Few full-time community college students attain 30 credits in their first year. Given that students of color and from under-resourced families disproportionately attend two-year colleges, slower momentum and sizable performance gaps in credit attainment and credential completion by race/ethnicity are a significant equity concern.
While the field is increasingly recognizing that universal reforms will not close equity gaps, more research is needed to understand the subgroup impacts of these universal reforms and how to tailor them to better serve underserved populations. Preliminary findings in the research on guided pathways show that student success reforms must include culturally sustaining offerings with a combination of proactive and holistic academic, financial, and nonacademic services and programs that are designed with the target population in mind.
Working with Complete College America, CCRC researchers will identify colleges closing equity gaps between students of color and their peers. Researchers will then document the offerings at these colleges to understand and identify the different kinds of practices colleges are using to close equity gaps, as well as how these practices have the potential to be embedded in institutional reforms. This project is intended to highlight opportunities to integrate student success reforms with culturally sustaining offerings.
Funding for this project is provided by Lumina Foundation.
