PATHWAYS TO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDENT SUCCESS

CENTER NETWORK

ABOUT JOBS FOR THE FUTURE

Jobs for the Future is a national nonprofit that works to

ensure educational and economic opportunity for all. We

develop innovative career pathways, educational

resources, and public policies that increase college

readiness and career success and build a more highly

skilled workforce. With over 30 years of experience, JFF is

the national leader in bridging education and work to

increase mobility and strengthen our economy.

ABOUT THE POSTSECONDARY STATE

POLICY TEAM

> Helps states and their community colleges dramatically

increase the number of students who complete college and

earn credentials with high value in the labor market.

> Works at the intersection of policy and practice to promote

systems-level change - focus on increasing economic mobility

for underprepared and underserved students.

> Leads a peer-learning network of 16 states that serves over

60% of all community college students in the nation.

> Provides tools, products, and services to help state and

college leaders create policy conditions in which community

colleges can implement evidence-based innovations at scale.

4

[2004]

[2009]

[2011]

—16 States in PSPN—

JFF’S POSTSECONDARY STATE POLICY

NETWORK – THE ARC OF OUR WORK

[2012]

OVERVIEW OF THE SSC NETWORK

OVERVIEW OF THE SSC NETWORK

State Year Est Host Organization

AR 2010 Arkansas Community Colleges

CA 2014 Foundation for California Community Colleges

CT 2014 Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education

HI 2016 University of Hawai'i Community Colleges

MI 2011 Michigan Community College Association

NJ 2014 New Jersey Council of County Colleges

NY 2016 State University of New York

NC 2016 North Carolina Community College System

OH 2012 Ohio Association of Community Colleges

OR 2016 Oregon Community College Association

TX 2013 Texas Association of Community Colleges

VA 2016 Virginia Community College System

WA 2016 Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges

THE NETWORK’S POTENTIAL FOR IMPACT

> Key data points for public, two-year colleges in the 13 states

with Student Success Centers:

- 47% of colleges are in these states

- 56% of the fall enrollments were in these states

- 67% of all minority students were in these states

- 53% of Pell grant recipients were in these states

- 54% of the Associate’s degree recipients were in these

states

Source: 2013-14 IPEDS data

WHAT DO STUDENT SUCCESS CENTER DO?

JFF SUPPORT TO THE SSC NETWORK

> Lead cross-state convenings with SSC leadership and staff

> Create tools, templates, and resources for use by SSCs

> Disseminate information through knowledge management and

regular communications

> Communicate value and impact of SSCs to the field

> Develop and manage system to provide technical assistance

to SSCs – in development

JFF SUPPORT TO INDIVIDUAL SSCs

> Technical assistance customized to center needs—for ex:

– Support the launch of new Centers through orientations

for executive directors, host organizations, and advisory

committees

– Assist with mapping/alignment of existing success

initiatives

– Support strategic plan development and implementation

– Advise and give direction on policy agenda development

– Guide stakeholder development and convening strategy

– Aid efforts to enhance data capacity and use

CENTER EXPECTATIONS

> Build institutional and statewide capacity to support student

success efforts across the state’s community colleges.

> Establish and sustain student success as a priority for the

state’s community colleges.

> Leverage the infrastructure of the Student Success Center to

increase coherence across multiple completion initiatives.

> Deepen the commitment of the state’s community colleges to

implement innovative models to increase completion.

> Gather multi-institutional student success and progression

data and share the data across institutions.

> Raise leveraged funding from the colleges, state organization,

or local/national foundations to sustain the Center.

CENTER EXPECTATIONS

> Articulate a set of statewide policy priorities that will advance

completion initiatives across all colleges.

> Build and sustain cross-sector partnerships that will be key to

increasing community college completion rates.

> Designate a Student Success Center executive director

whose sole job is leading the Center’s initiatives.

> Assemble a broadly representative advisory board to guide

the Center and ensure it is successful and sustainable.

> Engage an objective third party to evaluate progress toward

Center goals and provide recommendations for improvement.

> Fully participate in the national learning network with leaders

of other new and existing Student Success Centers.

RECENT ACTIVITIES OF CENTERS

> Key Priorities

– Guided Pathways

– Advising and student supports

– Developmental Education redesign

– Transfer and articulation

– Dual enrollment

> Key Activities

– Organizing institutes, workshops & convenings

– Relationship building & communications

> Common Challenges

– Implementing Guided Pathways

– Infrastructure

– Accessing TA and cross-Center sharing

A GROWING GUIDED PATHWAYS

MOVEMENT

FROM CAFETERIA COLLEGE

Paths to student goals unclear

Intake sorts, diverts students

Students’ progress not monitored

Learning outcomes not defined and

assessed across programs

Churning

Early transfer

Completion

Time to degree

Excess credits

Skill building

TO GUIDED PATHWAYS

Clear roadmaps to student goals

Intake redesigned as an on-ramp

Students’ progress closely tracked

Learning outcomes/assessments aligned

across programs

Churning

Completion

Early transfer

Excess credits

Time to degree

Skill building

PATHWAYS - ESSENTIAL PRACTICES

From AACC Pathways Model

1. Clarify paths to student end goals

2. Help students choose and enter a pathway

3. Help students stay on path

4. Ensure that students are learning

PATHWAYS - ESSENTIAL CAPACITIES

From AACC Pathways Model

1. Leadership for managing and sustaining large-scale change

2. Broad and authentic engagement of college faculty and staff

3. Institutional will and capacity to use data and evidence

4. Appropriate technological tools and infrastructure

5. Commitment to strategically targeted professional

development

6. Policy conditions that provide incentives, structures and

supports

7. A continuing action research agenda

PATHWAYS - ESSENTIAL POLICIES

From JFF’s Policy Meets Pathways

1) Streamline program requirements and create highly structured

programs of study.

2) Encourage colleges to redesign developmental education into

accelerated on-ramps to programs of study.

3) Support colleges in implementing wraparound student supports.

4) Ensure that structured pathways lead to valuable credentials and

durable competencies.

5) Support colleges’ strategic use of data.

6) Create financial incentives to encourage success-oriented

institutional and student behaviors.

7) Invest in professional development to create intensive, authentic faculty

engagement and create a deeper focus on teaching and learning.

GUIDED PATHWAYS SCALE ADOPTION

INITIATIVES

JFF’S SSC SURVEY RESULTS:

SUMMARY OF ESSENTIAL PRACTICES

Essential Practice Low Medium High

1. Simplify students’ choices with default program maps 3 2 7

2. Establish transfer pathways 3 6 (3) 3

3. Bridge K-12 to higher education 3 7 (5) 2

4. Redesign remediation as an “on-ramp” to a program of study 3 4 (1) 5

5. Provide accelerated remediation for poorly prepared students 2 6 (2) 4

6. Support students through a strong advising process 1 2 (2) 9

7. Embed academic and non-academic supports in programs 0 5 (3) 7

8. Establish program-level learning outcomes 5 5 (1) 2

9. Integrate applied learning experiences 7 2 3

10. Incorporate effective teaching practice throughout pathways 6 4 (2) 2

JFF’ SSC SURVEY RESULTS:

SUMMARY OF ESSENTIAL CAPACITIES

Essential Capacity Low Medium High

1. Leadership to manage and sustain large-scale change 3 1 8

2. Broad and authentic engagement of faculty and staff 0 3 (1) 9

3. Institutional will and capacity to use data and evidence 1 5 (1) 6

4. Appropriate technological tools and infrastructure 4 2 (1) 6

5. Commitment to professional development 3 2 (1) 7

6. Policies that provide incentives, structures & supports 5 6 (1) 1

7. A continuing action research agenda 2 6 (1) 4

TA SURVEY RESULTS:

LEADING PRACTICES & SUB-PRACTICES

Support students through a strong advising process, embedded

and ongoing in the pathway experience and supported by

appropriate technology.

> Creating procedures to assess students’ non-cognitive factors

> Monitoring students’ progress along their academic plan

> Funding and scalability of effective advising models

> Defining the role of the advisor and providing appropriate

professional development

> Helping new students explore career and college options

> Making it easier for students to monitor their own progress

> Providing assistance to redirect students who are not likely to be

accepted into limited-access programs

TA SURVEY RESULTS:

LEADING PRACTICES & SUB-PRACTICES

Embed academic and non-academic supports throughout

students’ programs to promote student learning and persistence.

> Revising the application and intake process to include

identification of student risk factors

> Making it easier to identify when students are at risk of falling

off their program plans

> Providing high-need students with intensive, wraparound

supports

> Identifying and providing the distinct supports needed by

specific populations

> Developing processes and partnerships to ensure that students

have the financial resources they need

TEL 617.728.4446 FAX 617.728.4857 info@jff.org

88 Broad Street, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02110 (HQ)

122 C Street, NW, Suite 650, Washington, DC 20001

505 14th Street, Suite 900, Oakland, CA 94612

WWW.JFF.ORG