Postsecondary Retention

  • Performance Incentives to Improve Community College Completion: Learning from Washington State’s Student Achievement Initiative

    Found In: Publications

    This state policy brief gives an in-depth overview of the Student Achievement Initiative (SAI), a Washington State initiative to create performance incentive policies for community colleges. SAI employs data and performance funding to motivate colleges to implement systemic changes in practice that lead to improved student outcomes. <more>

  • Making it Worth the Stay: Findings from the New England Learner Persistence Project

    Found In: Publications

    This study examines the effectiveness and impact of different persistence strategies through data collected by the New England Learner Persistence (NELP) Project. Eighteen adult education programs from five New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island) participated in the NELP Project. <more>

  • Completion by Design

    Found In: Transition Initiatives

    Completion by Design is an initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Postsecondary Success Strategy, a five-year community college reform effort focused on increasing the number of low-income young adults’ progressing to postsecondary credential and degree completion. The Completion by Design initiative will specifically work with community colleges in order to significantly increase [...] <more>

  • Scaling Up Learning Communities: The Experience of Six Community Colleges

    Found In: Publications

    In an effort to help academically unprepared students improve their ability to complete their studies, community colleges are increasingly adopting a “learning communities” approach. This approach, long used in four-year colleges, co-enrolls a cohort of students together in two or more courses. Models often feature thematically linked courses, aligned curriculum and support services, and [...] <more>

  • Moving Beyond the GED: Low-Skilled Adult Transition to Occupational Pathways at Community Colleges Leading to Family-Supporting Careers (Research Synthesis)

    Found In: Publications

    This literature review is part of a broader study which focuses on the role of community colleges in providing education, specifically occupational training. Exemplary community college programs that employ innovative curriculum and instructional practices in order to help low-skilled adults attain a family sustainable wage were identified through this work. <more>

  • Policies to Promote Adult Education and Postsecondary Alignment

    Found In: Publications

    This policy brief outlines approaches to help adults with lower skills and/or limited English proficiency earn postsecondary credentials that open doors to family-supporting jobs. Prepared for the National Commission on Adult Literacy, the report argues that the widespread problem of low-wage work and looming skill shortages are critical reasons for aligning federal and state adult education, job training, and postsecondary education policies. <more>

  • The Career Pathways How-To Guide

    Found In: Publications

    Released by the Workforce Strategy Center (WSC), this report is the second in the “Pathways to Competitiveness” series. It sets out a step-by-step protocol for building career pathways at the local level and discusses how state-level officials can support these efforts. <more>

  • Complete to Compete

    Found In: Transition Initiatives

    Complete to Compete is an initiative launched by West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III in his role as chair of the National Governors Association. The initiative focuses on increasing the number of students in the United States who complete college degrees and certificates and improving the productivity of the country's higher education institutions. While a number of states are already taking steps to boost college completion, Complete to Compete emphasizes the critical role that increased gubernatorial leadership and participation play in achieving meaningful progress. <more>

  • Transition Matters: Community College to Bachelor’s Degree

    Found In: Publications

    This report details the proceedings of the Advisory Committee’s Community College Symposium, held on December 10, 2007 in Washington, D.C. The symposium featured community college leaders who described efforts to overcome barriers that adult learners face. The information in this document is a valuable resource to community college leaders at all levels – federal, state, and institutional – who desire change and seek to implement strategies that enhance the community college pathway to a bachelor’s degree. <more>

  • Shifting Gears

    Found In: Transition Initiatives

    Shifting Gears is a state policy initiative launched by the Joyce Foundation to promote regional economic growth by improving the education and skills training of the workforce in the Midwestern states. The initiative aims to help participating states implement systemic changes to institutionalize innovative efforts in adult education, workforce development, and postsecondary education. <more>