Despite the growing popularity of apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and in-school youth apprenticeships in the United States, young adults who lack the credentials and connections to seamlessly enter postsecondary pathways remain overlooked. Young-adult-serving agencies and community-based organizations (CBOs) are underutilized key actors in…

Each year, millions of Americans enroll in community colleges, seeking to develop the skills necessary to pursue a career or to transfer to a four-year institution. Community colleges serve large proportions of nontraditional, low-income, and minority students, and they are designed to provide access to a postsecondary education at a low or…

Difficulties in paying for college and in maintaining good academic performance are two major hurdles to college graduation for low-income students. In recent years, state and federal budgets for postsecondary education have been cut significantly, limiting the options policymakers, education leaders, and communities have to improve rates of…

The expense of attending college is one factor that may explain why low-income students often drop out of school. In California, despite generous state aid and relatively low fees at community colleges, many low-income students still have substantial college-related costs that they cannot cover. To compound matters, federal support for students…

MDRC launched the Opening Doors demonstration to test four distinct interventions that were designed to help more students persist in community college and accomplish their academic and personal goals. This report describes the impacts of a performance-based scholarship program with a counseling component on academic success and persistence among…

Many adult students struggle to finance their educations, often contending with work and child care expenses in addition to the extra cost of remedial courses. Moreover, there is little need-based grant aid to help. This report presents early findings from an evaluation of a program in New York City targeted to low-income adults (ages 22 to 35)…

Launched in 2003, "Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count" is a multiyear national initiative designed to improve educational outcomes for community college students, particularly students of color and low-income students. Supported by Lumina Foundation for Education and other funders, the initiative has grown to include 98…