Most students who begin at a community college leave without earning a degree. Given the growing emphasis on student success, many colleges have implemented re-enrollment campaigns designed to foster re-engagement and degree completion among former students. However, there is a lack of causal evidence on their effectiveness. We implement a text…

Low completion rates of math courses pose a major challenge for community college students' educational progress and outcomes. Contextualized instruction has been identified as a promising approach to removing some of the longstanding barriers within math teaching and learning. Still, the empirical base on this topic remains small, with…

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.…

What works to help community college students progress academically? This brief synthesizes 20 years of rigorous research by MDRC, presenting new evidence about key attributes of community college interventions that are positively related to larger impacts on students' academic progress. Findings: Findings are based on a synthesis of evidence from…

Nationwide, only 24 percent of community college students earn a degree or certificate within three years of matriculat­ing. Students who enroll in summer classes at the end of the freshman year are more likely to persist and graduate. Summer enrollment enables students to earn additional credits, reducing the time it takes to earn a degree.…

This What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) report, part of the WWC's Supporting Postsecondary Success topic area, explores the effects of "Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP)" on enrollment, credit accumulation, and graduation rates. The WWC identified 11 studies of "ASAP," and two studies meet WWC standards. The evidence…

This policy brief was adapted from "English as a Second Language at California's Community Colleges: An Early Examination of AB 705 Reforms." In Fall 2021, colleges began implementing reforms to English as a Second Language (ESL) that were mandated by Assembly Bill 705 (AB 705). In recognition of the need for effective and equitable ESL…

This report documents the impacts three years after random assignment for the Pathways to Healthcare program, operated by Pima Community College and Pima County One Stop in Tucson, Arizona. The program aimed to help low-income, low-skilled adults access and complete occupational training that could lead to increased employment and higher earnings.…

One of the most substantial concerns surrounding remedial education at the postsecondary level is the impact that it may have on student success and completion. While Parts 1 and 2 of this series of briefs focused on providing context necessary to understand the concept and purpose of remediation and what postsecondary populations are assessed to…

Background: Prior studies suggest that Federal Work-Study (FWS) participation is positively associated with student learning, persistence, and academic achievement at four-year institutions. Limited research, however, has evaluated whether FWS participation improves academic success among students attending community colleges. Purpose and Research…

There are concerns that the assignment to remedial courses itself may prove a barrier to successful outcomes by discouraging students or increasing their time to completion. As discussed in earlier reports in this series, one of the arguments supporting elimination or redesign of remedial courses is that those courses may prohibit student progress…

This study synthesizes lessons learned about the promising role of "career navigators" at community colleges to aid students in the transitions through disjunctures in their careers. Career navigators are student support personnel who follow students from recruitment, through their studies or training programs, to job placement. Findings…

Enrolling in college and completing a degree or certificate is one of the primary pathways to economic success. In 2017, median weekly earnings of full-time workers with an associate degree was 17 percent higher than full-time workers with a high school diploma only. Despite the economic advantages of educational attainment, only 32 percent of…

This What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) report, part of the WWC's Supporting Postsecondary Success topic area, explores the effects of "Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP)" on enrollment, credit accumulation, and graduation rates. The WWC identified 11 studies of "ASAP," two of which met WWC standards. The evidence…

Research has shown that students who enroll in summer courses are more likely to persist and graduate. How can postsecondary institutions encourage more students to enroll in summer courses? If more students do enroll, will they experience improved academic outcomes? MDRC's Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment (EASE) project explores these…