How We See the Problem
Today’s learners often aren’t well served by the educational systems that were built years ago for more traditional students. Now students are often older, more diverse, working one or more jobs, raising families, and struggling to make ends meet.
Colleges and universities are complex, and often don’t have a student-centric approach to course offerings or availability, advising and other institutional policies. The problem shows in the equity gaps in completion rates: just 11% of low-income students graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Almost 6 times as many students — 58% overall — from higher-income households graduate.
Our Three Investment Priorities
Grants to Remove Structural Barriers to Success
Remove Structural Barriers to Success
Scaling
This grant supports The Education Trust-West in providing technical assistance to teams from up to 16 California institutions to develop and implement plans for scaled developmental education reform pursuant to state legislative mandates.
Scaling the Leadership Academy for Student Success
Scaling
This grant supports National Center for Inquiry and Improvement (NCII) in replicating the Ohio Leadership Academy for Student Success in two to three additional states. NCII will work with selected states to implement key elements of the Ohio model for providing targeted training for leaders within community colleges, thereby building state- and system-level capacity to implement wide-scale strategies for student success.
Launching Postsecondary State Impact Projects
Exploration
This grant supports Jobs for the Future (JFF) in working with postsecondary system leaders in Washington and North Carolina to implement comprehensive statewide student success reforms. With JFF’s support, system leaders in North Carolina will develop statewide strategies for rural education and training aligned to future workforce needs. System leaders in Washington will design a statewide student advising platform to improve accountability and compliance with state requirements for community colleges.
Examining Student Loss at Community Colleges
Exploration
This grant supports The RAND Corporation in partnering with Dallas College to address early student attrition. The partners will examine institutional data, student experiences and campus-level practices to share insights with the field about students who leave prior to colleges' official enrollment count and how community colleges can help retain them.
Site-Specific Evaluation of Academic Recovery Innovations
Validation
This grant supports The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois in evaluating a campus-level intervention (“academy recovery model”) targeting students who fail critical courses. This institution-level evaluation will provide insights into localized implementation and create the conditions for a potential future evaluation to determine the interventions’ impact on student outcomes.
Site-Specific Evaluation of Academic Recovery Innovations
Validation
This grant supports The Regents of the University of California, on behalf of its Riverside campus, in evaluating a campus-level intervention (“academy recovery model”) targeting students who fail in critical courses. This institution-level evaluation will provide insights into localized implementation and create the conditions for a potential future evaluation to determine the interventions’ impact on student outcomes.
Site-Specific Evaluation of Academic Recovery Innovations
Validation
This grant supports Arizona State University Foundation for a New American University in evaluating a campus-level intervention (“academy recovery model”) targeting students who fail in critical courses. This institution-level evaluation will provide insights into localized implementation and create the conditions for a potential future evaluation to determine the interventions’ impact on student outcomes.
Site-Specific Evaluation of Academic Recovery Innovations
Validation
This grant supports University of Utah in evaluating a campus-level intervention (“academy recovery model”) targeting students who fail in critical courses. This institution-level evaluation will provide insights into localized implementation and create the conditions for a potential future evaluation to determine the interventions’ impact on student outcomes.
Scaling Academic Recovery Interventions
Scaling
This grant supports the University Innovation Alliance in scaling Georgia State University’s Accelerator Academy program to 10 member institutions. The Accelerator Academy, comprising a suite of comprehensive interventions with demonstrated success, will allow institutions to target students at risk of falling behind or not completing a degree due to a D, F or W (Withdrawn) in critical coursework.
Minnesota Math Pathways
Scaling
This grant supports Minnesota State Colleges & Universities in replacing pre-requisite remediation with co-requisite options and ensuring all students enter a mathematics pathway relevant to their program of study. These reforms are designed to facilitate transfer and reduce disparities in low-income and minoritized student completion outcomes.