The Promise of Place-Based Investment in Postsecondary Access and Success: Investigating the Impact of the Pittsburgh Promise

Place-based promise scholarships are a relatively recent innovation in the space of college access and success. Although evidence on the impact of some of the earliest place-based scholarships has begun to emerge, the rapid proliferation of promise programs largely has preceded empirical evidence of their impact. We utilize regression discontinuity and difference-in-differences analyses to investigate the causal effect of the Pittsburgh Promise on students’ immediate postsecondary attainment and early college persistence outcomes. Both analytic approaches yield similar conclusions. As a result of Promise eligibility, Pittsburgh Public School graduates are approximately 5 percentage points more likely to enroll in college, particularly four-year institutions; 10 percentage points more likely to select a Pennsylvania institution; and 4 to 7 percentage points more likely to enroll and persist into a second year of postsecondary education. Impacts vary with changes over time in the program structure and opportunities, and are larger for those responsive to the Promise opportunity, as instrumental variable-adjusted results reveal. Although the Pittsburgh Promise represents a sizeable investment, conservative cost–benefit calculations indicate positive returns. Even so, an important question is whether locally funded programs such as the Pittsburgh Promise are economically sustainable in the long run.

Three essays on rural-nonrural disparities in postsecondary access and success

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] While a college degree is increasingly a crucial pathway to achieve success in the U.S labor market, recent estimates indicate that 20% of rural young adults have a college degree, as compared to 38% of their peers in nonrural areas. Despite the low college attainment rates in rural areas, however, existing research on barriers that inhibit rural students' college access and success is still limited. I extent the existing literature by exploring three different but interlinked topics. In the first essay, I use regression discontinuity to test whether rural students are more likely than their colleagues from non-rural backgrounds to respond negatively to being placed on academic probation and exit college before graduation. In the second essay, I examine the link between advanced math course taking and rural-nonrural gaps in enrollment rates in four-year colleges. Finally, in the third essay, I document the extent of the rural-nonrural gap in postsecondary engineering and computer science (ECS) degree attainment and major choice. These essays highlight that rural students, particularly those who come from remote areas, are less likely than their nonrural peers to take advanced courses, to enroll in four-year colleges, to earn an engineering degree, and to persist in college when placed on academic probation.

Achieving College Readiness through a Dual Enrollment Course

To increase equitable postsecondary access and success outcomes it is critical to address the college preparedness gap. While Florida International University (FIU) continues to improve retention and graduation gaps for currently enrolled students, it became evident that the university could play a larger role in preparing high school students for college and university. In 2017, FIU developed a dual enrollment version of a currently offered course, SLS1510: Strategies for Success, to address this gap. The purpose of this article is to describe the context in which this decision occurred, the philosophy used to drive development of the course, and the steps taken to pilot the course. This article highlights the successes of the course, including enrollment of over 2,000 students over 4 semesters, along with areas of improvement for future iterations. The findings of the pilot can help to inform colleges and universities who are interested in addressing college preparedness in the k-12 pipeline.

The Impact of Wyman’s Teen Leadership Program on College Achievement and Retention

Low-income, first-generation college students face a host of obstacles on their journeys toward degree completion. Providing effective supports for these students as they navigate their postsecondary experiences is an important determinant of success, the implications of which can be far-reaching. The purpose of the current study discussed in this article was to examine the impact of Wyman’s Teen Leadership Program (TLP) on positive college outcomes for low-income, first-generation students pursuing higher education at Missouri State University (MSU). TLP is a community-based, postsecondary access and success program comprising three developmentally progressive phases that begin when teens are ninth graders and ends after their second year of postsecondary education. During the postsecondary phase of the program, TLP works in close partnership with higher education institutions like MSU to effectively support students through caring relationships and coordinated services. Using a mixed-methods approach, the authors analyzed the college retention rates and grade point averages (GPAs) of 39 TLP participants attending MSU and 82 comparison students with similar background characteristics. Findings revealed statistically higher retention rates and GPAs for TLP participants compared to non-participants. Focus groups were also conducted to better understand the perceptions of TLP participants (n = 15) and TLP staff members (n = 6). Using Schlossberg’s (1989) theory of marginality and mattering as a framework, the authors analyzed focus group responses, from which three overarching themes emerged: relationships, intentional experiences, and self-efficacy. The study findings suggest that postsecondary access and success programs are most effective when their curricula and program experiences are supported by strong and consistent student-adult relationships.

Preparing Individuals With Disabilities for Inclusive Employment Through the Postsecondary Access and Training in Human Services (PATHS) Program

In an era of globalization, receiving postsecondary education (PSE) becomes necessary for young adults to gain meaningful employment and earn a decent income that supports his or her independent living. The same is true for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who desire for inclusive employment and community living. However, although an increasing number of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have participated in various formats of PSE, this population is still severely underserved. Moreover, those who receive PSE are sometimes simply gaining a college experience or learning functional skills on college campuses. The purpose of this article is to present inclusive employment outcomes of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who graduated from the Postsecondary Access and Training in Human Services (PATHS) program. These individuals' successful stories demonstrate that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities can complete a PSE program focusing on employment outcomes and start a professional career.

Assessing Empowerment at HSIs: An Adapted Inputs-Environments-Outcomes Model

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) play a critical role in advancing postsecondary access and success for Latinx students. Scholarship has begun to examine how HSIs influence Latinx student experiences and outcomes, yet much remains to be explored. In an effort to inform future research of Latinx students at HSIs, we argue that student experiences and outcomes should be based on notions of empowerment given the historically marginalized status of this group. We propose a model to guide assessment on Latinx empowerment at HSIs, which builds on the Inputs-Environments-Outcomes (IEO) model (Astin & antonio, 2012) and integrates critical theoretical frameworks, namely critical race theory and community cultural wealth. In proposing an adapted IEO model assessing Latinx empowerment, we encourage scholars and practitioners to expand notions of what constitutes success and excellence at HSIs in terms of how they educate and empower Latinx students.

Does Vocational Still Imply Tracking? Examining the Evolution of Career and Technical Education Curricular Policy in Texas

Vocational education has historically been viewed as a mechanism for reinforcing social stratification by channeling underrepresented students into pathways with limited educational and economic benefits. However, vocational education has evolved significantly over time, most notably with the shift to career and technical education (CTE) in the Carl D. Perkins Act of 2006 (Perkins IV). Texas began reforming its approach to CTE around 2009 in response to Perkins IV. This study compared demographic patterns in CTE participation and the relationship between CTE concentration and postsecondary access for two cohorts of Texas high school graduates, the latter of which began high school under the new CTE policy. The results reveal limited stratification in CTE participation and a positive relationship between CTE concentration and postsecondary access overall, and in particular enrollment in public 4-year colleges, for the latter cohort. The results suggest CTE may be becoming more effective at providing pathways to postsecondary.

The Role of State Policy in Ensuring Access, Achievement, and Attainment in Education

This volume focuses on the importance of state policy for ensuring equity in postsecondary access, achievement, and attainment. America has a federalist system of education that gives states significant autonomy in their governance of schools, colleges, and universities. This system has created significant variation across states; variation that provides opportunities for state governments to learn from one another. This volume underscores the importance of context and uses differentiation across state lines to highlight the roles internal and external factors play in policy development and issues pertaining to postsecondary access, achievement, and attainment. This collection of papers includes a diverse set of theoretical and methodological approaches to address a range of topics that makes clear the scope and importance of a multitude of state policies. This volume will serve as a source of new information regarding state policies that will be useful for policymakers and researchers alike. It is also suggests important new avenues for research that focus on theoretical and methodological considerations as well as topical areas including funding, accountability, transparency, and policy framing.