There are many strategies for increasing college persistence and completion, but one model has emerged that is backed by an increasingly robust body of evidence: comprehensive approaches to student success (CASS). Seven CASS models – Bottom Line, CUNY ASAP | ACE, InsideTrack, NISS, One Million Degrees, Project QUEST, and Stay the Course – have been evaluated using randomized control trials, and as a result, there is a strong body of evidence that shows CASS programs impact short-term outcomes, such as persistence, credit accumulation and more.
In partnership with MDRC, LEO, and Results for America, TICAS has been engaged in a community of practice with these seven CASS programs throughout the past year and a half, with the goal to understand these programs’ impact and common design elements, as well as what it would take to scale these approaches to meaningfully move the needle on college completion among underserved students nationally. Though these programs operate in different contexts and communities around the country, and vary in significant ways, they have three core elements in common and share several more. Read the Comprehensive Approaches to Student Success Design Principles to learn more.
Leveraging State and Local Relief Funds to Increase College Completion Rates
March 31, 2022
Webinar hosted by TICAS, SHEEO, and Results for America highlights state efforts to use federal relief funds to increase college completion rates.
Additional Work
- Coalition Urges Congress to Increase Funding for Postsecondary Student Success Grants
March 22, 2023 - A Guide to College Completion with Targeted and Evidence-Based Strategies
December 2022 - Coalition Urges Congress to Include Funding for College Completion
February 11, 2022 - Comprehensive Approaches to Student Success – Community of Practice Research and Equity Agenda
January 11, 2022 - The Retention and Completion Fund: What it Would Mean for Students and States
October 6, 2021 - Evidence-Based College Completion Programs at Four-Year Postsecondary Institutions
September 1, 2021 - Where to Find Evidence-Based College Completion Programs Across the Country
July 14, 2021 - Quick Facts on College Completion
May 26, 2021 - Comprehensive Approaches to Student Success: Design Principles
May 13, 2021 - Statement on the American Families Plan
April 28, 2021 - Comprehensive Approaches to Student Success: Key Lessons for State Policymakers
January 21, 2021 - Scaling Student Success: A National Proposal
January 21, 2021
In the News
- (Opinion) Supporting Student Parents Is an Equity Imperative, Jhenai Chandlar, Inside Higher Ed
November 2022 - What can more financial support do for higher ed? Raise completion, for one. | Chris Burt, University Business
April 5, 2022 - Analysis: States Can Use Federal Relief Funds to Raise College Graduation Rates. Here’s How | Sameer Gadkaree, TICAS, and Michele Jolin, Results for America, The 74million
March 22, 2022 - More than 30 groups call on Biden Administration to support college completion | Chris Burt, University Business
February 28, 2022 - Congress Should Help College Students Reach the Finish Line | Editorial Board, Bloomberg Opinion
December 9, 2021 - Democrats keep college completion cash in spending bill | Jessica Calefati, Politico
November 8, 2021 - Why We Must Invest In Community College Completion | Deneece G. Huftalin, RealClearEducation
October 29, 2021 - OPINION: We can help low-income students, first-gen students and students of color succeed in college, but not without support | Alexander Mayer, MDRC, and Catherine Brown, TICAS, The Hechinger Report
August 18, 2021 - “Shifting Focus From Access to Completion” | Alexis Gravely, Inside Higher Ed
May 3, 2021 - “It will take more than free tuition to improve graduation rates” | Alyssa Ratledge, MDRC, Community College Daily
April 27, 2021
Resources from Partners
- College Completion Strategy Guide (MDRC, SHEEO, The Education Trust, and TICAS)
April 2022 - Why Expanded Student Supports Can Improve Community College Outcomes and Boost Skill Attainment (Brookings)
April 7, 2021 - Preliminary Evaluation of the Detroit Promise Program: Motor City Momentum (MDRC)
March 2021 - Working Paper: Comprehensive Approaches to Increasing Student Completion in Higher Education: A Survey of the Landscape (LEO)
February 2021
