Financial and academic support increase community college graduation rates
Community colleges serve 40% of all college students, yet historically two-thirds of these students neither graduate nor transfer to four-year colleges. To increase graduation rates, some community colleges have implemented student support programs. MDRC has released a report on a randomized evaluation of one such model, the Accelerated Study in Associates Program (ASAP). Originally developed at the City University of New York, MDRC implemented the program in 3 of Ohio's 23 community colleges to see if CUNY's successful findings would replicate.
ASAP provides students with financial and academic support, and students must commit to full-time attendance and to program participation. Following recruiting efforts starting in 2015, during the course of three years, 1,501 students agreed to be randomly assigned to the Ohio demonstration (n=806) or to a control group (n=695). Students were eligible for the study if they were from low-income backgrounds, were full-time degree-seekers of programs that could be completed in three years, were newly enrolled, or had earned less than 24 credits. Those in the Ohio demonstration received support services including advising, tutoring, and career counseling; tuition waivers; free textbooks; and a first-year seminar encompassing success skills such as note-taking and study strategies. The control group received typical college services.
At the end of three years, 35% of students in the Ohio ASAP demonstration received degrees vs. 19% of control students. In addition, while students in both groups transferred to four-year colleges, more students in the experimental group transferred (18%) than those in the control group (12%). Finally, while some students in both groups did drop out, more experimental students remained enrolled (68%) than control students (58%). The authors note that these findings demonstrate that community college graduation rates can increase when students are given financial and academic support.
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