Document Author: Sara Goldrick-Rab

Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Community College Student Success (2010)

Many of the democratizing opportunities provided by community colleges are
diminished in the eyes of policy makers by inadequate rates of success. In
particular, large proportions of students who enter community colleges do
not persist for longer than a semester, complete a program, or attain a credential.
This review critically examines academic and policy research in
search of explanations, emphasizing what is known about challenges stemming
from three levels of influence: the macro-level opportunity structure;
institutional practices; and the social, economic, and academic attributes
students bring to college. It provides examples of how factors operating at
each level affect rates of success at key times, including the initial transition
to college, the experience of remedial education, and persistence through
credit-bearing coursework. The article also discusses potential and ongoing
reforms that could increase rates of community college success by addressing
one or more areas of influence (the macro, the institutional, or the individual).
It is concluded that increasing success in the open-access, public 2-year
sector requires reforms directed at multiple levels and cannot be achieved
with either student- or institution-focused incentives alone.

Following Their Every Move: An Investigation of Social-Class Differences in College Pathways (2006)

As more Americans enter college than ever before, their pathways through the broadly differentiated
higher education system are changing. Movement in, out, and among institutions now
characterizes students’ attendance patterns—half of all undergraduates who begin at a four-year
institution go on to attend at least one other college, and over one-third take some time off from
college after their initial enrollment. This study investigated whether there is social-class variation
in these patterns, with advantaged and disadvantaged students responding to new postsecondary
choices by engaging in different pathways. National longitudinal data from postsecondary
transcripts were used to follow students across schools and to examine the importance
of family background and high school preparation in predicting forms of college attendance. The
results demonstrate that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely than
are economically advantaged students (net of prior academic preparation) to follow pathways
that are characterized by interrupted movement. Such pathways appear to be less effective
routes to the timely completion of degrees. Thus, differences in how students attend college represent
an additional layer of stratification in higher education.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Impact of Work-First Policies on College Access (2005)

The college participation rates of African Americans and Latinos continue to lag behind those of other
racial and ethnic groups in the United States, despite the efforts of financial aid and affirmative action
policies. Two recent federal policies that are “work-first” in nature threaten to further exacerbate
racial and ethnic disparities in college access. This article examines the complex ways in which
the 1996 welfare reform and the 1998 Workforce Investment Act differentially affect opportunitiesf or
college enrollment among disadvantaged adults. Utilizing national and state-level data, the authors
argue that both policies restrict access to postsecondary education through the implementation of
their guiding philosophy, “work-first,” which emphasizes rapid job placement as the strategy of
choice in achieving stable employment and moving out of poverty. These policies have reduced the
size of the clientele receiving welfare and restricted access to education and training for those who
remain on the rolls. Moreover, this reduction in access is particularly acute among African Americans
and Latinos. Thus, the findings indicate that these work-first federal policies serve to limit higher
education opportunities available to these already disadvantaged populations

What Higher Education Has to Say About the Transition to College (2007)

Background: Higher education researchers have much to say about the transition to college.
This field focuses primarily on inequities in college participation and completion, the relative
importance of high school preparation, and the utility of financial aid in promoting
enrollment. This literature’s strongest conceptual emphasis is on theoretical models of student
retention. Less is known about other facets of the transition to college, including different
postsecondary pathways and college outcomes.
Purpose: This paper describes the major findings of research on the transition to college contributed
by higher education, and how further research might be improved. The specific areas
covered are college preparation, college access, persistence, and college outcomes. The
reviewed literature covered extant research on the transition to college as conducted by higher
education researchers.
Research Design: This essay is an analysis of extant research on the college transition in the
field of higher education
Conclusions/Recommendations: This review highlights the field’s major shortcoming as
undertaking insufficiently rigorous, empirical testing of theories on the transition to college.
Existing research on postsecondary pathways is often compromised by data or methodological
limitations, failure to be critical in attributing causality, and not differentiating effects
occurring at different measurement levels (i.e., individual vs. institution).