National survey seeks to improve retention, graduation rates. (noteworthy news).(Documenting Effective Educational Practices)(Brief Article)

BLOOMINGTON, IND.

Too many college students leave college before finishing; only about half earn a baccalaureate degree within six years; and many of those who stay in school don't learn as much as they should. But a new project, based at Indiana University in Bloomington, aims to reverse these troubling trends.

The project, "Documenting Effective Educational Practices" (DEEP), will examine the everyday workings of high-performing colleges and universities to learn what they do to promote student success. The effort is the first in a series of activities undertaken by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), an annual survey of colleges based at …