Knowledge Development for the AACC Pathways Initiative

August 2015–August 2022

The goal of this project is to inform the development and adoption by community colleges of the guided pathways model for improving student outcomes and to develop guidance materials and tools that can be used by others in helping colleges plan and implement guided pathways. The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and other national partner organizations are conducting a series of two-and-a-half-day Pathways Institutes for teams from community colleges that are committed to making the systemic changes in practice necessary to implement guided pathways at scale.

CCRC has two main roles in the AACC Pathways Project: (1) collaborate with the other partners to design, plan, and conduct the project’s institutes, and (2) work with participating colleges to measure and assess the effects of guided pathways reforms being undertaken by the participating colleges on college performance and student success. In these roles, CCRC is seeking to build knowledge and tools that will help practitioners implement effective guided pathways reforms. This project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Growing out of the AACC Pathways Project, the California Guided Pathways Project is working with 15 to 20 California community colleges to design and implement guided academic and career pathways for all their students. It is also building capacity within the state to spread reforms to many more colleges. A partnership of AACC, Bakersfield College, the Foundation for California Community Colleges, and other organizations, the project is being managed by the National Center for Inquiry & Improvement and funded by the College Futures Foundation and the Gates, Teagle, and Irvine foundations. CCRC is helping design and conduct a series of institutes and will monitor the progress of participating colleges in planning and implementing guided pathways reforms.

Project Lead

Davis Jenkins