Retaining people no longer credited toward college completion--a group known in academic parlance as "stop outs"--is a core concern among administrators seeking to remove barriers to education. Preventing stop outs from becoming stay outs means re-enrolling students beset by debt, or targeting vulnerable demos close to graduation.…

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…

States have introduced a range of strategies and legislative policies aimed at increasing college matriculation through readiness strategies and initiatives that offer strong collaboration between secondary and postsecondary education. Early college high school (ECHS) models are one-way that colleges, primarily community colleges, can serve…

With over 50% of current college CEOs expected to retire within the next few years, boards are seeking new ways to connect the hiring and onboarding processes to ensure the new CEO's effectiveness and longevity. The first year often sets the stage for the CEO's success. This document outlines key first-year strategies for the board and new…

The partnership between Tohono O'odham Community College (TOCC) and the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center (SWEHSC) at the University of Arizona (UA) has relied on principles that have produced a long-term relationship and full participation among the partners. Active listening, travelling to the community, longevity, understanding…

With a looming enrollment crisis, colleges must explore new efforts for developing strategic and sustainable partnerships that support institutional advancement. As such, Kent State University (KSU) partnered with three regional, two-year institutions developing high-impact pathways to expand upon the transfer student experience and success rates.…

College presidential transitions are inevitable. A successful transition, as measured by: (1) an effective and orderly transfer of executive authority and influence between the outgoing and incoming chief executives, along with; (2) the continued advancement of the college, can never be guaranteed. Conceiving, developing, and managing a deliberate…

The American Talent Initiative's Student Success Research Grant Program supported research studies aimed at deepening our understanding of the institutional practices and strategies that can improve student success at high-graduation-rate institutions. The findings will offer actionable recommendations for supporting lower-income students, while…

Equity-minded leadership is critical to closing equity gaps for historically marginalized student populations within higher education systems (Malcom-Piquex & Bensimon, 2017). Pathways to Results (PTR) is an outcomes-focused, equity-guided process to improve student transition to and through postsecondary education and into employment. PTR…

The United States must raise the graduation rates of community college students if it is to increase economic opportunity for individuals and improve the competitiveness of its workforce. Yet too many students arrive on campus academically underprepared and get placed into developmental (or remedial) courses where they fail to progress. For this…

Community colleges have long provided students a gateway to greater economic opportunities, primarily through two pathways: completing two years of college courses while preparing to transfer to earn a four-year degree or career training that can lead to stable, well-paying positions. Eva L. Rivera Lebrón, a professor of mathematics at…

In 2011, Washburn University of Topeka, Kansas was awarded a $19.6 million Round 1 TAACCCT grant through the Department of Labor to provide industry-relevant, hands-on training for high-demand, high-wage careers. The consortium, Technical Retraining to Achieve Credentials (TRAC-7), was led by Washburn University, and included seven Kansas…

Oakton Community College (Oakton) launched a Pathways to Results (PTR) project for the first time in 2014, a decision that converged with the launch of an all-college student success team with the goal of making evidence-based decisions to significantly improve student success. Oakton chose to work initially on its manufacturing program.…

Community colleges have made great strides in advancing student success and completion during the last decade. But not all students have benefited from these efforts equally. According to the Lumina Foundation, the postsecondary attainment rate for adults in the United States is around 40 percent. Yet, there are still large gaps in attainment…

For several decades, institutions of higher education (IHE) have been addressing the need for postsecondary education (PSE) for students with intellectual disabilities (ID). These efforts have increased significantly since 2008 with passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA). The law includes a defined set of services and activities…