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Policy Framework
National attention is focused on increasing graduation rates at community colleges. Millions of students attend community colleges each year, but only a fraction remains in school long enough to receive a degree. Graduation rates are particularly low for students who come to campus underprepared for college-level work. Across the nation, between 60 and 70 percent of entering freshmen in community colleges enroll in developmental (or remedial) math, reading, or writing courses. Data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Education Longitudinal study shows that only 28 percent of developmental students in two-year colleges attain a degree or certificate within eight and one-half years of entry, compared with 43 percent of non-developmental students. Finding ways to help developmental students persist in school and receive a degree is critical to substantially increasing graduation rates.
MDRC is currently conducting an evaluation of an unusually comprehensive program designed to help students to stay in school and graduate with an associate’s degree quickly. Originally funded as part of Mayor Bloomberg’s Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO), the City University of New York’s (CUNY’s) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) began operating in fall 2007. That year, ASAP targeted just over 1,000 students at CUNY’s six community colleges who did not have any developmental education needs when the program began. Beginning in fall 2009, ASAP began to target students with one or two developmental course needs, based on their scores on the CUNY Assessment Tests in reading, writing, and math.
CUNY’s internal evaluation of the effects of ASAP for the students who entered the program in 2007 is promising, with participants graduating at a higher rate than a comparison group of similarly skilled students. CUNY reached out to MDRC to conduct a random assignment study of ASAP beginning in spring 2010. For the MDRC evaluation, ASAP exclusively targets students who need one or two developmental courses.
Agenda, Scope, and Goals
ASAP requires students to attend college full time and provides the following components for three years:
- Tuition waiver: Any gap between tuition or fees and financial aid is waived for students who are eligible for financial aid.
- Free monthly MetroCards for use on public transportation in the New York City area.
- Free use of textbooks for all classes.
- Comprehensive advising and counseling services: Students are assigned to an ASAP advisor with a small caseload (about 60 students) who is expected to provide comprehensive support.
- Enhanced tutoring: ASAP tutors provide general support and conduct regular review sessions for especially challenging courses. Students who are struggling are required to receive tutoring.
- Career development services: Students meet with ASAP career and employment specialists for assistance on career planning and, if needed, job placement.
- Cohorts of students in “block-scheduled” classes: Students take 2-3 of their classes in cohorts of about 25 with other ASAP students during the first two semesters of the program.
For the MDRC evaluation, ASAP targets students who:
- Are required to take one or two developmental courses
- Are incoming freshmen or have 12 or fewer credits and have a GPA of at least 2.0
- Have family income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level or have been determined to be eligible for a Pell grant
The MDRC evaluation provides an opportunity to rigorously test a rich package of services that is rarely available to community college students and that has the potential to yield dramatic improvements in their education outcomes. The key goal of the evaluation is to see if ASAP helps students progress through developmental education, remain in college, and graduate with an associate’s degree.
Design, Sites, and Data Sources
Three of CUNY’s six community colleges are participating in the evaluation:
- Borough of Manhattan Community College
- Kingsborough Community College
- LaGuardia Community College
For the study, eligible students at the three colleges were randomly assigned either to a program group, whose members are eligible for ASAP, or to a comparison group, whose members receive standard college courses and services. MDRC will compare the average outcomes of the two research groups to determine the effects of ASAP. Key outcomes of interest include progress through developmental education, credit accumulation, semester-to-semester retention, transfer to four-year institutions, and, of course, graduation. The evaluation will track students’ outcomes for three years after random assignment. The evaluation will also include a study of the implementation of ASAP.
What's Next
In 2012, MDRC will publish the first report from the evaluation, which will describe ASAP’s early impacts on students’ academic outcomes.
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