The Mixed Methods Blog

The Aspen Institute and CCRC are launching Unlocking Opportunity: The Post-Graduation Success and Equity Network, a project to accelerate the next phase of reform at 10 community colleges.

In this blog post, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and CCRC share strategies used by community colleges participating in the Unlocking Opportunity Network to put students on paths toward high-value careers or successful transfer opportunities.

To help more students gain early momentum, community colleges need to update onboarding to focus on helping students enter a program of study aligned with their interests, strengths, and aspirations.

CCRC researchers describe an emerging approach to dual enrollment called dual enrollment equity pathways, or DEEP, in which community colleges partner with middle and high schools to motivate and prepare underserved students to pursue college pathways in fields of interest.

Because whole-college reform is hard to evaluate, no prior major study has examined how successfully colleges have adopted guided pathways or what its effects have been on students. Now, two recent studies from CCRC are providing an unprecedented look at guided pathways reforms at approximately 100 colleges.