Examining Challenges and Opportunities to Transform an Arizona Community College Into a Guided Pathways Model

• In Event: Educational Change SIG Posters

Abstract

Many community colleges have engaged in Guided Pathways transformation during the last decade. An abbreviated literature review accentuates a finding that each college has gained a unique experience of the transformation based on its organizational culture, structure, and leadership. From a policy implementation perspective, this case study explores factors that might support or impede Guided Pathways transformation initiatives at a community college in Arizona. Institutional data, reports, and interviews are used for analysis. Findings of the study illustrate the college’s experience of planning, designing, and executing various transformation initiatives. Demonstrating a holistic understanding of the experience enables higher education policymakers to develop effective strategies for implementing transformation initiatives, reducing equity gaps among student groups, and increasing social justice at college.

Author

• Kenichi Maruyama, Arizona State University - Phoenix