REL Midwest Ask A REL Response

College and Career Readiness

November 2019

Arendale, D. R. (Ed.) (2018). 2018 EOA best practices clearinghouse directory (4th ed.). Minneapolis, MN: Educational Opportunity Association and University of Minnesota, College of Education and Human Development, Curriculum & Instruction Department. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED589760

From the ERIC abstract: “Purpose: The purpose of this directory was to identify, describe, and evaluate evidence that the education practices improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented 6th grade through college students. Method: The sample for the directory was derived from TRIO and GEAR UP professionals located in the upper Midwest region that are affiliated with the Educational Opportunity Association (EOA). EOA and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota created a clearinghouse to disseminate evidence-based practical activities and approaches to improve success of students who are low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented in education. The administrative and education best practices in this publication have been reviewed and approved by multiple members of an external expert panel of qualified reviewers. Each practice has been approved as promising, validated, or exemplary based on the level of evidence supporting it. The rigorous standards applied during the review process are similar to previous national evaluation efforts by the U.S. Department of Education. Results: The approved education practices of this 353 page directory represent each of the five major federally-funded TRIO and GEAR UP programs.”

Banks, T., & Dohy, J. (2019). Mitigating barriers to persistence: A review of efforts to improve retention and graduation rates for students of color in higher education. Higher Education Studies, 9(1), 118–131. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1203738

From the ERIC abstract: “This literature review highlights barriers to persistence, retention, and graduation for students of color at institutions of higher learning. Successful strategies, approaches, and initiatives are discussed with consideration to deficit and strengths-based approaches. It is also highlighted that universities may need to address programmatic barriers within the institutions that may exacerbate systemic barriers to success for students of color in higher education.”

Daniels, J., Bowers, L., Cook, M., D’Antonio, M., Foltz, A., McCombs, C., et al. (2019). Improving completion rates for underrepresented populations. Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges, 22(1). Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1224776

From the ERIC abstract: “Most experienced educators recognize that many students will not complete optional assignments, and often those students who need additional help do not seek assistance. Current research demonstrates that students in underrepresented populations (see definition below) are less likely to seek support than others because they see needing help as a confirmation that they don’t really ‘belong’ in college in the first place. Research shows that those who do access currently optional supports such as tutoring are more likely to succeed, so this research group looked for ways to build structured connections between underrepresented students and resources. We found that our peers at various VCCS colleges had programs that were working to build these connections for our students, so in our resource-constrained environment, we chose to focus on what exists that works, is scalable, and could be implemented in stages as resources permit. Our proposal reflects increased resource allocation on both the academic support (tutoring) side and the student support (TRIO, Pathway to the Baccalaureate, Success Coaches) side to increase structured contact between the student and the support to decrease the ‘stigma’ of seeking help. We propose this because in our roles as administrators and faculty we know that often our students need both academic support and holistic support.”

DeBaun, B., Melnick, S., & Morgan, E. (2016). Closing the college graduation gap: National college access and success benchmarking report. Journal of College Access, 2(1), 5. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1167370

From the ERIC abstract: “This report, the first of an annual series, establishes meaningful metrics about the outcomes of students served by college access and success programs. Using data collected from 24 college access programs, enrollment and graduation rates for the high school classes of 2007, 2008, and 2009 and an enrollment rate for the high school class of 2013 are calculated. Students served by college access and success programs outperform expectations for college enrollment and completion, demonstrating that current national lower levels of postsecondary attainment for poor and minority students are not destiny. These results support the conclusion that college access and success programs are making progress toward closing the college knowledge, opportunity, and completion gaps for the students they serve.”

Education Trust. (2016). Using data to improve student outcomes: Learning from leading colleges (Education Trust Higher Education Practice Guide #2). Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED570439

From the ERIC abstract: “All across the country, leaders in colleges and universities are asking the same question: What can we do to improve student success, especially for the low-income students and students of color whose graduation rates often lag behind? This second practice guide: ‘Using Data to Improve Student Outcomes: Learning from Leading Colleges’ was prepared to inform university leaders and others steeped in efforts to raise graduation rates on their campuses. It highlights leading universities that have drastically improved student success by consistently reviewing and using their own data to launch campus-wide initiatives, focusing the entire college community on student success, and removing stubborn obstacles that impede large numbers of low-income students and students of color from graduating college with a degree in hand.”

González-Rivera, C. (2016). The new normal: Supporting nontraditional students on the path to a degree. New York, NY: Center for an Urban Future. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED582776

From the ERIC abstract: “More New Yorkers than ever are enrolling in universities and community colleges, driven by seismic changes in the economy that have made postsecondary credentials nearly indispensable for today’s workforce. On college campuses across the state, the makeup of the student body has changed. College is no longer just for ‘traditional’ students who graduate high school at age 18, enroll directly in college, and are financially supported by family. In New York City, 27 percent of community college students are age 25 and older; half have a paying job, with 52 percent of working students employed more than 20 hours a week; and 16 percent have children whom they are supporting financially. While part-timers, older students, students with jobs, and students who are caring for children have become the new normal in community colleges from the Bronx to Buffalo, New York has been slow to develop a support system for helping nontraditional students succeed. The state has one of the most generous tuition assistance programs in the country, however few nontraditional students can take advantage of it. Likewise, New York is home to some of the most innovative programs in the nation to increase graduation rates at community colleges—including the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) initiative at CUNY—but these programs are primarily geared toward full-time students. Community colleges and education agencies in other states have experimented with new models to support nontraditional students, but education officials and academic leaders in New York have mainly watched from the sidelines. The need for new approaches is clear. In today’s economy, community colleges are one of the most important platforms for elevating low-income New Yorkers into the middle class and enabling out-of-work New Yorkers to develop marketable skills for the new economy. Far too many of the New Yorkers enrolling in these institutions are dropping out without a degree—and much of the problem stems from alarmingly low success rates for nontraditional students. Helping more nontraditional students succeed will require pooling both academic and nonacademic interventions. By implementing strategies that help more nontraditional students earn a postsecondary degree or credential, New York’s institutions of higher education can provide a path to sustainable employment for millions of under-credentialed New Yorkers. This policy brief-based on numerous interviews with community college presidents, education experts, and policymakers—presents a menu of options for New York education officials and community college leaders designed to speed the progress of nontraditional students toward a degree.”

Holzer, H. J., & Xu, Z. (2019). Community college pathways for disadvantaged students (Working Paper No. 218-0519). Washington, DC: National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED595222

From the ERIC abstract: “In this paper we estimate the impacts of the ‘pathways’ chosen by community college students—in terms of desired credentials and fields of study, as well as other choices and outcomes along the paths—on the attainment of credentials with labor market value. We focus on the extent to which there are recorded changes in students’ choices over time, whether students make choices informed by their chances of success and by labor market value of credentials, and the impacts of choices on outcomes. We find that several characteristics of chosen pathways, such as field of study and desired credential as well as early ‘momentum,’ affect outcomes. Student choices of pathways are not always driven by information about later chances of success, in terms of probabilities of completing programs and attaining strong earnings. Students also change pathways quite frequently, making it harder to accumulate the credits needed in their fields. Attainment of credentials with greater market value could thus likely be improved by appropriate guidance and supports for students along the way, and perhaps by broader institutional changes as well.”

Johnson, H. (2014). Making college possible for low-income students: Grant and scholarship aid in California. San Francisco, CA: Public Policy Institute of California. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED561949

From the ERIC abstract: “Improving college access and completion is vital to California’s economic well-being. Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) projections show that the state will need one million more college graduates with a bachelor’s degree by 2025 in order to satisfy labor force demand. As the costs of attending college have grown, grant and scholarship assistance for students has become increasingly necessary to make college accessible and affordable. This is especially true in California, where a majority of students come from low-income families (almost 60 percent of the state’s K-12 students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch programs). Were it not for grants and scholarships, many low-income students would be unable to participate in the higher education system. In this study, the author examines the role of grant and scholarship aid in California in making college more accessible and in helping students complete college. He finds that: (1) For many low-income students, college would not be possible without grant and scholarship aid, which has helped offset increases in tuition; (2) Students who receive grants and scholarships are more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree than otherwise similar students. These findings hold even after controlling for institutional characteristics and student characteristics, including high school grade point average and family income; (3) Performance-based grants do not seem to have greater effects than other types of grants, largely because students already must meet institutional academic requirements to remain enrolled in college; and (4) An important role of aid is that it can induce students to attend four-year colleges rather than community colleges. Students are much more likely to earn a degree if they first enroll at a four-year college. Research has shown that grants and scholarships help students persist in their education and graduate from college. Financial assistance enables and encourages students to focus on their coursework, rather than attending school part-time and working part-time jobs to finance their education. Grants and scholarships also enable many of these students to attend four-year colleges, which have higher completion rates than community colleges.”

Li, A. Y., & Ortagus, J. C. (2019). Raising the stakes: Impacts of the Complete College Tennessee Act on underserved student enrollment and sub-baccalaureate credentials. The Review of Higher Education, 43(1), 295–333. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1229948

From the ERIC abstract: “In 2010, Tennessee enacted the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), which increased the proportion of state performance-based funding from 5.45% to 85% and added a 40% funding premium for progression and degree completions by adult students and low-income students. We collect data from 2001-02 to 2014-15 and use difference-in-differences estimation to compare a variety of counterfactual scenarios and examine the impacts of the CCTA. In response to the CCTA, community colleges in Tennessee saw, on average, a 10% to 18% decline in the number of adult students and a 17% to 31% increase in the number of low-income students. Additionally, the CCTA produced no changes in associate degree completions yet significant increases in short-term certificates (192% to 249%) and medium-term certificates (129% to 144%).”

Mungo, M. H. (2017). Closing the gap: Can service-learning enhance retention, graduation, and GPAs of students of color? Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 23(2), 42–52. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1150584

From the ERIC abstract: “The education system is responsible for the choices and chances provided to the students it serves. Although racial disparities continue to impede some students’ chance of success in education, service-learning in the classroom context may be the transformative strategy needed to make institutions of higher education the ‘great equalizers’ they ostensibly aspire to be. Using data from an urban, public, Research I institution located in the Midwest region of the United States, this study assessed the use of service-learning in two general education courses as a strategy to increase retention and graduation rates at the institution. Service-learning was found to have a significant effect on student retention, grade point average, and graduation. Students who took either course performed better than their counterparts without service-learning experiences.”

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2017). Supporting students’ college success: The role of assessment of intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED581580

From the ERIC abstract: “The importance of higher education has never been clearer. Educational attainment—the number of years a person spends in school—strongly predicts adult earnings, as well as health and civic engagement. Yet relative to other developed nations, educational attainment in the United States is lagging, with young Americans who heretofore led the world in completing postsecondary degrees now falling behind their global peers. As part of a broader national college completion agenda aimed at increasing college graduation rates, higher education researchers and policy makers are exploring the role of intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies in supporting student success. ‘Supporting Students’ College Success: The Role of Assessment of Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Competencies’ identifies 8 intrapersonal competencies (competencies involving self-management and positive self-evaluation) that can be developed through interventions and appear to be related to persistence and success in undergraduate education. The report calls for further research on the importance of these competencies for college success, reviews current assessments of them and establishes priorities for the use of current assessments, and outlines promising new approaches for improved assessments.”

Nelson, B., Froehner, M., & Gault, B. (2013). College students with children are common and face many challenges in completing higher education (Briefing Paper #C404). Washington, DC: Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED556715

From the ERIC abstract: “This paper discusses the challenges college students with children face, as well as the steps colleges, universities, and the surrounding communities must take to help students succeed in their work as both students and parents. The role of parenthood in postsecondary settings needs greater focus from the higher education reform community. Unless the care-giving responsibilities of low-income adults are actively acknowledged and addressed, efforts to improve postsecondary access and completion for low-income adults—be they through online learning, improved on-ramps, developmental education, institutional accountability, financial aid, or curriculum reform—are likely to fall short of their full potential for change. Some colleges have recognized the needs of student parents by providing them with additional resources, like campus child care centers, benefits access services, housing opportunities, referral programs and scholarships. These promising efforts should be replicated and expanded, and federal funding for programs such as the U.S. Department of Education’s Child Care Means Parents in School Program, and the Pregnancy Assistance Fund, should be strengthened and expanded. In addition, more states should use the flexibility within Perkins Workforce Development Grants to expand supports for students who are raising children while they seek to expand their credentials.”

Price, D. V., & Lincoln, C. (2018). Improving the financial security of low-income students to improve college completion. Proceedings from a national convening to identify core principles for designing and scaling integrated and systemic strategies that address this national challenge. Silver Spring, MD: Achieving the Dream. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED591922

From the ERIC abstract: “In the summer of 2017, Achieving the Dream hosted The National Financial Security Convening, a meeting attended by a diverse group of researchers, practitioners, postsecondary leaders, advocates, and funders who are engaged in work aimed at addressing the financial needs of low-income students in college and thereafter. The group reflected on the complexity and root causes of financial needs faced by students currently attending community college, minority-serving institutions, and other open-access institutions. From this conversation and from their respective experiences, group members sought to distill core principles for designing and scaling integrated and systemic strategies that evidence suggests can have a significant impact on this national challenge. They gave advice about where to focus energy and resources and agreed upon specific actions that could be taken by each stakeholder in support of institutional reforms leading to increased student retention and completion. This report discusses a set of six core principles that participants identified to guide institutional reform strategies: (1) Executive leadership is essential to establishing equal priority of academic and support services in the minds of department staff, faculty, and administrators; (2) Policy, practice, and procedural changes must be designed with scale in mind, which requires cross-departmental buy-in and awareness of systemic solutions that address root causes; (3) Equity is a core value that requires mission-driven prioritization and accountability to identify equity gaps explicitly, and to take intentional actions to close them; (4) Today’s students need integrated comprehensive supports—including academic, personal, and financial, and career services—that are embedded into existing organizational mechanisms; (5) Leverage community and external resources to create economies of scale, acknowledging that external partners have necessary experience and expertise; and (6) Institutional data systems need to better support real-time decisions and actions by staff, faculty, and administrators. Their deliberations also produced suggestions for national and state policy change, which participants recognized as critical to creating an environment for institutional innovation and reform, building cross-sector alliances, and breaking down barriers that limit scale.”

Rutschow, E. Z., Aceves, A. D. L. R., & Taketa, J. (2017). Building cities by degrees: Lessons on increasing college completion from six talent dividend cities. New York, NY: MDRC. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED594054

From the ERIC abstract: “While completion of a college credential is a critical step toward increasing one’s viability in today’s labor market, only about 40 percent of Americans earn an associate’s or bachelor’s degree by age 27. Many policymakers, education leaders, and philanthropic organizations have focused on improving graduation rates. In 2011, the Kresge Foundation sought to build on this work by launching the National Talent Dividend $1 Million Prize Competition. Leaders of the initiative posited that a city’s per capita income would rise as the number of degree holders rose, and the contest promised to award $1 million to the city with the greatest proportional increase in its college degree completion over a four-year period. Given the strong performance of many cities in the competition, the Kresge Foundation was interested in learning which particular strategies may have been influential in their postsecondary gains and in sharing potential lessons from the Talent Dividend work with the larger field. This case study examines the efforts of six of the top cities in the competition (Akron; Columbia, South Carolina; Omaha, Nebraska; Orlando, Florida; Portland, Oregon; and Richmond, Virginia) in an effort to build a set of hypotheses around the activities that may have helped these cities increase degree attainment. In examining the efforts of multiple institutions to raise graduation rates within their city, this study departs from higher education research that tends to focus on individual colleges. And because three colleges in the case study cities have been among the nation’s most successful in decreasing achievement gaps between low-income and traditionally underrepresented minority students and their more wealthy, white peers, the research also focuses on identifying which approaches might be particularly important in closing such gaps.”

Santiago, D., & Soliz, M. (2012). Ensuring America’s future by increasing Latino college completion: Latino college completion in 50 states. Executive summary. Washington, DC: Excelencia in Education. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED532055

From the ERIC abstract: “In 2009, Excelencia in Education launched the Ensuring America’s Future initiative to inform, organize, and engage leaders in a tactical plan to increase Latino college completion. This initiative included the release of a benchmarking guide for projections of degree attainment disaggregated by race/ethnicity that offered multiple metrics to track national progress. However, the initiative recognizes the majority of policy and program changes in education take place at state and local levels. This executive summary of ‘Latino College Completion in 50 states’ synthesizes information on 50 state factsheets and builds on the national benchmarking guide. Each factsheet provides state level snapshots about Latinos in the educational pipeline, the equity gap between Latinos and whites in achievement, and examples of evidence-based practices increasing Latino degree attainment to inform more intentional efforts to increase degree attainment. Data-driven snapshots of Latino degree attainment for each state with metrics and promising programs across the country improving Latino degree attainment are all tools to inform policy and practice. However, data are only as good as they are used. Excelencia in Education is working with partners across the country to increase degree attainment overall and ensure Latino student success is included in the policy and practice intended to improve degree attainment for all.”

Sommo, C., Cullinan, D., & Manno, M. (with Blake, S., & Alonzo, E.). (2018). Doubling graduation rates in a new state: Two-year findings from the ASAP Ohio demonstration (Policy Brief). New York, NY: MDRC. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED592008

From the ERIC abstract: “While the United States has made strides in increasing college access among low-income students, college completion has remained low. Graduation rates are particularly low at the nation’s community colleges, which enroll a disproportionate percentage of low-income and nontraditional college students. Seeking to address this problem, in 2014 three community colleges in Ohio—Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Cuyahoga Community College, and Lorain County Community College—undertook a new strategy to help more of their lowest-performing students succeed academically. The highly successful Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) developed by the City University of New York (CUNY) provided a model. ASAP is a comprehensive program that provides students with up to three years of financial and academic support and other support services to address multiple barriers to student success, with the goal of helping more students graduate within three years. This brief presents two-year impact, implementation, and cost findings for the pooled, full study sample in the ASAP Ohio demonstration. The findings show that students in the program group clearly outperformed the control group with respect to persistence in school, credit accumulation, and graduation. Graduation rates more than doubled: 19 percent of the program group earned a degree or credential after two years compared with 8 percent of the control group. The brief also presents some findings from analyses of the programs’ implementation and costs.”

U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2016). Higher education: Actions needed to improve access to federal financial assistance for homeless and foster youth (Report to the Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. GAO-16-343). Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED572245

From the ERIC abstract: “Homeless youth and youth in foster care are often unprepared for the transition to adulthood. Given the economic benefits of college, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to examine the college experiences of these vulnerable youth. GAO examined: (1) college enrollment and completion for foster and homeless youth; (2) the extent to which challenges these youth face affect their ability to pursue college; and (3) the extent to which program barriers hinder these youth from obtaining federal financial assistance for college. GAO analyzed the most recently available Education data—two enrollment data sets, for 2011-2012 and 2013-2014, and data on college completion from 2009; reviewed relevant federal laws and guidance; interviewed officials from the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as external groups knowledgeable about higher education, foster youth, and homelessness; and held discussion groups with foster and homeless youth. GAO is making six recommendations to the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to improve homeless and foster youth access to financial assistance for college, including centralizing college information for these youth on the Department of Education’s website, clarifying the Department of Education guidance, and considering legislative proposals to simplify federal requirements for homeless and foster youth. The Department of Health and Human Services agreed with these recommendations, while the Department of Education generally did not agree or disagree, but described actions it was taking in response to the recommendations.”

Wolf, L. (2017). Hear my voice: Strengthening the college pipeline for young men of color in California. Oakland, CA: Education Trust-West. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED588905

From the ERIC abstract: “Almost one out of every three K-12 public school students in California is a Latino, Black, Native American, or Pacific Islander male—making it clear that the economic future of the state will hinge on the ability to help the millions of boys and young men in education institutions succeed in high school, college, and beyond. But in order to change outcomes for young men of color at scale, we must first understand their experiences and the practices and policies that can best support them. With that goal in mind, this brief reviews current data and literature to understand how young men of color are faring around postsecondary preparation and success in California. The brief shares stories from a sample of institutions—including conversations with young men of color—to understand what practices can help young men of color succeed, and it provides recommendations for California practitioners and policymakers to ensure P-12 and higher education systems are set up for young men of color to thrive on the path to and through college. Education Trust-Midwest urges practitioners and policymakers to ensure young men of color have the supports all students need to be successful in college ‘in addition’ to differentiated supports that can help young men of color overcome the additional hurdles they often confront above and beyond what most other students face.”

Yuen, V. (2019). New insights into attainment for low-income students. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED596190

From the ERIC abstract: “Recently released U.S. Department of Education data have revealed new insights into the college outcomes of low-income students. The new data offer some positive news—but they also present warning signs about just how poorly some sectors of higher education are serving students who receive the Pell Grant, the main federal grant offered to low-income students. On the good-news front, the data show that some nontraditional Pell recipients—particularly part-time transfer students—complete college at higher rates than their nontraditional peers who do not receive the grant. However, the data also reveal the cavernous gap that exists between the bachelor’s degree attainment rates of Pell and non-Pell students—more than 10 percentage points at public colleges and nearly 15 percentage points at private colleges.”