Financial Aid

Brief

Six-Year Findings from the ASAP Ohio Demonstration

April, 2023
Colin Hill, Colleen Sommo, Kayla Warner

U.S. community colleges—which disproportionately serve students from low-income backgrounds—have very low graduation rates. In response, three Ohio community colleges implemented programs based on the City University of New York’s successful Accelerated Study in Associate Programs. After six years, the programs had a positive impact on graduation and earnings.

Brief

Using College Staff Members’ Perspectives to Improve the Student Experience

February, 2023

Complex administrative processes in community colleges can delay graduation. The OnPath project aims to help students navigate those processes more effectively and persist in college. This brief examines OnPath’s use of research evidence and staff members’ perspectives and hands-on knowledge to build and improve college systems that benefit all students.

Brief

Exploring the Experiences of Students Ages 25 and Older

December, 2022
Marjorie Dorimé-Williams, Vivianna Plancarte

The SUCCESS project aims to improve college completion rates for traditionally underserved students at community and broad-access colleges. This brief highlights the experiences of students 25 years or older in four SUCCESS colleges. The findings suggest how programmatic and institutional structures may promote or hamper student success for this population.

Brief

A Brief Synthesis of 20 Years of MDRC’s Randomized Controlled Trials

June, 2022

What works to help community college students progress academically? This brief synthesizes 20 years of rigorous research by MDRC, presenting new evidence about key attributes of community college interventions that are positively related to larger impacts on students’ academic progress.

Brief

Participating in a College Support Program During the Pandemic and Beyond

April, 2022
Marco Lepe, Vivianna Plancarte, Alyssa Ratledge

This issue focus shares early implementation lessons from an evaluation of MDRC’s Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the program model. It offers lessons that could be relevant to similar programs operating in online, in-person, and hybrid environments.

Brief

Early Lessons from SUCCESS

January, 2022

MDRC’s Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) aims to help more low-income students and students of color graduate by combining proven components into an integrated three-year program. This brief describes the model, the study, and adaptations to the COVID-19 pandemic, and offers some early findings.

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