Davis Jenkins is a senior research scholar at CCRC. He works with colleges and states to find ways to improve educational and employment outcomes for students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
A forthcoming book to be published in August 2025 takes stock of what we have learned over nearly a decade of research on the guided pathways model for whole-college transformation. This blog post, the first in a series, features insights from the book, including practical guidance for community colleges on meeting the challenges they face today.
Recent data suggest that students are returning to community colleges, though total numbers are well below pre-pandemic levels. Davis Jenkins explores the causes of enrollment declines in recent decades and examines ways colleges can build on successful reforms to improve student outcomes.
Guided pathways reforms are now far enough along in a growing number of colleges that researchers can begin to examine more deeply their effects on student outcomes, as well as the institutional practices that best support these reforms. Davis Jenkins lays out the next set of questions for researchers as they seek to build the evidence base around guided pathways.
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