Chapter 54 of the Statutes of 2022 (AB 183) allocated $30,000,000 to establish the California Community Colleges (CCC) "Native American Student Support and Success Program" (NASSSP) for the purpose of: (1) strengthening K-12 pathways to and through the CCC system for Native American students; (2) ensuring the educational success of…

TBR--The College System of Tennessee received a grant from Ascendium Education Group to conduct a mixed methods study on the impact of 7-week courses on colleges with a team of academic researchers. This executive summary provides high-level overview of Policy Brief #2, which presents results from quantitative analyses that estimate relationships…

Retention and persistence models share common components such as student characteristics, institutional experiences, and academic and social integration. However, few acknowledge basic needs (e.g., food, housing, transportation) and belonging as essential to student success. In this piece, the authors discuss two gaps in these models that should…

Four years after the onset of COVID-19, enrollment and persistence at community colleges is rebounding, although still not to prepandemic levels. Community college leaders report that a key strategy in encouraging enrollment and persistence is a drive toward more flexibility in course formats, including modes of delivery modality, materials, and…

A dyadic supervision model is traditionally used to support graduate students throughout their studies. While this model has many advantages, it can sometimes be insufficient. Graduate students report a need for spaces where they can discuss their projects, share experiences, and gain practical information on writing or other milestones in their…

In this manuscript, we offer a brief understanding of the educational experiences of gang-impacted students in K-12 and postsecondary education. Using evidence-based and interconnected support systems that account for the multifaceted needs of gang-impacted students, such as basic needs, mental health, workforce development, technology, and other…

Student parents--college students with dependent children--are highly motivated to succeed in college. They pursue degrees not only to achieve economic mobility for themselves but also to secure a better future for their children. Despite their high aspirations, they encounter significant barriers that contribute to frequent stop-outs--withdrawing…

Student experience and belonging is a primary driver of postsecondary learning, persistence, and completion. This paper provides strategies that can help policymakers and leaders at all levels to cultivate positive student experiences and foster students' sense of belonging, leading to strong academic performance, retention, and good mental…

This article discusses service-learning as a teaching strategy that can enhance and improve learning outcomes for students in developmental education, increase civic engagement, and aid in student persistence and completion.

Many factors, including free two-year college commitments in states like New York, Tennessee, and Oregon, have led to increases in students attending two-year schools with the ultimate goal of graduating with a bachelor's degree. Bachelor's degree granting institutions should, and arguably have an obligation to, make that transition as seamless as…

This chapter describes "transfer swirl" as the back-and-forth movement that students make between more than two community colleges before transferring to a university. A discussion on the implications of using inconsistent definitions to refer to students who transfer swirl occurs.

The Iowa Department of Education (Department) collects information on developmental education (dev. ed.) from Iowa's 15 community colleges on an annual basis. Dev. ed. courses are offered in mathematics, reading, writing, English as a Second Language (ESL), and in other subject areas, such as financial literacy and skill building. These credits do…

Using statewide, local-level, and institutional data, presidents identify an area of opportunity to serve their communities using strategies that increase college access, enrollment, retention, transfer, and program alignment to the labor market. This article reveals how data informed specific actions to improve student success of a diverse set of…

The dataset used in this report was created by combining Bridge to Finish intervention records, provided by the United Way of King County (UWKC), with student information provided by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC). The intervention records span the terms from summer 2018 through fall 2021. SBCTC data include these…

Since 2021, North Carolina has made extraordinary progress to close gaps in educational attainment. A focus on supporting the adult learner population has gained considerable attention and support from leaders in education, policy, community, and research. The need for collaborative efforts among these stakeholders continues to be essential as…