PERC’s research agenda centers around student access and completion, with partners spanning state and federal agencies, community- and education-based foundations, and institutions ranging from universities and community colleges to technical schools.
Featured Series: How are institutions practicing student engagement in the midst of a global pandemic?
PERC’s newest series, Student Engagement: Practice & Planning in the COVID-19 Environment, identifies trends and practices as student affairs professionals across the nation innovate and adapt to engage students.
Click each dropdown below to browse recent projects by focus area or here to view all publications.
- Tennessee Reconnect – Adult Learner Research: Building the Policy Framework for Tennessee. This longitudinal qualitative study captures the experiences of TN Reconnect participants to inform practice and policy-based interventions that support recruitment, retention, and degree attainment.
- A Snapshot of Tennessee Promise: Pellissippi State Community College, 2015-2018. Trends in full-time, first-time freshmen access, retention, and completion relevant to earning an associate degree or certificate for Tennessee Promise students at Pellissippi State Community College.
- Balancing Access & Success: A Case Study of How Land-Grant Institutions Serve Low- and Middle-Income Students. Qualitative research examining the practices of three land-grant institutions with differing graduation rates and percentages of Pell-eligible students.
- Growing the Four-Year Graduation Rate. This case study traces key actions that led to dramatic improvements in on-time graduation for undergraduate
students at the University of Tennessee.
- Student Engagement: Practice & Planning in the COVID-19 Environment. This nine-brief series identifies trends and practices as student affairs professionals actively innovate and adapt to engage students during times of global pandemic.
- North-American Interfraternity Conference Health & Safety Policy Evaluation. Assessment of the pilot phases of North American Interfraternity Conference’s (NIC) new Enhanced Health and Safety Policies.
- University Food Insecurity Aid Programs. In partnership with the University of Tennessee, this benchmarking project examined the ways in which UT’s peer and aspirational institutions address food insecurity on campus through the use of pantry and/or meal share aid programs.
- Micro and Emergency Grants for Students. This research project examined how The University of Tennessee’s peer and aspirational institutions administer micro or emergency grants to promote student persistence and retention.
- Impact of Course Material Costs for Tennessee Community College Students. In partnership with the Tennessee Board of Regents, this survey research identified the extent to which course material costs present barriers to academic achievement and progress toward graduation for Tennessee community college students.
- Research Brief: UTK Student Debt Profile. First of a multi-phase project exploring UTK graduate student debt.
- Benchmarking Report: University financial wellness programs. Review of financial wellness initiatives across 39 institutions to identify best practices for financial wellness education.
- Student Loan Debt Study. This quantitative study sought to understand how students use their excess financial aid and the role financial aid plays for students to help higher education professionals and policymakers better address issues related to student loan debt.
Partner with PERC. In addition to access and completion, PERC welcomes projects in other areas of higher education need that align with PERC team expertise. Click here to learn about partnering with our team.