Helping Underserved Students at Higher Performing iPASS Colleges: An Exploration of Support Practices

Good advising and support services are instrumental in helping college students—especially Black, Latinx, and low-income learners—stay in school and complete a college credential. The authors of this report analyzed KPI (key performance indicator) data from iPASS institutions and chose five colleges with comparatively strong outcomes among underserved student groups for further study, with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of how the colleges provide advising and student support both inside and outside of the classroom. The authors describe how the climate of the colleges affects student experiences, and examine practices the colleges have been undertaking to improve outcomes and prioritize equity across racial and socioeconomic subgroups. The authors also detail situational factors, including the pandemic and the fraught political climate at the time of data collection, that their research suggests may have both catalyzed efforts to promote racial equity and slowed progress in improving supports aimed at underserved students. The report is accompanied by a standalone resource guide that describes and provides hyperlinks to useful relevant resources at each of the five colleges.