Men of Color College Achievement (MoCCA) Project

Project

Overview

Project Overview

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

Increased attention has been devoted to these challenges both inside and outside of academia, and postsecondary institutions around the country are joining networks to uncover best practices to improve outcomes for male students of color. Descriptive qualitative and quantitative research supports the development of culturally relevant strategies to address these barriers, but little causal evidence exists about their effectiveness.

To help provide causal evidence on what program features best support persistence and degree completion for men of color, MDRC is partnering with the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) through the Men of Color College Achievement (MoCCA) Project to refine and evaluate Academic Development 101 for Male Students of Color and the Male Student Success Initiative (ACDV-MSSI), a culturally relevant student success course combined with additional comprehensive services such as mentoring and academic development workshops. ACDV-MSSI aims to increase enrollment, retention, and graduation for male students of color by aiding them in developing a supportive network of CCBC faculty and administrators.

The MoCCA Project will conduct a randomized controlled trial impact study to detect the effects of ACDV-MSSI on student academic outcomes. The project will also employ a mixed-methods approach to assess the implementation of ACDV-MSSI and how it differs from CCBC’s other student support services; to understand the students’ backgrounds, experiences, and social support networks; and to analyze the program’s costs.

STATUS: Current

Basics

Issue: Higher Education

Focus Area: Student Services

Population: Young Adults

Focus Population: College Students

Locations: Maryland

Intervention: Student Services, Tutoring, Mentoring, Counseling/Advising, Curricular/Instructional Reforms

Pathway to College Achievement

A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of the Male Student Success Initiative for Men of Color

Research literature is rich with theories about the challenges faced by male students of color who strive to achieve college success and completion. This report provides the first causal estimates of the effects of a college program targeting male students of color on academic outcomes.

Overview »

Full

Video

An Introduction to the Men of Color College Achievement Project

In this video from the College Completion Network, Rashida Welbeck describes MDRC’s Men of Color College Achievement project. A partnership with the Community College of Baltimore County, the project is studying an intervention that integrates a culturally relevant student success course with mentorship, academic coaching, and other activities.

Report

Pushing Toward Progress

Early Implementation Findings from a Study of the Male Student Success Initiative

Men of color complete college at lower rates than their fellow students. To help overcome this gap, many colleges have programs offering academic and social support to male students of color. This report summarizes MDRC’s evaluation of one such program at the Community College of Baltimore County.

Overview »

Full

Agenda, Scope, <br> & Goals

Agenda, Scope, and Goals

As part of its commitment to improving equity at its institution, Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) offers ACDV-MSSI, a program that combines two interventions: Academic Development 101 (ACDV 101) for Men of Color and the Male Student Success Imitative (MSSI). ACDV 101 for Men of Color consists of a small number of sections of ACDV 101, a mandatory, one-credit college transition course that can be applied toward the earning of a degree. Since 2004, the ACDV 101 for Men of Color puts the required course materials in context and is typically taught by African-American male instructors with special training in stereotype threat, implicit bias, and making ACDV 101 content culturally relevant for their students. This variant of ACDV 101 moves beyond offering basic information on CCBC’s support services: It focuses on helping students develop productive relationships; providing support with navigating life issues that affect male students of color disproportionately; augmenting students’ academic success and technology skills; helping students understand the culture of higher education; and fostering greater aspirational college and career goals. MSSI, developed in 2014, pairs CCBC staff members who serve as Success Mentors with male students of color. The Success Mentors work one-on-one with the students to provide mentoring and academic coaching. The Success Mentors also encourage students to seek out and obtain help by referring them to specific college staff and faculty members for tutoring, academic counseling, financial aid, or other services on campus as appropriate. MSSI also hosts a variety of additional services and programming to assist with students’ academic, professional, financial, and social-emotional development.

As one combined and integrated program, ACDV-MSSI proposes to improve academic outcomes for male students of color by providing a supportive and comprehensive ecosystem of faculty and administrators who are familiar with ACDV-MSSI and who become part of the students’ social support network.

The MoCCA Project aims to answer these questions:

Does ACDV-MSSI operate as its designers intended?
Do ACDV-MSSI’s program features and usage represent a substantially different experience from the status quo?
What are the impacts of the programs on short-term outcomes such as persistence and grade point average (GPA), and on longer-term outcomes such as progress to graduation and degree completion or transfer?
What are the costs of operating ACDV-MSSI, and is ACDV-MSSI more cost-effective than the status quo?
Do program and control group students use campus support services differently? Do program and control group students interact with services staff members differently? How and why do students use campus services?
Do the background experiences of the students reflect the factors identified in the research literature as inhibiting college completion among men of color?
Who are the members of students’ social support networks? How do these reported networks differ in size and make-up? How do these connections relate to mediators like academic self-efficacy ― that is, confidence that one can succeed academically ― and positive relationships with adults?