Instructional improvement needs to be supported by institutional and policy change.  The second intermediate goal involves changing policies and practices so that colleges can better carry out their mission of enabling all capable students to receive a college education.  Insufficient resources are just one of numerous obstacles.  On the state level, finance policies based on seat time rather than student progress provide a disincentive for colleges to improve student learning.  On the state and local levels, some practices of community colleges inhibit the ability of students, especially first-generation college-goers, to succeed in a program of study.  Institutional barriers to student success include poor coordination among colleges and between community colleges and K-12 schools.  Examples of poor coordination include the misalignment between high school proficiency standards and college readiness standards, as well as the use of more than 100 different placement tests at community colleges around the state.

Within this area we are funding research, advocacy, and tool development in four sub-areas.  First, we seek to help improve data systems and analytical capacity at the state level (to support policymaking) and at institutions (to support instructional improvement).  Secondly, we have identified a need to improve finance policies by increasing financial support and aligning resources to ensure student success and affordability.  A third critical area is to improve student progress in community colleges as well as transitions through K-16 pathways and with the workforce, or improve student pathways.  Lastly, we make grants to improve the effectiveness of community colleges in other ways.

Grant Highlights

California Tomorrow

Cal-PASS (California Partnership for Achieving Student Success)

The Institute for College Access & Success

Center for Urban Education - University of Southern California