Strategic partnerships between community-based college success programs and higher education institutions can play a critical role in students' degree completion and workforce readiness. This paper describes partnerships between four community-based organizations and higher education institutions based on interviews with staff directly involved.…

There are deep and often institutionalized root causes for persistent equity gaps in postsecondary access and attainment in the United States. Many data sources, as well as the dozens of practitioners interviewed for this paper, affirm this. The majority of K-12 public school students are now students of color, and the U.S. Census Bureau estimates…

Tracking and using data to inform decisions pays off for college success programs on multiple levels. Having data allows program staff to monitor the progress of individual students and tailor support to their particular needs. It enables staff to understand the effectiveness of program activities and make improvements as necessary. Most…

COVID-19 has exacerbated existing equity gaps and made college persistence even more difficult for students with less access to resources and opportunities than their White or wealthier peers. Altogether, these challenges require organizations to establish new approaches to engaging college students and monitoring their academic progress and…

Since their inception in the 1950s, community-based college access programs have focused on preparing students from low-income and first-generation backgrounds for college and helping them complete the necessary steps to matriculate. Until about 10 years ago, however, most programs had little, if any, involvement with students after high school.…

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the U.S. education system in spring 2020, another persistent, pernicious pathogen had long plagued American society: inequitable educational outcomes on the basis of income, race, and ethnicity. This is especially true for postsecondary access and attainment. Research shows the benefits of postsecondary…

The real data on students' postsecondary outcomes are affordable, accessible, and unfortunately underutilized. If harnessed for advising high school students before graduation, these data could significantly change the approach to preparing students for college and career success across the country. How can we get more leaders and stakeholders to…

The COVID-19 pandemic is putting immense strain on districts, schools, students, families, and all the stakeholders connected to them. During the Great Recession, many people enrolled in a postsecondary pathway based on the job market's weakness. Those without any postsecondary education fared particularly poorly after the Great Recession.…