At the same time that the nation’s community colleges are being challenged to shift their focus from increasing enrollment rates to improving completion rates, these institutions are also facing a reduced budget with which to make those changes. This is a report based on a study that explored the needs of community colleges for improving student success rates and whether external service providers could partner with them to improve student outcomes. The authors discuss 1) the four key areas of needed support to improve community college capacity—institution redesign, use of data, student services and structures, and professional development; 2) the findings which indicate that a robust service provider market can play a viable and cost-effective role in improving completion rates; and 3) recommendations that funders, providers, colleges, policymakers, and intermediaries can implement to enable conditions for increasing the supply of effective service providers available to community colleges.

Our nation’s ability to improve its economy and stability is dependent upon our ability to increase college completion rates. This annual report offers a detailed update on the nation’s effort to reach its goal of 60 percent of Americans holding a high-quality postsecondary credential by 2025. Using 2010 Census data, the report provides college-attainment data at national, state, and county levels; attainment rates by racial/ethnic groups at the national and state levels; and college-attainment rates for the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas.

The Best Practice Web site provides information to help college leaders develop innovative solutions to challenges which face their institutions. The Web site may be utilized to learn about new techniques, improve processes, create new programs, make current programs more effective and enhance outreach. 

It’s believed that an education requiring less than one year of study has little economic value, but certificates are overlooked as a pathway that can lead to employment or a higher-level credential. This report describes how certificates can positively influence long-term income earnings, especially when a certificate holder works in the field of study or in fields with high-demand occupations. Using longitudinal data, the report discusses certificate-earning trends, the demographics on who is earning them, and the states that award the most certificates.

As community colleges are working to improve student completion rates, it’s not often that college leaders can learn the collective views of their students about what’s working and not working for them at the institution. This report uses focus group data to describe the perspectives of community college students— current students, completers, and non-completers—and their community college experiences. Specifically, the authors identify findings as they relate to three areas: connection to information and supports, connection to instructional services, and connection to career and/or career exploration. In each area, the authors discuss students’ perspectives on the services that met their needs, key challenges they encountered, and suggestions for improving how colleges can be more pro-active in anticipating student needs and engaging student learning.

High school students take Advanced Placement and dual enrollment courses, believing these courses will increase their college access and success. This study uses data from two cohorts of Florida high school students to examine the predictive outcomes of students who take these courses. The author finds that dual enrollment students are more likely than Advanced Placement students to go to college after high school, but are less likely to first enroll in a four-year college. In terms of bachelor’s degree attainment, the difference between dual enrollment students and Advanced Placement students is much smaller and not statistically significant.

For five years, 15 states — committed to increasing postsecondary education access and improving completion rates at community colleges — participated in the Achieving the Dream initiative. Guiding state planning and decision making, the states identified a student success policy framework constituting five specific policies, described in this report. The framework emphasizes policies related to: a public policy commitment to student success, a strong performance measurement and data system, assessment and placement policies focused on accelerating students, student persistence and completion, and aligned expectations across educational sectors. Additionally, the report presents results of how the states implemented each of the five policies and describes examples of state action for each policy.

Dual enrollment is becoming increasingly popular as a means to improve student success; however, there is little evidence of its impact on student outcomes. This study, based on analysis of student data from two high school cohorts, examines the causal effects of dual enrollment course taking on marginal students. The author finds that simply taking a dual enrollment course has no impact on these students’ rates of high school graduation, college enrollment, or college degree attainment. However, for marginal students who took a dual enrollment course in college algebra, the impact revealed large and significant effects on college enrollment and graduation rates.

As the costs of college increase and the amount of financial aid awarded students decreases, low-income students are impacted in ways that are critical to their college enrollment and success. This report examines how barriers to financial aid access are as a result of systemic issues at the federal, state, and institutional levels, but how especially for low-income adult students, these trends lessen the opportunities for postsecondary success. Based on conversations with practitioners, policymakers, and other experts on financial aid, the authors offer key recommendations to funders on improving financial aid access toward the goal of increasing college access and completion for low-income young adults: Support the leveraging of existing aid channels, innovate aid access and delivery, and expand the amount of aid in the system.

Our nation has increasing labor market demands and is relying on community colleges to help educate more students to fill the workforce gaps. In order to provide a successful education for a broader population, community colleges need to expand what’s working on a bigger scale; however, they need to do it in a sustainable way. After examining common barriers to scaling up institutional practices using traditional, less effective approaches, this guide suggests a framework—a different organizational approach—that community colleges might consider for scaling up existing programs. The guide offers a systematic approach to assessing institutional readiness for change, followed by a detailed, five-step process for moving forward that includes helpful tools, case examples, and discussions on what to anticipate.

As states are looking into how to strengthen their student data and performance measurement systems to track student progress and success, they are in need of best practices that are taking root in other states. Based on a set of indicators identified by seven Achieving the Dream states focused on developing and improving their data systems, this policy brief describes the essential features that a state should consider when building or modifying its performance measurement and data systems, as well as the research capacity to support data-driven improvement strategies. Goldberger describes 10 performance measurement features, seven data system features, and four research capacity features along with examples of how other states are effectively demonstrating each particular feature.

Too many students enter community college needing developmental education, and many are at risk of leaving school before ever reaching college-level coursework. This brief describes how 15 states participating in the Achieving the Dream initiative have concentrated their efforts to change state policy in four broad strategies aimed at improving outcomes for underprepared students: preventative strategies, assessment and placement, implementation and evaluation of program innovation, and performance measurement and incentives. Collins shares results and lessons learned from the innovations and promising practices of high-performing institutions and the critical role that state policy plays in developing the conditions that support change.

Community colleges are interested in providing support for students that improves student success, leading to increased completion rates. This report uses data from the Virginia Community College System to examine whether early enrollment in a student success course has positive academic outcomes for students, especially those in developmental education. The study finds that among all students, those who enroll in a student success course are more likely to earn college-level credits in their first year and persist to the second year, but also that students referred to developmental education are more likely to earn college-level credits within the first year if enrolled in a student success course.

Currently, the federal approach to measuring community college completion assumes that students will earn a credential within three years, but this assumes a college-attending behavior similar to a traditional full-time student, and does not account for older or part-time students who work and raise families while attending school. This policy brief discusses how the current federal method for measuring community college performance is too simplistic, and describes a modified approach to defining and measuring student success with more accuracy. Based on the pilot project of the Achieving the Dream Cross-State Data Work Group, the author reports on the group’s methodology for analyzing postsecondary data, the results of their testing process, and how the findings can lead to changes in state policy concerning increased community college success.

In the current developmental education model, few students who start more than one level below college proficiency ever complete their developmental education requirements. This report discusses the role of state policy in six Achieving the Dream states, presenting a framework that identifies the highest-impact policy levers for improving developmental education delivery and outcomes. The framework addresses three major components: a data-driven improvement process, a state-level innovation investment strategy, and policy supports for innovation and scale-up of effective practices.

In the U.S., K–12 and postsecondary education are disjointed, creating barriers that hinder students — especially lesser-prepared students — from successfully navigating the transition to and through higher education. Based on a four-state study that analyzed K–16 educational governance and state policies in areas such as finance, curricula and assessment, accountability, and data systems, this report proposes a set of policy levers for states interested in K–16 reform. In addition to providing examples of the steps several states have taken to move the K–16 agenda forward, the authors also offer recommendations to help states formalize current approaches into more effective, sustainable, and long-term governance structures and policies for improving success opportunities for students.

While there may be multiple reasons for why students delay earning their degrees, there are some factors that college governing boards or legislatures can affect that would reduce costs and length of time spent in school for students. This brief identifies three strategies that are related to causes of extended time and examines how state and institutional leaders can implement these strategies or change policy to support state or systemwide agreement. Johnson discusses the need to control credit requirements and limit program length to no more than 120 hours, to provide model semester-by-semester road maps for four- or two-year completion, and to guarantee transfer of credits for general education curriculum. Further, Johnson shows how specific colleges and universities have implemented these strategies.

Improving college attendance and persistence is critical to the goal of improving student success rates. This report examines the college-going behaviors of students enrolled in dual enrollment programs — a strategy that can help lesser prepared students get ready for college. Based on studies, the report describes positive outcomes for students in dual enrollment programs and the benefits students experience from taking dual enrollment courses.