College access and readiness supports
Strategy overview
- Eliminating barriers: College access supports typically serve high school or post-secondary students from underrepresented groups, such as first-generation students, students from families with low incomes, and English language learners. Programs offer a wide range of services, which often include some combination of academic courses, non-academic college preparedness skills, financial counseling, and more.
- Delivering the model: Many program services are anchored by a dedicated coach, who may be an on-site employee at a high school or college or off-site as an employee of a nonprofit program. Coaches typically spend the majority of their time in individual sessions with students or families, offering step-by-step guidance on the college admissions, enrollment, and persistence. Coaches may also participate in programming at local high schools, on college campuses, and among community-based organizations.
- Accumulating college credit during high school: Dual enrollment and early college programs are high-intensity practices within the college access space. These programs, which allow high school students to take college classes, have a range of benefits. In addition to accumulating college credit (often heavily subsidized or tuition-free), students gain familiarity with the academic and emotional rigor of college, which can ease transitions when they enroll full-time.
- Helping families prepare financially: College access supports often focus on the most common barrier: finances. This can be done through a range of supports, including direct scholarships for tuition; stipends for college costs (like transportation or books); financial planning assistance; referrals to external funding streams; and administrative assistance with key forms, like FAFSA.
- Supplementing services: Depending on the scope of the program, specialized academic or non-academic services may also be included, such as access to financing, tutoring, test prep, mentoring, and more. If a program does not include such services, coaches are often responsible for cultivating a robust referral network to ensure that student and family needs can be met.
Multiple rigorous evaluations of college access and readiness programs have demonstrated positive, statistically significant effects on college enrollment and completion.
A 2022 research synthesis found that well-designed college access programs are associated with increases in college enrollment and graduation.
A 2019 systematic review found that outreach programs that include active counseling or simplifying college application processes are effective in increasing students’ access to higher education.
- A 2012 meta-analysis estimated that college access programs, on average, increase enrollment by 12 percent.
Before making investments in this strategy, city and county leaders should ensure it addresses local needs.
The Urban Institute and Mathematica have developed indicator frameworks to help local leaders assess conditions related to upward mobility, identify barriers, and guide investments to address these challenges. These indicator frameworks can serve as a starting point for self-assessment, not as a comprehensive evaluation, and should be complemented by other forms of local knowledge.
The Urban Institute's Upward Mobility Framework identifies a set of key local conditions that shape communities’ ability to advance upward mobility and racial equity. Local leaders can use the Upward Mobility Framework to better understand the factors that improve upward mobility and prioritize areas of focus. Data reports for cities and counties can be created here.
Several indicators in the Upward Mobility Framework may be improved with investments in high-quality programs. To measure these indicators and determine if investments in this strategy could help, examine the following:
Preparation for college: Percent of 19- and 20-year-olds with a high school degree. This is available from the American Community Survey.
Employment opportunities: Ratio of pay on an average job to the cost of living. These data are available from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
Social capital: Number of membership associations per 10,000 people and the ratio of residents’ Facebook friends with higher socioeconomic status to their Facebook friends with lower socioeconomic status. These data are available from the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns and Opportunity Insights’ Social Capital Atlas, respectively.
Mathematica's Education-to-Workforce (E-W) Indicator Framework helps local leaders identify the data that matter most in helping students and young adults succeed. Local leaders can use the E-W framework to better understand education and workforce conditions in their communities and to identify strategies that can improve outcomes in these areas.
Several indicators in the E-W Framework may be improved with investments in high-quality programs. To measure these indicators and determine if investments in this strategy could help, examine the following:
Access to college and career advising: Ratio of number of students to number of full-time equivalent (FTE) counselors or percentage of students using academic advising and career counseling services.
Access to college preparatory coursework: Percentage of high schools offering college preparatory coursework, such as four years of English, four years of math, three years of laboratory science, and more.
College preparatory coursework completion: Percentage of high school graduates who successfully complete the coursework required for admission to a four-year college or university.
FAFSA completion: Percentage of grade 12 students who complete the FAFSA by June 30.
SAT and ACT participation and performance: Percentage of grade 11–12 students who earn a “college-ready” score, based on the benchmarks set by the SAT and ACT.
- Address financial barriers: While college access programs can address a range of structural barriers, financial concerns are often at the forefront of a student and family’s decision-making process. Programs should consider addressing financial barriers from all angles, including direct funding, financial counseling, and informational resources that explain costs in clear terms. Impactful evidence-based programs help families chart a path to affording college. Frequent communication of upcoming deadlines and requirements is essential.
- Remove administrative barriers: In addition to affordability, college access is often hindered by significant administrative barriers, such as enrolling for entrance exams, completing applications, securing recommendations, and planning for the transition from high school to college (i.e. transportation and moving). To increase access to college enrollment and graduation, programs should develop clear strategies to address these types of common logistical hurdles.
- Make the program comprehensive: The strongest models include a combination of evidence-based practices that address financial, logistical, and academic obstacles to college enrollment and graduation. A single point of contact, typically a coach on campus, should be trained to deliver a wide ranges of services.
- Start early: College access supports are most effective when they are introduced to students and their families years before college enrollment; many programs launch as soon as a student begins high school. Other programs, like early college and dual enrollment, enable students to access college and increase persistence years before graduation. Doing so allows families to better develop financial plans, lets students shape their high school experiences to support their postsecondary goals, and helps schools set expectations for college enrollment and graduation.
- Cultivate partnerships: Build sustainable, long-term partnerships with individual coaches, schools, and community-based organizations to identify and recruit students who face significant barriers to college entry, such as low-income or first-generation students. Such partners may also be able to better inform strategies and tactics used by coaches, such as priorities for individual sessions or recruiting tactics.
Resources
Evidence-based examples
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Outcome Area |
This ranking reflects how these approaches are scored in one of the major government- or philanthropy-led clearinghouse resources. For more: https://catalog.results4americ... |
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A system of school-based supports to promote college preparedness in elementary, middle, and high schools.
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Elementary and middle school success High school graduation Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Back on Track is a postsecondary student success program.
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High-quality employment |
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Providing high school students in foster care with coaching sessions to determine post-secondary goals
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Supporting first-generation students to enroll in and graduate from college
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Feature small learning communities in low-income high schools, combining academic and technical or career curricula
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High school graduation Post-secondary enrollment and graduation High-quality employment |
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Online learning platform and community providing subsidized courses and learning materials to students
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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College coaching is a mentorship intervention designed to support high school seniors in applying for college.
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Provides Detroit Public Schools graduates with scholarships to attend local colleges tuition-free and a range of supports once they are enrolled
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Enabling and supporting high school students to take for-credit college classes
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Partnership between high schools and local postsecondary institutions enabling students to take up to two years of for-credit courses
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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ECPI is a financial wellness intervention intended to support parents in saving for their children’s college education.
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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GED bridge programs help students to both earn their GED and successfully transition into postsecondary education.
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High school graduation Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Career and academic support service programs that recruit and train students who are typically underrepresented in health careers
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation High-quality employment |
Evidence varies across specific models |
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JAG is a student success program for students in grades 6-12 and those who are out-of-school or are in alternative education settings.
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High school graduation Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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A workforce-oriented high school model that aims to reduce barriers to entering STEM fields.
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation High-quality employment |
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Comprehensive support services focused on community college completion and transition to a career or 4-year institution
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Financial aid for post-secondary students conditional on achieving certain academic benchmarks
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Provide coaching and classes focusing on standardized test materials and test-taking skills
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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STEM summer programs are educational pipeline programs for students who have limited access to STEM learning opportunities.
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Programming focused on college life and resources, academic advising, early introduction to college-level subjects, and training in skills necessary for college delivered to students in the summer before their first term
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Provides counseling and other support students to students at risk of failing to matriculate in the months between high school graduation and college enrollment
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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The Texas Transfer Grant Program provides one-semester grants to students who transfer from two-year community colleges to four-year institutions.
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Provides students with text reminders to complete financial aid forms
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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Individualized coaching for low-income students to review financial need and academic and employment goals
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Post-secondary enrollment and graduation |
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