Increasing college completion offers tremendous promise for promoting social mobility, tackling poverty, and reducing racial and income inequality. Strong cross-sector partnerships, adequate funding, and policy enhancements are necessary to expand equitable access to high-quality, comprehensive supports that lead to more students completing a degree.

In response to low completion rates, City Colleges of Chicago partnered with One Million Degrees (OMD) to overcome barriers to student enrollment and retention. The partnership resulted in the expansion of wraparound services such as academic and career advising, scholarships, mentoring, and navigational guidance for City Colleges’ students.

TICAS’ latest analysis provides key insights on OMD and City Colleges of Chicago’s partnership and offers recommendations for institutions, states, and higher education leaders on how they can scale comprehensive approaches to student success programs and increase degree attainment and enrollment rates in an equitable way. 

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