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Achieving the Dream in Ohio: state policies affecting access to, and success in, community colleges for students of color and low-income students

Ohio is one of two states in the second round of the Achieving the Dream initiative. In joining the initiative alon ... Show more
Ohio is one of two states in the second round of the Achieving the Dream initiative. In joining the initiative along with Connecticut, it brings in a northern Midwestern state that is quite different from the five southern and southwestern states that comprised the first round of the Achieving the Dream initiative. This report provides an audit of state policies in Ohio affecting access to, and success in, community colleges for students of color and low-income students. It is the product of intensive interviews that were conducted in Ohio and an analysis of documents produced both by state agencies and external organizations such as the Education Commission of the States.
Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.
Related reports are indexed at TD/TNC 89.329 and TD/TNC 89.332. Show less

Authors: Dougherty, Kevin J.; Marshall, James; Soonachan, Andrea

Corporate authors: Columbia University. Teachers College. Community College Research Center (CCRC)

Date: 2006

Geographic subjects: North America; United States

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Disadvantaged; Providers of education and training; Governance ... [+] Show more
Dual enrollment policies and practices: earning college credit in California high schools

Dual enrollment has historically targeted high-achieving high school students, but today it is increasingly seen by ... Show more
Dual enrollment has historically targeted high-achieving high school students, but today it is increasingly seen by educators and policymakers as a strategy to help a broader range of students make the transition from high school to college. Students who struggle academically or who are at risk of dropping out may also realize significant benefits from dual enrollment. At the same time, there is uncertainty about how to offer dual enrollment opportunities in the current California policy environment. This report is intended to inform educators, policymakers, administrators and researchers about current policies and practices that shape dual enrollment in California. The report clarifies current policy and shares examples of existing programs that are successfully providing college credit opportunities to California high school students. The sections that follow provide an overview of various program models, review the research on dual enrollment, summarize the policies pertaining to dual enrollment in California and discuss how this information has informed the development of the Concurrent Courses initiative funded by the James Irvine Foundation.
Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Authors: Golann, Joanne Wang; Hughes, Katherine L.

Corporate authors: Columbia University. Teachers College. Community College Research Center (CCRC) ... [+] Show more

Date: 2008

Geographic subjects: North America; United States

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: Insight: lessons learned from the Concurrent Courses initiative

Subjects: Disadvantaged; Providers of education and training; Secondary education ... [+] Show more
A typology of community college-based partnership activities

Improving access to postsecondary credentials is an important way to help individuals invest in their human capital ... Show more
Improving access to postsecondary credentials is an important way to help individuals invest in their human capital and increase their access to high-wage careers. The challenge for community colleges is to provide learning opportunities in an affordable and efficient time-to-degree manner, while at the same time meeting the occupational and training demands both of student constituents and of an increasingly knowledge-based economy. In recent years, this challenge has intensified due to a growing student population, a depressed economy, decreased funding, greater accountability of student performance, and a mismatch between students' college preparedness and the technical demands of our economy. Community colleges are addressing this challenge, in part, by engaging in institutional innovations that allow them to partner with other institutions in order to streamline their services and meet the needs of students more efficiently and effectively. Partnerships (also referred to as collaborations) can take many forms and serve many purposes. They can also be supported - or hindered - by local, state, and federal policies. The purpose of this paper is to present a typology of the various types of collaborations in which colleges can engage in order to provide guidance for fiscal and regulatory policy change. We hope that providing such a framework will help policymakers identify the types of activities they want to support and develop appropriate policies to do so.
Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Authors: DeCastro, Belkis Suazo; Karp, Melinda Mechur

Corporate authors: Columbia University. Teachers College. Community College Research Center (CCRC)

Date: 2008

Geographic subjects: North America; United States

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Disadvantaged; Providers of education and training; Secondary education ... [+] Show more
Do support services at community colleges encourage success or reproduce disadvantage?: an exploratory study of students in two community colleges

This study examines the ways that student support services in community colleges inadvertently perpetuate and legit ... Show more
This study examines the ways that student support services in community colleges inadvertently perpetuate and legitimate disadvantage. Using interview data from students at two colleges in the northeast, we find that although support services are open to all students, only those who come to the college with pre-existing social and cultural resources can take advantage of them. However, because they are presented as open-access, students not able to make use of support services interpret their failure to progress toward a degree as personal, rather than structural.
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Authors: Karp, Melinda Mechur; O'Gara, Lauren; Hughes, Katherine L.

Corporate authors: Columbia University. Teachers College. Community College Research Center (CCRC)

Date: 2008

Geographic subjects: North America; United States

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: CCRC working paper

Subjects: Disadvantaged; Teaching and learning; Students ... [+] Show more
Achieving the Dream colleges in Pennsylvania and Washington State: early progress toward building a culture of evidence

In 2003, Lumina Foundation for Education launched a bold, multiyear, national initiative called Achieving the Dream ... Show more
In 2003, Lumina Foundation for Education launched a bold, multiyear, national initiative called Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, to help students stay in school and succeed. The initiative is focused particularly on students who have faced the most barriers to success, including low-income students and students of color. Initially, 27 colleges in five states joined the initiative; there are now over 80 institutions in 15 states [across the US]. Colleges participating in the Achieving the Dream initiative commit to using data to improve programs and services in ways that lead to increased student success - a process known as 'building a culture of evidence'. Specifically, colleges mine transcripts and gather other information to understand how students are faring over time and which groups need the most assistance. Based on a diagnosis of the problems in student achievement, they design and implement strategies to improve academic outcomes. This report describes the progress made by the 13 Pennsylvania and Washington State community colleges that comprise round three of the initiative after planning and one year of implementation. The key findings are: (1) the average institutional rates for Pennsylvania and Washington colleges on most of the baseline performance measures were low, and there was greater variation among colleges within the two states than between them; (2) there was widespread support among college leaders and other personnel for the Achieving the Dream goals and principles, which were seen as consistent with college goals and accreditation and state accountability requirements; (3) all 13 colleges used an analysis of their college's data as the primary means of identifying gaps in student achievement, and used both qualitative and quantitative data to identify and prioritize problems areas; (4) the strategies developed by the colleges focused on four areas: developmental education, supplemental instruction, a first-year student success course, and better organized and more intrusive advising; (5) four colleges were beginning to institutionalize a culture of evidence, and another four had made promising progress after the first year of implementation. Five had made little or only limited progress; and (6) Achieving the Dream had positive effects on all of the 13 Pennsylvania and Washington State colleges, which as a group were further along a year and a half into the process than were the colleges that joined the initiative two years earlier in the first round. The findings from this study will be compared with follow-up research that the Community College Research Center (CCRC) and MDRC will conduct in two years to evaluate the progress of the colleges at the end of the five-year project period.
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Authors: Jenkins, Davis; Ellwein, Todd; Wachen, John; Kerrigan, Monica Reid ... [+] Show more

Corporate authors: Columbia University. Teachers College. Community College Research Center (CCRC) ... [+] Show more

Date: 2009

Geographic subjects: North America; United States

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Disadvantaged; Providers of education and training; Performance ... [+] Show more
The effects of institutional factors on the success of community college students

The goal of this report is to measure the institutional characteristics that affect the success of community colleg ... Show more
The goal of this report is to measure the institutional characteristics that affect the success of community college students, particularly low-income and minority students. While there is a growing literature on this topic for baccalaureate institutions, few researchers have attempted to address the issue for community colleges. Evidence shows that different community colleges enrolling essentially similar types of students may have vastly different graduation rates. What characteristics of these institutions might play a role in explaining student outcomes, when controlling for student characteristics? This report investigates that question using different models and sets of data.
Excerpt from published summary reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Authors: Bailey, Thomas R.; Calcagno, Juan Carlos; Jenkins, Davis; Kienzl, Gregory ... [+] Show more

Corporate authors: Columbia University. Teachers College. Community College Research Center (CCRC)

Date: 2005

Geographic subjects: North America; United States

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Students; Performance; Demographics ... [+] Show more
Achieving the Dream in Connecticut: state policies affecting access to, and success in, community colleges for students of color and low-income students

Connecticut is one of two states in the second round of the Achieving the Dream initiative. In joining the initiati ... Show more
Connecticut is one of two states in the second round of the Achieving the Dream initiative. In joining the initiative along with Ohio, it brings in a northern state that is quite different from the five southern and southwestern states that comprised the first round of the Achieving the Dream initiative. This report provides an audit of state policies in Connecticut affecting access to, and success in, community colleges for students of color and low-income students. It is the product of intensive interviews that were conducted in Connecticut and an analysis of documents produced both by state agencies and external organizations, such as the Education Commission of the States.
Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.
Related reports are indexed at TD/TNC 89.329 and TD/TNC 89.333. Show less

Authors: Dougherty, Kevin J.; Reid, Monica

Corporate authors: Columbia University. Teachers College. Community College Research Center (CCRC)

Date: 2006

Geographic subjects: North America; United States

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Disadvantaged; Providers of education and training; Governance ... [+] Show more
Building a culture of evidence for community college student success: early progress in the Achieving the Dream initiative

In 2003, Lumina Foundation for Education launched a bold, multi-year, national initiative called Achieving the Drea ... Show more
In 2003, Lumina Foundation for Education launched a bold, multi-year, national initiative called Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, to help students stay in school and succeed. The initiative is focused particularly on students who have faced the most barriers to success, including low-income students and students of color. Initially, 27 community colleges in five states joined the initiative; there are now 82 institutions in 15 states. Participating colleges commit to collecting and analyzing data to improve student outcomes - a process known as 'building a culture of evidence'. Specifically, colleges mine transcripts and gather other information to understand how students are faring over time and which groups need the most assistance. From this work, colleges implement strategies to improve academic outcomes. Colleges evaluate their strategies, expand effective ones, and use data to guide budgeting and other institutional decisions. Participating colleges receive a $50,000 planning grant followed by a four-year, $400,000 implementation grant, along with assistance from expert advisers hired by the initiative. This report describes the progress that the first 27 colleges have made after planning and one year of implementation.
Excerpt from summary reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Authors: Brock, Thomas; Jenkins, Davis; Ellwein, Todd; Miller, Jennifer ... [+] Show more

Corporate authors: MDRC ... [+] Show more

Date: 2007

Geographic subjects: North America; United States

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Providers of education and training; Performance; Research ... [+] Show more
Effectiveness of fully online courses for college students: response to a Department of Education meta-analysis

Proponents of postsecondary online education were recently buoyed by a meta-analysis sponsored by the U.S. Departme ... Show more
Proponents of postsecondary online education were recently buoyed by a meta-analysis sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education suggesting that, in many cases, student learning outcomes in online courses are superior to those in traditional face-to-face courses. This finding does not hold, however, for the studies included in the meta-analysis that pertain to fully online, semester-length college courses; among these studies, there is no trend in favor of the online course mode. What is more, these studies consider courses that were taken by relatively well-prepared university students, so their results may not generalize to traditionally underserved populations. Therefore, while advocates argue that online learning is a promising means to increase access to college and to improve student progression through higher education programs, the Department of Education report does not present evidence that fully online delivery produces superior learning outcomes for typical college courses, particularly among low-income and academically underprepared students. Indeed some evidence beyond the meta-analysis suggests that, without additional supports, online learning may even undercut progression among low-income and academically underprepared students.
Published summary. Show less

Authors: Jaggars, Shanna Smith; Bailey, Thomas R.

Corporate authors: Columbia University. Teachers College. Community College Research Center (CCRC)

Date: 2010

Geographic subjects: United States; North America

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Higher education; Teaching and learning; Students ... [+] Show more
Evidence-based decision making in community colleges: findings from a survey of faculty and administrator data use at 'Achieving the dream' colleges

Few empirical studies have been carried out on evidence-based decision making in the postsecondary sector. The stud ... Show more
Few empirical studies have been carried out on evidence-based decision making in the postsecondary sector. The study reported on here, conducted by researchers from the Community College Research Center and MDRC, examines what specific data college faculty and administrators use in their jobs and the extent to which they use data analysis to design and improve the impact of programs and services. The study is based on a survey on the use of student data by faculty and administrators at 41 community colleges participating in 'Achieving the dream: community colleges count'. 'Achieving the dream' is a major national initiative designed to improve educational outcomes for community college students, particularly students of color, low-income students, and others who have traditionally faced barriers to success in college. Twenty-seven of the surveyed colleges joined the 'Achieving the dream' initiative in summer 2004 (round one), and 13 joined in summer 2006 (round three). In addition to the surveys, structured telephone interviews were conducted with administrators and faculty at four of the colleges that participated in the survey to explore in greater detail key findings from the survey.
Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Authors: Jenkins, Davis; Kerrigan, Monica Reid

Corporate authors: Columbia University. Teachers College. Community College Research Center (CCRC)

Date: 2008

Geographic subjects: North America; United States

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Outcomes; Disadvantaged; Research ... [+] Show more