College Access & Success System Study: Philadelphia and Miami – Knight Foundation
Communities

College Access & Success System Study: Philadelphia and Miami

Why it matters. How to do it. How to use it.

Executive Summary – College Access and Success in Philadelphia and Miami:

Adobe PDF format

Powerpoint format

PHILADELPHIA:

Part I: Landscape Study of the College Access and Success system in Philly

Part II: Analysis of College enrollment data for Philly

MIAMI:

Landscape Study of the College Access and Success system in Miami 

ANY COMMUNITY:

GUIDE to conducting a review of a city’s college access and success system

 

RESEARCH DESCRIPTION

College attainment in the United States is widely recognized as a critical aspect of workforce development and economic success. Recently, leaders in education have promoted systemic approaches for increasing college attainment, recognizing the power of coordination throughout the K-16 education pipeline. In 2007, Knight Foundation commissioned a study to:

· Better understand the college-going patterns of students and the system of college access and success (CAS) supports in Miami and Philadelphia.

· Identify opportunities for strengthening each system to better support college attainment.

ASSESSMENT PURPOSE & APPROACH

Key Questions
· What does the ideal college access and success system look like and how do the systems in Miami and Philadelphia compare?
· What do the college access and success student patterns look like in each community?
· What are the opportunities for strengthening the college access and success system in each city?

Assessment Partner: OMG Center for Collaborative Learning.

REPORT CONTENTS

• Strengthening the System – The report identified best practices for successful college access and success systems including developing a citywide college-going culture, providing widespread outreach to students, promoting direct college enrollment and enhancing resources at the college level.

• College Pipeline – Philadelphia student data suggested dramatic dropout rates throughout the pipeline, with only 10% of entering 9th grade students expected to graduate college within 10 years, compared to the national average of 20%. . Despite repeated efforts, the project could not obtain the corresponding data for students from the Miami School District.

• Opportunities for Improvement

o Philadelphia: The report recommended taking actions including institutionalizing the efforts of the Mayor’s Council for College and Career Success, emphasizing direct enrollment in college in the fall following high school graduation, investing in programs that bridge college-going supports from K-12 and higher education (accountability systems, curriculum, and supportive services), and targeting a broader population for support.

o Miami: The report identified a “moment of opportunity” to advance the college access and success system in Miami, stemming from recent interest demonstrated by funders and program providers focused on college access and success (e.g., the Posse Foundation and College Summit). A holistic set of college access and success supports could be piloted by the city through a “feeder system” set of schools.

Conducting a Scan of Your College Access and Success System

Download/Browse Documents:

OMG_CollegeAccess_Guide_final.pdfDownload