In 2019, MDRC launched the Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) project to improve college completion rates for traditionally underserved students, such as students from low-income backgrounds and students of color, at community and broad-access colleges (those that have open or minimally selective admissions…

MDRC's Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success (SUCCESS) project seeks to improve graduation rates for traditionally underserved students at two- and four-year colleges. SUCCESS integrates components from multiple programs that have proved to be effective at helping students accomplish their goals. The components include…

Community colleges and broad-access universities (those with minimally selective admissions policies) provide an opportunity for students across the United States to attain postsecondary degrees and economic mobility. However, graduation rates from such colleges are often low and there are many obstacles that can be difficult to overcome,…

MDRC's Center for Applied Behavioral Science (CABS) and Postsecondary Education policy area launched the Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment (EASE) project in collaboration with Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates and the Ohio Association of Community Colleges. The project aims to increase summer enrollment rates among…

Developed by the City University of New York (CUNY), the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) is a comprehensive program that provides students with up to three years of financial and academic support and other services. In return, students are expected to enroll in classes full time and participate in essential program services. An…

In this testimony by Alexander Mayer, Deputy Director, Postsecondary Education, Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC), Before the New Jersey State Assembly Higher Education Committee, the following three points are emphasized: (1) Developmental education is a major challenge facing low-income college students in New Jersey and across…

A college degree remains critical to unlocking opportunity and to accessing America's middle class, yet millions of students who pursue higher education never earn degrees. At community colleges, which disproportionately serve low-income students and students of color, only a third of students earn a two-year degree within three years. At…

Research has shown that students who enroll in summer courses are more likely to persist and graduate. How can postsecondary institutions encourage more students to enroll in summer courses? If more students do enroll, will they experience improved academic outcomes? MDRC's Encouraging Additional Summer Enrollment (EASE) project explores these…

College students have a better chance of succeeding in school when they receive high-quality advising. High-quality advising, when characterized by frequent communications between advisers and students, early outreach to students showing signs of academic or nonacademic struggles, and personalized guidance that addresses individual student needs,…

What works to help rural students succeed in higher education? In fall 2020, MDRC partnered with Rural Matters and Ascendium Education Group to produce a four-part podcast series called "Rural Higher Education: Challenges & Opportunities." The series gathered experts from across the country to examine the realities of rural life and…

This document presents the testimony of MDRC's Lashawn Richburg-Hayes before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee regarding evidence-based ways to improve the academic success of low-income college students. Richburg-Hayes makes four primary points based on existing research: (1) Comprehensive and integrated programs…

When they arrive at community colleges or open-enrollment universities, most students take placement exams in English and mathematics to determine whether they are ready for college-level courses. Students with low scores are referred to developmental--remedial--courses. Forty percent of all entering college students and over half of entering…

America faces a two-pronged problem in higher education: increasing costs and low completion rates. Despite the recent expansion of federal Pell Grants, many students still are left with unmet financial needs and may drop out of college because of financial concerns, pressing work responsibilities, and fears of taking on too much debt. One idea…

National studies reveal that 50 percent to 70 percent of community college students are required to take developmental, or remedial, math courses upon enrollment, and only 20 percent of developmental math students ever successfully complete a college-level math course. Taking up the challenge is the "New Mathways Project" (NMP),…

Only one-third of all students who enter community colleges with the intent to earn a degree or certificate actually meet this goal within six years. MDRC launched the Opening Doors Demonstration in 2003--the first large-scale random assignment study in a community college setting--to tackle this problem. Partnering with six community colleges,…