Increasing the graduation rates at community colleges is an important national challenge. Nationally, less than 40 percent of community college students attain a degree or certificate — and students who come to campus underprepared for college-level work (those needing developmental or remedial classes) have graduation rates below 30 percent.
The City University of New York (CUNY) launched the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) in 2007 with the goal of doubling the graduation rates of community college students as well as encouraging timely graduation within three years. A rigorous, random assignment evaluation by MDRC found that ASAP nearly doubled the percentage of students needing developmental courses that completed an associate’s degree (40% versus 22% for the control group), by far the largest effects MDRC has found for a community college intervention. And CUNY’s own evaluation of the overall program (not just for those needing remediation) found that the program more than doubled graduation rates.
To learn more, we’re joined by Donna Linderman. She is the Dean for Student Success Initiatives at CUNY and the Executive Director of ASAP.