At Zane State, guided pathways has served as a framework for bringing multiple changes together to support student success. The college has placed particular emphasis on helping students enter and stay on a program path by connecting them to faculty and advisors called success coaches from the start. A focus on early engagement and onboarding is…

When Vicky Wood came to Washington State Community College as president in 2017, the college was investing limited resources in efforts to improve student success. Dr. Wood brought on a new leadership team, which has engaged faculty and staff throughout the college in making substantial changes to organizational practice and culture with the goal…

North Central State College provides a case study of how a small college can increase revenue by strategically realigning its existing staff resources for improving student retention and success, even in a period of stagnant enrollment. The college implemented a series of major reforms with the aim of improving student retention and completion on…

Two years ago, Community College Research Center (CCRC) published a guide to help college leaders understand the costs involved in implementing guided pathways reforms. The guide was based on research at six community colleges, but only one of these was a smaller college. Small colleges lack economies of scale that can generate revenue to support…

In this article, researchers from the Community College Research Center reflect on what they have learned from their study of Guided Pathways reforms at over 100 colleges nationally since the publication in 2015 of "Redesigning America's Community Colleges." They examine five areas of practice: (1) program design; (2) new student…

To build back enrollments after a decade of downward trends, community colleges need to substantially increase retention as well as recruitment, particularly among students from underserved groups, who represent a growing share of prospective college students. Community College Research Center (CCRC) has developed a framework called…

Over the last several years, the guided pathways approach to whole-college redesign has become a national movement in community colleges. Approximately 300 colleges are implementing guided pathways reforms as part of formal state or national initiatives, and many more are doing so on their own. Some of the earliest colleges to implement guided…

In fall 2018, Community College Research Center (CCRC) researchers conducted site visits at eight community colleges implementing guided pathways to learn how they are managing the whole-college change process involved. These colleges are among the 30 nationally that were in the first cohort of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)…

In fall 2018, Community College Research Center (CCRC) researchers conducted site visits at eight community colleges implementing guided pathways to learn how they are managing the whole-college change process involved. These colleges are among the 30 nationally that were in the first cohort of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)…

In fall 2018, Community College Research Center (CCRC) researchers conducted site visits at eight community colleges implementing guided pathways to learn how they are managing the whole-college change process involved. These colleges are among the 30 nationally that were in the first cohort of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)…

Based on responses that Ohio community colleges provided on CCRC's Guided Pathways Scale of Adoption Assessment (SOAA) as well as on semi-structured follow-up interviews, this report examines how these colleges--which have been engaged in guided pathways reform for several years--are innovating within the model to provide personalized support…

CCRC's 2015 book "Redesigning America's Community Colleges: A Clearer Path to Student Success" catalyzed a national community college reform movement. Since its publication, hundreds of community colleges have sought to implement whole-college reforms using the guided pathways model outlined in the book, either on their own or as part of…

Research generally finds that college students are more likely to complete a program of study if they choose a major that aligns with their interests and goals. Yet many new community college students do not have clear goals. Nearly 40% of community college students report being undecided about their major at the end of their first year (authors'…

Since the publication of "Redesigning America's Community Colleges" (Thomas Bailey, Shanna Smith Jaggars, and Davis Jenkins) in 2015, guided pathways reform has become a national movement in community colleges. As of spring 2018, more than 250 community colleges have committed to undertaking large-scale guided pathways reforms as part of…

Guided pathways reforms are emerging as a promising strategy for improving student outcomes and closing equity gaps at community colleges, but little is known about how the guided pathways approach can help address challenges facing adult students. This report discusses strategies that three Tennessee community colleges that have implemented…