With the Right Supports, Community College Students Thrive
Our randomized controlled trial shows that comprehensive supports significantly improve associate degree attainment.
Providing comprehensive supports to community college students significantly increases their chances of obtaining an associate degree within three years, according to our new study, Supporting Community College Student Success: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial.
The Inclusive Economy Lab has partnered with Chicago nonprofit One Million Degrees (OMD) to evaluate the efficacy of OMD’s holistic approach to improving graduation rates and preparing students for professional success.
Here are three key findings from the research:
1. Students who were offered the opportunity to participate in OMD were 9 percent more likely to earn an associate degree within three years.
24 percent of students offered OMD earned an associate degree within three years, compared to 22 percent of control group students, a 9 percent increase.
2. This effect was driven by students who enrolled in OMD, who were 18 percent more likely to earn a degree within three years.
46 percent of OMD Scholars earned an associate degree within three years, compared to 39 percent of similar students in the control group, an 18 percent increase.
3. The impact of OMD on degree attainment is greatest for Scholars who applied during the senior year of high school.
Associate degree completion increases from 15 percent to 26 percent for this group of students, a 73 percent increase.
One Million Degrees operates in 10 Chicago-area colleges and is now expanding to Colorado. The OMD support model targets the academic, professional, personal, and financial needs of their scholars. Scholars are equipped with program coordinators, tutors, professional development coaches, and financial stipends to support their academic progress and to help them build their professional networks and prepare for an upwardly mobile career.
Two years ago, we reported that community college students who were offered a spot in OMD were 13 percent more likely to enroll full time and 11 percent more likely to persist through their first year. Students who accepted the offer to participate in OMD were 35 percent more likely to enroll full-time and 47 percent more likely to persist full-time in their first year. Future phases of the study will examine the program’s impact on students’ employment and earnings.
“Community colleges have the potential to be engines for social mobility in the United States, but discriminatory policy decisions, unmet financial need, family obligations, and other demands create barriers that disproportionately impact students from low-income backgrounds and students of color,” said Carmelo Barbaro, Executive Director of the Inclusive Economy Lab. “Today’s encouraging findings about One Million Degrees build on the positive results we shared two years ago and contribute to a growing, national body of evidence showing that community college students can thrive when properly supported.”
Learn More
Read the full report and learn more about the eight-year study at https://bit.ly/iel-omd.
