CONNECTION'S annual "Trends & Indicators in Higher Education" issue is so rich with trend data and analysis that readers may forget the human faces behind the numbers.

Last month, the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) recognized some of the people and programs working to point those trends in a positive direction with its fifth annual New England Higher Education Excellence Awards.

Only about 75 percent of New Englanders finish high school in four years, and less than 60 percent of those graduates enroll in college the following fall. The pipeline is especially leaky for nontraditional students. One NEBHE Excellence Award winner, the University of Maine's Onward Program, has ...