Setting
The study was conducted at the Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College which is located in rural Appalachia and is a two-year institution. The college is the only public, open-door college in its region and has an annual enrollment of about 5,000. Since the rural Appalachia counties it serves has some of the highest poverty levels and lowest educational attainment levels, many of those enrolled are high-risk students, minorities, low-income and/or people with disabilities. Over 80% of those enrolled at the college are eligible to participate in the Academic Achievement Program.
Study sample
Race, ethnicity, and gender characteristics were not reported in the study. 85% and 70% of the intervention group and comparison group, respectively, were low-income. 90% and 83% of the intervention group and comparison group, respectively, were first-generation students.
Intervention Group
The Academic Advantage Program first began in 1972 and serves 140 students who are low-income, first-generation or who have a disability every year. It offers services to engage students and help them stay enrolled. The program aims to increase college retention and graduation rates, transfer to four-year institutions, and foster a supportive institutional climate. Students in the study had access to services as long as they were enrolled. The program provided comprehensive academic and personal support through developmental classes and supplemental instruction, tutoring, mathematics and writing skills specialists, academic progress monitoring, career and educational planning, major and course selection through degree audits during individual advising sessions, transfer planning, campus visits to four-year colleges, workshops for academic and personal growth, informative newsletters, social events, and cultural enrichment activities.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison condition had access to business as usual services, including the college's Academic Support Center.
Support for implementation
The program was funded through a Student Support Services grant.