College Will Implement Guided & Career Pathways For Students To Reach Goals

Contact: Linda Wallace, 215-751-8082, liswallace@ccp.edu
Annette John-Hall, 215-751-8021, anhall@ccp.edu

Community College Of Philadelphia Selected For Pathways Project

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 19, 2016 - Community College of Philadelphia is one of 30 institutions selected to participate in a new national initiative called the Pathways Project, which will implement guided academic and career pathways at scale for all students. The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is leading the effort to help more students reach their goals.

Following a highly competitive national selection process, the College was invited to join and contribute to this body of important work. The AACC’s project reinforces efforts already underway to create a holistic educational approach that establishes guided pathways from the student’s initial contact with the College through graduation.

The guided pathways model is based on research suggesting that community colleges and broad-access four-year institutions are currently operating under a cafeteria model that was appropriate to their primary mission in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s, which was to dramatically expand access to higher education. At cafeteria colleges, students aren't always clear on the best path to take into and through programs of study. There are too many choices, programs often lack educational coherence, and student’s progress is not monitored, according to AACC. This model is not well designed to address the needs of today’s students, who want to enter and complete programs that confer economically valuable certificates and degrees as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Therefore, AACC is coordinating a national partnership to build capacity for community colleges to implement a pathways approach. Partners include Achieving the Dream, Inc., the Aspen Institute, the Center for Community College Student Engagement, the Community College Research Center, Jobs for the Future, the National Center for Inquiry and Improvement, and Public Agenda. Partners have participated actively in the college selection process and also are substantively involved in designing a model series of six two-day pathways institutes, each focusing on key elements in a fully-scaled pathways model for community colleges. The project is funded through a $5.2 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“The program seeks to help more students graduate from college or earn workforce credentials. We know from the research amassed by Columbia University’s Community College Research Center, that for students to persist and to achieve academic success, they need clear direction and guidance leading toward a career goal,” said Dr. Donald Guy Generals. “They need to be assisted in identifying that goal and they need to have structures that provide the necessary guidance to ensure that they are focused and in pursuit of their goal. This is a student-centered approach that requires institutional commitment and organization.”

 

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