ABSTRACT
Suggested student success measures being proposed and implemented soon confront the complexity of student attendance patterns and types of higher education institutions. Validity issues in these measures are several and must be considered when data are shared as indicators of student success. Issues that may compromise the validity of student success measures include academic preparation of traditional age students, definitions of student success, counting of students in student success measures, and measures of the quality of learning when considering student success. Adelman's analyses of course-taking behaviors of high school students and their subsequent success, or lack thereof, in college reveals paths for college degree completion. There are multiple certificate degrees at the pre-baccalaureate, post-baccalaureate, and post-master's level, according to the National Center of Educational Statistics' Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) degree classifications. The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) advocates that the quality of student learning must also be considered in determining student success.
