Pathways to College Success

Our nation faces a critical challenge. Too many students begin college unprepared for college work and too many fail in their efforts to obtain a college degree. The challenge is particularly great in the urban centers of our nation and among poorer students from traditionally underrepresented groups, in particular African Americans and Hispanic Americans. The result is that recent gains in increasing access to college have not been translated to similar increases in college graduation. Nor have they led to any significant closing of the gap in rates of college completion between groups in our society.

The challenge we face is exacerbated by the fact that the colleges serving under-prepared and under-represented students are themselves ill prepared to deal with the substantial remedial needs students bring to the classroom. This is the case not only because of limited resources, but also because of the paucity of models of effective interventions that institutions can draw upon to guide their actions. The fact remains that there has been no systematic effort to identify successful academic intervention programs and none that have sought to ascertain to what degree those programs lead to successful completion of college over the long-term.

That is until now. With a $956,000 grant from the Lumina Foundation for Education, the Higher Education Program at Syracuse University is carrying out a national longitudinal study that seeks to ascertain the impact of innovative academic assistance programs, specifically those employing learning communities and collaborative learning strategies, on the long-term retention and success of under-prepared urban community and state college students in different urban settings. Students will be followed over three-years to determine to what degree and in what manner program participation enhances student persistence, transfer, and, with future funding, eventual two- and four-year degree completion. We have also recieved a three-year grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. This new grant will allow us to add an additional community college site and extend our work with other schools in California.

The project is housed in the Higher Education Program at Syracuse University and is co-directed by Vincent Tinto, Chair of the Higher Education Program and Cathy McHugh Engstrom, Associate Professor of Education. It is being carried out in collaboration with the staff of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement Project at the University of Texas, Austin, and is guided by an advisory board comprised of researchers and two and four-year college leaders who provide advice on issues of institutional selection and the use of research methodologies that are sensitive to the diverse cultural backgrounds of students typically found in urban two and four year colleges.

Pathways to College Success Project
Department of Higher Education
School of Education, Syracuse University