Student Support (Re)defined
An RP Group study articulating how student support, both inside and outside the classroom, can be delivered in a cost-effective manner so that community colleges can narrow the achievement gap for Latino and African-American students and enable more students to achieve transfer, a degree and/or certificate.
California’s community colleges face the difficult challenge of improving completion rates—particularly for African-American and Latino students—in a constrained budget environment. Understanding how to strategically support students toward their goals in a cost-effective manner offers one way to improve outcomes, narrow the achievement gap and ensure student support remains an integral part of the community college experience.
Through this multi-year examination of student support, the RP Group aims to:
- Document efforts in California’s community colleges to integrate support throughout a student’s entire college experience—inside and outside the classroom, from entry to exit
- Underscore the critical role student support plays in the completion of certificates, degrees and transfer
- Highlight support strategies that show particular promise for facilitating completion among African-American and Latino students AND that can be sustained and scaled in a cost-effective manner
- Facilitate dialog and action planning at both the institution and system levels based on research findings
For additional information on Student Support (Re)defined, see About the Study or contact:
Dr. Darla Cooper
