Study: 88786

Practice Guide

Review Details

Review Details

Reviewed: March 2024

For:

Practice Guide (findings for Virtual Student Outreach for College Enrollment (V-SOURCE) Complete)

Using:

Rating:

Additional source not reviewed (View primary source).

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

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

Study sample characteristics were not reported.

Single Study Review

Review Details

Reviewed: September 2019

At least one statistically significant positive finding

Meets WWC standards without reservations

For:

Single Study Review (findings for V-SOURCE)

Using:

Rating:

Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.

Findings

Access and enrollment outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome measure	Comparison	Period	Sample	Intervention mean	Comparison mean	Significant?	Improvement index
Any College_Complete	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	0 Months	Full sample; 4,088 students	71.30	70.70	No	--
Any College_Milestones	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	0 Months	Full sample; 5,090 students	71.20	70.70	No	--
Show Supplemental Findings
Enrolled in a Selective College_Milestones	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	0 Months	Full sample; 5,090 students	13.40	11.80	Yes	4
Enrollment at a University of California College_Milestones	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	0 Months	Full sample; 5,090 students	14.50	12.80	Yes	3
Enrolled in a College in the University of California System_Complete	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	0 Months	Full sample; 4,088 students	13.30	12.80	No	--
Four-Year College Enrollment_Complete	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	0 Months	Full sample; 4,088 students	44.10	43.50	No	--
Four-Year College Enrollment_Milestones	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	0 Months	Full sample; 5,090 students	44.60	43.50	No	--
Enrolled in a Selective College_Complete	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	0 Months	Full sample; 4,088 students	11.90	11.80	No	--
Enrollment in a California State University_Complete	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	0 Months	Full sample; 4,088 students	25.10	25.00	No	--
Enrollment in a California State University_Milestones	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	0 Months	Full sample; 5,090 students	23.40	25.00	Yes	--

Credit accumulation outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome measure	Comparison	Period	Sample	Intervention mean	Comparison mean	Significant?	Improvement index
Persistence_Any College_Complete	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	1 Year	Full sample; 4,088 students	65.20	63.40	No	--
Persistence_Any College_Milestones	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	1 Year	Full sample; 5,090 students	64.30	63.40	No	--
Show Supplemental Findings
Persistence at a Selective College_Milestones	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	1 Year	Full sample; 5,090 students	12.20	10.90	Yes	3
Persistence in a Four-Year-College_Complete	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	1 Year	Full sample; 4,088 students	38.50	36.90	No	--
Persistence in a University of California College_Complete	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	1 Year	Full sample; 4,106 students	12.70	11.60	No	--
Persistence at a Selective College_Complete	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	1 Year	Full sample; 4,106 students	11.30	10.90	No	--
Persistence in a California State University College_Complete	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	1 Year	Full sample; 4,088 students	21.00	20.50	No	--
Persistence in a Four-Year-College_Milestones	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	1 Year	Full sample; 5,090 students	37.20	36.90	No	--
Persistence in a California State University College_Milestones	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	1 Year	Full sample; 5,090 students	19.30	20.50	No	--
Persistence at a University of California College_Milestones	V-SOURCE vs. Business as usual	1 Year	Full sample; 5,090 students	13.30	11.60	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.

Female: 68%
Male: 32%
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California

Race
Asian		11%
Black		6%
White		42%

Ethnicity
Hispanic		76%
Not Hispanic or Latino		24%

Study Details

Setting

This study recruited junior-level students from 84 high schools located in six California counties during the fall of the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years. Five of these counties are located in Southern California, and one is in Central California. Targeted high schools had a majority of Hispanic/Latinx or African American students, and a majority of students were eligible for free or reduced price meals.

Study sample

The intervention was designed for students who are college ready but have parents who might not be able to provide needed support during the application process because of a lack of familiarity with higher education and do not have the economic resources needed to access paid college counselors. About 75 percent of the students in the sample reported maintaining a B average or above, and the majority (68 percent) reported having high educational aspirations, such as earning a graduate degree. About 68 percent of the sample were girls and about 75 percent reported they were Hispanic. Approximately half of the sample reported “using lunch tickets,” which is a proxy for subsidized meal eligibility. Finally, approximately 60 percent of the sample was made of up first generation college students.

Intervention Group

The Virtual Student Outreach for College Enrollment (V-SOURCE) is a 15-month college advising program designed to provide low-income students with the information, reminders, and support that higher-income students typically receive more of. The intervention spans March of students’ junior year through summer after students’ senior year. Two V-SOURCE variants were tested in the study. One version of V-Source provided access to a personal advisor (the Complete program) who met with students on-line and via text; the second version provided access to a fully automated advisor (the Milestones program). Both versions provided students with access to the V-SOURCE website, an on-line SAT study program, close to weekly reminders to complete application activities provided via email and texts, and $20 gift cards provides after students completed the following milestones: (1) registered for the SAT, (2) took the SAT, (3) submitted two college applications, and (4) submitted the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on time.

Comparison Group

Comparison services are described as “business as usual” services.

Support for implementation

The study authors collaborated with the EdBoost Education Corporation to generate the V-SOURCE program to reduce its cost and simplify scaling.

When "low touch" is not enough: Evidence from a random assignment college access field experiment. [V-SOURCE Complete vs. business as usual control]

Practice Guide

Review Details

Findings

Sample Characteristics

Single Study Review

Review Details

Findings

Sample Characteristics

Study Details

Setting

Study sample

Intervention Group

Comparison Group

Support for implementation