Community colleges

OER Studies

In partnership with Achieving the Dream, SRI is studying how using OER materials can facilitate improved educational experiences for college students through easier access to learning materials and transformative teaching and learning practices.

Can Open Education Support Equity in Community Colleges?

SRI Education is working to fill the gap in evidence on changes in instruction from the use of open educational resources (OER) in community colleges. Building on the prior study of the OER Degree Initiative, we are investigating how the use of OER can enable what are sometimes called “open educational practices” (OEP) and equity-focused instruction in community college courses.

Los Angeles City College’s STEM Pathways Program: Participation and Impact

Los Angeles City College launched the STEM Pathways program in 2016 to improve STEM degree completion and transfer to 4-year colleges, particularly for low-income and Latinx students. With funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the program offered a variety of supports including Supplemental Instruction (SI), peer tutoring in STEM, a book and technology loan … Continue reading Los Angeles City College’s STEM Pathways Program: Participation and Impact

Evaluation of Los Angeles City College’s STEM Pathways Program: Impacts of the STEM Learning Center on student outcomes

Los Angeles City College launched the STEM Pathways program in 2016 with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The intent of the STEM Pathways program was to improve STEM degree completion and transfer to 4-year colleges, particularly for low-income and Latinx students, through a variety of supports. The STEM Learning Center, a drop-in peer … Continue reading Evaluation of Los Angeles City College’s STEM Pathways Program: Impacts of the STEM Learning Center on student outcomes

Evaluation of Los Angeles City College’s STEM Pathways Program: Impacts of the Supplemental Instruction program on student outcomes

Los Angeles City College launched the STEM Pathways program in 2016 with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The intent of the STEM Pathways program was to improve STEM degree completion and transfer to 4-year colleges, particularly for low-income and Latinx students. The program provided a variety of supports including Supplemental Instruction (SI) for … Continue reading Evaluation of Los Angeles City College’s STEM Pathways Program: Impacts of the Supplemental Instruction program on student outcomes

Evaluation of Los Angeles City College’s STEM Pathways Program: Impacts of STEM Pathways program participation on student outcomes

Los Angeles City College launched the STEM Pathways program in 2016 with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The intent of the STEM Pathways program was to improve STEM degree completion and transfer to 4-year colleges, particularly for low-income and Latinx students. The program offered a variety of supports including Supplemental Instruction (SI), peer … Continue reading Evaluation of Los Angeles City College’s STEM Pathways Program: Impacts of STEM Pathways program participation on student outcomes

How Community Colleges Can Build Employability Skills for STEM Technicians

Over the past 2 decades, the United States has seen enormous growth in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This growth has been particularly strong for high skill technician jobs in technology and computer science, which offer a promising path to the middle class for many Americans.

New Research Center Aims to Address Inequities in Online Learning in College

College instructors see it all the time. Each semester brings bright students who easily grasp new ideas, but may struggle with assignments or studying for exams. These students can excel when explicitly taught skills to manage their own learning, research conducted by Dr. Omar Faison at Virginia State University has found. If students do not have these skills, online courses can be particularly challenging. With more college courses moving online, students need self-directed learning skills more than ever.

Introducing Dr. Andrea Venezia, the New Director of College and Career Pathways Research at SRI Education

Dr. Andrea Venezia joined SRI Education in May as our new director of college and career pathways research, co-leading the program area with Dr. Miya Warner. Most recently, Andrea was a professor of public policy and administration at Sacramento State University and executive director of the Education Insights Center.

More Than Getting to the Door: Non-Academic Supports to Ensure Students Graduate from College (Part 4—Academic Self-Efficacy)

Every fall semester, first-time college students across the country embark on an academic journey full of promise. Unfortunately, some students do not make it to the finish line because they have trouble adjusting to the academic demands of college.

More Than Getting to the Door: Non-Academic Supports to Ensure Students Graduate from College (Part 3—Institutional Knowledge Required to Navigate Higher Education Systems)

Academic institutions can be difficult to navigate, especially for students who do not have college-educated parents. At 4-year institutions, first-generation students are twice as likely than students whose parents have a bachelor’s degree to leave before their second year.

More Than Getting to the Door: Non-Academic Supports to Ensure Students Graduate from College (Part 2—Financial Supports Beyond Institutional Financial Aid)

The high cost of tuition at public and private 4-year academic institutions is a hot topic in national media today. However, students face many financial barriers to degree completion introduced by expenses that aren’t fully covered by their financial aid packages.

More Than Getting to the Door: Non-Academic Supports to Ensure Students Graduate from College (Part 1—An Overview)

The transition from high school to college can be difficult in the best of times, let alone during a global pandemic. Our previous post on Supporting Postsecondary Transitions During COVID-19 offers practical resources for supporting students and families navigating the college application and enrollment process during the pandemic.

Evaluation of the Career Connected Pathways Project

The Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA), in partnership with LeadLocal and Jobs for the Future, is working with school districts in Arizona to increase high-need students’ access to quality career pathways in cybersecurity and computer science. In 2019, CFA received an early-phase Education Innovation and Research grant from the U.S. Department of Education … Continue reading Evaluation of the Career Connected Pathways Project

Linked Learning Student Outcomes: Summary of Effects on High School and Early Postsecondary Education

This research brief summarizes student outcome findings from SRI International’s evaluation of the California Linked Learning District Initiative, an effort to build robust district-level systems to sustain high school career pathways in nine school districts in the state. With funding from The James Irvine Foundation, SRI conducted a rigorous multimethod evaluation of the initiative over … Continue reading Linked Learning Student Outcomes: Summary of Effects on High School and Early Postsecondary Education