About MDRC
Boynton is the operations director in the Postsecondary Education (PSE) policy area and has over 15 years of experience in social policy research and management. Boynton collaborates with others to define and implement PSE’s strategic priorities, ensures decisions on policy and procedure are shared and understood among all staff, and oversees staff deployment, hiring, and development. She oversees resource management for the policy area and is responsible for leading the development and maintenance of project scope, work plans, budgets, and staffing plans. She is a strategic thought partner to PSE project directors in managing individual projects and serves as the liaison to funders, subcontractors, and other research partners. In addition to strategy and management roles, Boynton has worked as part of multiple project teams to recruit and onboard community colleges for participation in research and demonstration projects, provided programmatic technical assistance to college faculty and staff, conducted field research, and summarized lessons in public reports to inform policymakers and practitioners. Beyond her role in PSE, Boynton engages in broader corporate-wide initiatives, including a role on MDRC’s corporate planning and management group, charged with developing, refining, and communicating organizational policies, ensuring policies and procedures center MDRC’s broader mission, values, and goals. Boynton earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and public policy from Brown University and a master’s degree in public administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
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MDRC Publications
ReportStudying Enhancements to Colleges’ iPASS Practices
July, 2019Frequent advising seems to help struggling students, but advisers’ time is limited; could technology make a difference? This study examines the effects of three institutions’ efforts to expand the use of advising technologies and to use administrative and communication strategies to increase student contact with advisers.
ReportEarly Experiences of Three Institutions
July, 2018This report from the Community College Research Center and MDRC describes how three institutions — University of North Carolina, Charlotte; California State University, Fresno; and Montgomery County Community College in Pennsylvania — are implementing comprehensive, technology-based advising reforms, including detailed examples of new advising practices, outreach methods, and messages to students.
ReportPerformance-Based Scholarships, Student Services, and Developmental Math at Hillsborough Community College
October, 2014This program provides an incentive for developmental math students to take their math courses early and consecutively, get help in an on-campus Math Lab, and strive for passing grades or better, in exchange for a modest performance-based scholarship. Compared with standard services, the program’s effects are modest but positive.
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Other Publications
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Projects
Michelle Ware, Alexander Mayer, Colleen Sommo, Leigh Parise, Elena Serna-Wallender, Jálynn Castleman-Smith, Shawna Anderson, Rae Walker, Melissa Wavelet, Katie Beal, Melissa Boynton, Diane WrenThe COVID -19 pandemic has dramatically affected colleges’ operations and students’ educational experiences, severely strained budgets, and created unprecedented financial and emotional stress for students, faculty, and staff. As colleges adapt to an evolving landscape, they need immediate solutions to support and retain students, as well as to continue to focus on...
Alexander Mayer, Michelle Ware, Frieda Molina, Hannah Dalporto, Andrea Vasquez, Susan Scrivener, John Diamond, Dorota Biedzio Rizik, Rashida Welbeck, Sophia Sutcliffe, Clinton Key, Melissa Boynton, Austin Slaughter, Erick Alonzo, Kalito Luna, Xavier Alemañy, Melissa WestIncome share agreements ( ISA s) are designed to help students pay for and attend postsecondary education and career training programs. With an ISA , students receive financial support to help cover the cost of their education and, in return, agree to pay a fixed percentage of their future income over a predetermined time period. ISA s are gaining popularity as an...
Over the past two decades, a growing body of research has increased knowledge about what works to help students succeed in college and earn a degree. MDRC and other researchers have built evidence around programs, practices, and policies designed to support students in financial aid, developmental education, comprehensive student support programs, and other areas....
Men of color bring a variety of strengths and assets to their college experience. However, research to date indicates that three primary hurdles inhibit college completion for many male students of color:
Inadequate social, emotional, and campus support
Insufficient college preparation and academic achievement
Nonacademic barriers to persistence...
Caitlin Anzelone, Michael J. Weiss, Melissa Boynton, Xavier Alemañy, Colin Hill, Camielle Headlam, Dorota Biedzio RizikThe Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment ( EASE ) Project is a new initiative to improve community college persistence and completion in Ohio. The project will apply insights from behavioral science to design targeted messaging and financial incentives that encourage students to enroll in courses during the summer term.
In the U.S., higher education...
Alexander Mayer, Melissa Boynton, Michelle Ware, John Diamond, Rebekah O'Donoghue, Edith Yang, Dorota Biedzio Rizik, Erika B. LewyIntegrated Planning and Advising for Student Success (iPASS) is an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which recently made its second large investment in 26 colleges and universities engaged in technology-mediated advising reform.
The iPASS initiative provides technology tools and data about students’ academic performance to both...
Melissa Boynton, Elizabeth Zachry RutschowPostsecondary education has become a centerpiece strategy for improving America’s labor market. It is estimated that 60 percent of American jobs will require some form of postsecondary education by 2018, and those who have not earned a college degree are 55 percent more likely to be unemployed than those who have. As a result, stakeholders ranging from the White House...
Colleen Sommo, Michael J. Weiss, Michelle Ware, Melissa Boynton, Michelle S. Manno, Alyssa Ratledge, Rebekah O'Donoghue, Colin Hill, Kayla WarnerWhile the U.S. has made strides in increasing college access among low-income students, college completion has remained low. Graduation rates are particularly stagnant among our nation’s community colleges, which enroll a large number of low-income and nontraditional college students. For example, only 20 percent of full-time, first-time degree-seeking students at...
Colleen Sommo, Melissa Boynton, Michelle Ware, Cynthia Miller, Amanda Grossman, Alexander Mayer, John Diamond, Alyssa Ratledge, Jedediah J. TeresFor many low-income college students, one of the biggest barriers to attendance is cost. While federal and state financial aid is available to help with tuition, fees, books, and some living expenses, students still often have unmet need, particularly if they are from the poorest families or are independent from their parents. Working while going to school is one...
Kate Gualtieri, Dan Bloom, Melissa Boynton, William Corrin, Fred Doolittle, John Martinez, Louisa Treskon, Jean Grossman, Leigh Parise, Marie-Andrée Somers, Michelle S. Manno, Rebecca Unterman, Megan Millenky, Rashida Welbeck, Mary BambinoThe Social Innovation Fund ( SIF ) , an initiative enacted under the Edward Kennedy Serve America Act, targets millions of dollars in public-private funds to expand effective solutions across three issue areas: economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development and school support.
Despite the increasing importance of a postsecondary credential in today’s labor market, degree completion rates for community college students have stagnated. Two out of every three students who enroll in community college fail to earn a degree or certificate within six years, an outcome with serious consequences for their individual economic well-being as well as the...