132 public perception of, 141, 143–44 registration of, 131–32, 149 role models and mentors, 128 selective admission to, 133 sponsors of, 130, 131, 133, 150–52 standards of, 129, 130, 133–34, 146, 148, 150 student evaluations, 146 in Switzerland, 127–28 tax incentives for, 146, 149, 150 time-based approach, 130, 134 See also Swiss Apprenticeship Model Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC), 213–14 Arkansas Department of Higher Education , 179 Arum, Richard, 307 Asker, Eric H., 162 Assessment of Skills for Successful Entry and Transfer (ASSET), 178 ASSIST (Articulation System Stimulating Interinstitutional Student Transfer), 211 associate’s degrees admission into baccalaureate programs , 211, 212–13 African American students, 85, 106, 115 attainment rate, 7, 23, 24, 29, 30, 38, 39, 42, 49, 74–75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 103–4, 109, 110, 225 cost of, 111 earning potential, 82, 114, 120, 296 and financial aid, 187 graduation rate, 3, 83, 84 and health care–related programs, 109 Hispanic students, 85, 106, 115 and labor market need, 114, 120, 142, 143, 294, 296 longitudinal tracking, 84, 85 and nontraditional students, 305 number conferred, 77–79 policy design, 7, 42, 73, 77 white students, 106, 115 attainment rate ability to reach Obama initiative, 5, 6, 8, 17, 28, 34–37, 39–40, 105, 293, 294–95, 296 academic preparedness, 18, 54, 64–65, 227 by age, 20...