Rethinking community colleges to serve 21st‐century students and communities: Lessons from research on guided pathways

Abstract

In this article, researchers from the Community College Research Center reflect on what they have learned from their study of Guided Pathways reforms at over 100 colleges nationally since the publication in 2015 of Redesigning America's Community Colleges. They examine five areas of practice: (1) program design, (2) new student onboarding, (3) remediation and academic support, (4) ongoing student advising, and (5) teaching and learning. For each area, they describe how their thinking about Guided Pathways has evolved from the model presented in Redesigning and discuss the implications for practice. In the conclusion, they provide guidance to college and state system leaders about how to advocate for adequate state fiscal support for evidence‐based reforms needed for achieving more equitable student outcomes and ensuring college survival in a very challenging environment for community colleges and their students.

“I Had to Figure It Out”: A Case Study of How Community College Student Parents of Color Navigate College and Careers

“…Guided Pathways is a model intended to provide students with clear pathways to further their education, advance their careers, and complete degree programs with little credit loss (Bailey et al, 2015; Jenkins & Cho, 2013; Jenkins et al, 2017). The guided pathways model aims to provide students with information regarding career pathways upon entering the degree program and provide a structure of ongoing guided support for students to achieve their degree goals via scheduling, feedback, and monitoring by campus agents (e.g., faculty, staff, counselors) (Bailey et al, 2015).…”

“…These synchronized efforts to support students might also include exposure to job search and training, mock interview skills, and localized career fairs to expedite employment for community college graduates (Jenkins & Cho, 2013; Van Noy et al, 2016). Guided pathways efforts have been adopted by many community colleges nationwide; in fact, over 200 colleges have adopted these reforms (Jenkins et al, 2017).…”

“…In addition to providing more resources, community colleges across the nation have engaged in structural reforms, including guided pathways, to help students navigate the academic programs and institutional bureaucracy. Guided pathways have been introduced as a national model to simplify the academic major and career pathways for students (Bailey et al, 2015; Jenkins & Cho, 2013; Jenkins et al, 2017). Some colleges have created meta majors or academic communities such as health-related sciences, business, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and others, so that students can easily choose and understand the career implications of their choices (Baker, 2018).…”

The college completion agenda: Managing and leading change

“…CCRC documents more than 250 community colleges undertaking large‐scale guided pathways reforms as part of national, state, or regional efforts, and many other colleges are doing so on their own (Jenkins et al., 2018). In issue 197 of New Directions for Community Colleges , CCRC researchers reflected on new evidence‐based recommendations and proposed colleges adopt four key practices to ensure equitable success; backward map all degree programs, enable student exploration of career options, create connections with campus and career options, and implement experiential learning for all students (Jenkins et al., 2022).…”

Latino men and men of color programs: Research-based recommendations for community college practitioners.

“…Over the last 5 years, an increasing number of community colleges have begun to implement Guided Pathways (Jenkins et al, 2017), an institutional response to how community colleges are structured to serve students. Guided Pathways is an acknowledgment that the system of higher education was not established by its founders through an equity lens; thus, existing structures have led to inequitable student outcomes.…”