How Future Connect is improving college success through comprehensive advising and financial support: Findings from the Future Connect evaluation.
Hodara, M., Gandhi, E., & Yoon, S.Y. (2017). Education Northwest.
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examining15,898Students, gradePS
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: December 2021
- Practice Guide (findings for Future Connect)
- Quasi-Experimental Design
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it uses a quasi-experimental design in which the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cumulative GPA |
Future Connect vs. Business as usual |
2 Semesters |
Full sample;
|
2.50 |
2.00 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Postsecondary degree or certificate completion |
Future Connect vs. Business as usual |
3 Years |
Full sample;
|
12.00 |
7.00 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
College persistence - enrolled in higher education for another term |
Future Connect vs. Business as usual |
1 Semester |
Full sample;
|
91.00 |
66.00 |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
College Level Credits Earned: After 2 Semesters |
Future Connect vs. Business as usual |
2 Semesters |
Full sample;
|
27.00 |
18.00 |
Yes |
|
|
|
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
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College persistence - enrolled in higher education for another year |
Future Connect vs. Business as usual |
1 Year |
Full sample;
|
83.00 |
71.00 |
Yes |
|
||
|
College persistence - enrolled in higher education for another year |
Future Connect vs. Business as usual |
2 Semesters |
Full sample;
|
77.00 |
66.00 |
Yes |
|
||
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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4% English language learners -
Female: 60%
Male: 40% -
Urban
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Oregon
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Race Asian 14% Black 16% Native American 2% Other or unknown 43% White 25% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 40% Not Hispanic or Latino 60%
Study Details
Setting
This program takes place at Portland Community College (PCC) in Portland, Oregon.
Study sample
For the outcome "credits earned in the first year" descriptive characteristics are as follows for the intervention (n=1,058) and comparison groups (n=14,840). Of the students in the sample who participated in Future Connect, 61% were female, 13% were Asian/Pacific Islander, 2% were American Indian, and 17% were Black; 39% were Latino; and 87% received free or reduced-price lunch in high school. Of the students in the matched comparison group, 60% were female, 14% were Asian/Pacific Islander, 2% were American Indian, and 16% were Black; 40% were Latino; and 88% received free or reduced-price lunch in high school.
Intervention Group
To be eligible for Future Connect, students must graduate from a high school or earn a GED in Multnomah County, Hillsboro School District, Beaverton School District, or other regions in the PCC district supported through state funding. Students received ongoing financial and advising support for as long as they are enrolled at PCC. Students received a last-dollar scholarship, up to $3,400 per year, that covered the cost of tuition after other federal and state financial aid while enrolled at PCC. They also received transportation assistance (bus tickets) and as-needed emergency and housing support. Students participated in a summer orientation program. They were paired with a college success coach beginning in April of their senior year of high school who provides ongoing, individualized support and advising. Each college success coach had a caseload of 70 to 120 students. Coaches met with students three times in the summer, 2.5 hours/week in the college and career success class (each semester), and in one-hour monthly check-ins. The fall college and career success class is focused on college success and the spring class is focused on career development. Future Connect provides other services to help students achieve their academic and career goals including leadership opportunities and transfer support.
Comparison Group
The comparison group are business-as-usual students who entered PCC between 2010 and 2016 but did not participate in the Future Connect program.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).