Unpacking the Long-Term Impact of Holistic Supports for Community College Students

• In Event: What Shapes Student Trajectories? Evidence on Policies, Institutions, and Incentives

Abstract

Community colleges have the potential to be powerful vehicles for economic mobility. However, the majority of students who enroll in community colleges do not earn a degree within three years. A growing research literature demonstrates that providing holistic supports focused on the social, academic, financial, and professional needs of students can dramatically improve associate’s degree completion, but for such programs to translate to real gains in degree attainment, they will need to be implemented at a much larger scale. Thus far, however, concerns about the cost of providing holistic supports as well as scant evidence on the long-term effects of these programs on students’ outcomes related to not only education but also employment and overall financial health has contributed to the limited scale at which holistic support programs have been implemented to date.

The proposed project aims to fill this gap by tracking the long-term effects of one holistic support program: One Million Degrees (OMD). OMD is a non-profit organization serving community college students in the Chicago metro area that supports students financially, academically, socially, and professionally. To examine long-term outcomes, we will link data from the original randomized control trial study sample to administrative data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security on employment and wages, to National Student Clearinghouse data on college enrollment and completion outcomes and to Experian data on student debt and financial health outcomes.

Results from the randomized controlled trial found that an offer of a spot in the OMD program led to increased college enrollment, persistence, and associate degree attainment three years after randomization. With eight years of follow-up, we find that these effects persist, indicating the program causes applicants to enroll in and complete more degrees rather than solely accelerating completion. The impacts are concentrated among students who applied while still in high school compared to continuing community college students. For high school applicants, participation in OMD significantly improved labor market outcomes: in every year after randomization, they were more likely to be enrolled in school full time or employed full time, and by year seven and eight they held more stable jobs and we see consistently positive (though statistically insignificant) increases in yearly wages. For students already enrolled in community college, effects on labor market outcomes are positive but not statistically significant. For both high school and community college applicants, we observe positive, albeit insignificant, effects on bachelor’s degree attainment eight years after randomization.  We are actively analyzing the student debt and financial health outcomes and will have results to share during the conference.

This evidence will fill a critical gap in the existing research literature and provide essential information to policy makers and practitioners about the benefits of investing in holistic support programs for community college students relative to other potential investments. With community colleges disproportionately serving students of color and those from low-income households, this evidence has the potential to play an important role in addressing educational and economic inequities in the United States.

Author

• Kelly Hallberg, University of Chicago
  Presenting Author