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.

Often unaware of financial aid resources and employment services available on campus, many community college students struggle to get the support they need and end up leaving, never attaining their degree or certificate. This documentation study examines how integrated service delivery, specifically the Center for Working Families (CWF) bundled approach, is being implemented at ten community colleges to achieve improved postsecondary outcomes for low-income students. The authors discuss the diverse ways that these community colleges have deployed the CWF approach, while presenting key findings on implementation and lessons related to data tracking, bundling of services, and sustainability. Using case studies and brief descriptions, the report describes each of the ten community colleges’ CWF program or implementation process. 

Despite a growing student demand for more course-taking opportunities in higher education, community colleges must operate with insufficient funding and limited institutional capacity. This report analyzes recent enrollment and policy trends at the nation’s community colleges. The author describes a discouraging situation, revealing expanding caps on community college enrollment, narrowing educational program aimed more at workforce development than continuing on for a bachelor’s degree, and decreased access to higher education for low-income students and students of color. The author concludes with recommendations that faculty can take to challenge and redirect the course of policy and practice in community colleges.

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 proactive in anticipating student needs and engaging student learning.

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.

It’s Not About the Cut Score offers case studies from Virginia, Connecticut, and North Carolina to provide a detailed look at what is involved in evaluating and implementing common, statewide placement policy. In each case, the state found that establishing cut scores was only a small part of creating effective policies. In addition to the case studies, the author provides data on the range of policies in use across the nation and recommendations for policy evaluations.

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.

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.

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.

As demand for an educated workforce increases, effective high school-to-college pathways are needed to improve college and career readiness. This policy brief describes dual enrollment initiatives that seven states are enacting to provide more high school students — high- and low-achieving students — with opportunities to take college courses while completing high school. The authors introduce a web tool and offers six design principles for helping state leaders shape research-based policies on this key strategy.