>> Community colleges can be a
catapult to economic mobility,
dramatically increasing earnings
and almost all of them are open
admission, but most of the
students that start degree
programs do not complete them on
time, and many do not finish at
all.
We have this report on a program
spreading nationally to increase
community college graduation
rates as part of our series open
rethinking college."
>> Leslie Henderson is about
halfway going associates degree
at culinary arts.
>> When I'm in the kitchen, I'm
in my zone.
I love it.
>> The 28-year-old is on campus
three days a week.
She takes a full-time course
load and balances school with a
part-time job and being a single
mom to a 12 and five-year-old.
>> I'm here from 9:00 in the
morning until 6:00 P.M.
Sometimes.
>> He cannot cook over zoom.
>> I cannot cook over zoom, so
I'm here.
It does get stressful.
It is a lot of hours.
>> But despite balancing all
those commitments, Henderson is
on track to finish her degree in
two years, a feat that less than
20% of community college
students manage in the united
States.
She says a big reason is being
in a program called C, state,
accelerate.
>> We are able to mitigate some
of those barriers and make the
road just a little bit easier.
>> The program is open to
full-time pell-grant eligible
students, meaning they come from
lower income household, and
covers all tuition and fees not
covered by financial aid.
Primarily funded with
philanthropic donations, the
program costs about 1007 hundred
$50 per student per year.
>> When I graduate, I won't bow
anything.
It is like to get to be true.
I cannot believe it, but that's
one of the greatest -- that's
the selling point, and
everything else is a bonus to
the package.
>> Those bonuses include help
with books, gas, and even the
occasional emergency expense,
which makes a huge difference
for Henderson who lives in
Dayton, Ohio, and commutes each
way.
>> I had a flat tire, so I have
been borrowing my mom's car to
get here, and they offered to
help me get my car fixed.
With that, it is a load off my
back because I was wondering,
like, what am I going to do?
>> Each student program gets
access to a counselor called a
triage coordinator.
>> Of triage coordinators are
like your own personal life
coach, if it's just two of my
supposed to be talking to now,
what are my next steps, what
should I be doing?
Or I just need a lift me up,
more than an accountability
partner or coach, they are your
person.
>> For me, they are honestly
second parents.
They have been there for me when
I was at my lowest.
I don't know where I would be
without them.
>> Mickey Harris is studying
electrical engineering
technology and will finish an
associates degree next may after
four years. The military and a
couple of failed attempts at
college.
>> College has always been
really, really hard for me.
I did well in high school, but
high school and college are two
different things.
Kind of controlling my own
schedule and scheduling my
classes and figuring out where
things lie and what I wanted to
do for the rest of my life is
very intimidating.
>> Harris credits the program
with getting on track.
>> They have helped me not only
emotionally and financially, but
they have just been such a big
family to me.
>> The accelerate program here
at Cincinnati state is not a new
idea.
It was modeled on a program from
New York City that showed so
much progress that we told you
about it seven years ago.
Only 17% of CUNY full-time
college students get a degree in
four years.
Her asap students, the rate is
57 persons.
-- Vicki 7%.
Since we visited in 2016 -- the
rate is 57%.
Since we visited in 2016, and
has only grown.
As asap has expanded, those who
are in the program graduate
within three years at more than
double the rate of those who are
not.
>> There's millions of community
college students and about 1000
community colleges in the
country, so this program could
be a game changer for students
around the country.
>> Alex is the director of post
secondary education at a
nonprofit research organization
that has performed randomized
controlled studies on the asap
model to test its effectiveness.
>> This approach really gives
very high confidence that the
program is working.
We police findings after eight
years, and the students are
continuing to graduate at higher
rates than the students in the
control group.
>> We wanted to test the
evidence, meaning we wanted to
test how effective this model
has been, and we wanted to see
these findings hold in other
implementation context such as
in Ohio, and that's really where
we started with our replication
work.
>> Versions were rolled out at
three Ohio community colleges
including Cincinnati state in
2013.
While there was some adaptation
allowed -- gas cards instead of
public transportation cards, for
instance, the idea was to
maintain the fidelity of the
model.
>> We knew what we were doing
was making a difference.
We heard it from the students.
We saw that -- we saw it at our
commencement, but to actually
get the validated study was
really awesome.
>> Like in New York, students in
the demonstration programs at
Ohio graduated at nearly double
the rate as those not in the
program, but despite the success
of Cincinnati state, accelerate
wound down in 2018 after their
three-year study was over.
>> We had to stop the program.
We just did not have the funds
in the institution to continue
it.
>> Community colleges, they are
doing at lot for their students,
but they are typically
underfunded.
The challenge is being able to
support the community colleges
that emblem at the program and
to implement what we know has
been effective.
>> But the cost has not fully
stopped Cincinnati state.
The college restarted the
program in the all of 2020 one
after raising $3.5 million from
donors.
>> That return on investment
would look like economic growth
and upward mobility for this
region.
We know when students graduate,
that increases employability.
It changes the trajectory of
their lives.
>> That upward trajectory is in
the data as well.
Last month, a new study showed
that those who took part in the
original Ohio demonstration were
earning 11% more compared to
those in the control group.
It is a finding that Christina
says adds to the evidence that
this model works and should be
rolled out beyond the seven
states where versions are up and
running.
>> We are working now to work
more with state systems at scale
versus working more ad hoc with
individualized colleges.
>> Student blessing Henderson
says in addition to the
financial aid and counseling,
the program creates a sense of
community.
>> When you walk in, everyone is
smiling.
They are always happy to see
you.
I don't know, but I think it is
honest.
They do a good job of faking it
if they don't.
>> Somebody that is kind of in
your corner for you?
>> Yes.
Being in college has expanded my
horizons, just how I
communicate, the way I think
about things.
I don't know what I'm going to
do after this.
I hope you keep going, though.
-- I hope to keep going, though.