Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

Analysis of student-level data to inform policy and promote student success is a core function of executive higher education agencies. Postsecondary data systems have expanded their collection of data elements for use by policymakers, institutional staff, and the general public. State coordinating and governing boards use these data systems for strategic planning, to allocate funding, establish performance metrics, evaluate academic programs, and inform students and their families. The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) surveyed state coordinating and governing boards on their collection and use of postsecondary student-level data. Following this, SHEEO identified seven states whose survey responses indicated an exemplary use of data in specific subject areas. In-person interviews were conducted by SHEEO agency staff in seven states selected for follow-up. In 2015, SHEEO visited the Arkansas Research Center to discuss their efforts to promote privacy, confidentiality, and data security. Over the past decade, a broad consensus has emerged among researchers and policymakers that more and better data are needed to inform postsecondary education's various constituencies and improve performance and student success. In response to these calls for better data and greater access to information, and to changes at the state level, including the proliferation of performance funding models, postsecondary student unit records systems (PSURSs) are becoming more complex and are increasingly linked to other data systems. PSURSs practitioners must be aware of the evolving state legislative landscape. Responding primarily to parental concerns about protecting children's data privacy while engaged with K-12 systems, legislators in many states have introduced laws aimed at protecting data privacy. This report describes Arkansas Research Center's (ARC's) commitment to privacy and the innovative nature of their approach to security.

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert