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Access Is Not Enough: The New Thinking

Needed to Close the Degree Attainment
Gap
Published on June 2, 2017

Alison M. Pendergast Follow

13 0 8
Chief Marketing & Strategy Oicer, Acrobatiq; Veteran US Army Me

By A.J. OConnell and Alison Pendergast

Idea in brief

FortyyearsofinitiativesliketheFederalPellGrantprogramhaveincreasedaccessto
collegeforlowandmoderateincomestudentsinhopesofincreasingsocialmobility.
However,wearenotseeingthesamegainsindegreeattainment.Itsclearthat
expandingaccessisonlyhalfoftheequation.Theotherhalfisensuringthosestudents
whodostarthavethebestpossiblechanceatfinishing.

AccordingtothenewestinstallmentofIndicatorsofHigherEducationEquityinthe
UnitedStates:2016HistoricalTrendReportfromThePellInstitute,highereducation
opportunityandoutcomesremainhighlyinequitableacrossfamilyincomegroups.
AccordingtoPellInstituteresearch,in1970,52percentoffamilymemberswho
attainedabachelorsdegreebyage24camefromthetopincomequartile,whileonly12

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percentcamefromthelowestquartile.By2014,54percentwereinthetopquartileof Back to LinkedIn.com

familyincomeand10percentwereinthebottomquartile.

WhileinitiativesliketheFederalPellGrantcreatedin1972asameanstoexpand
accesstohighereducationforlowandmiddleincomestudentshavehelpedbring
collegewithinreachformostAmericans,ithasdonelittletomovetheneedleondegree
attainment.

Thislackofprogresshascontributedtoanewconcern:theU.S.willbeshort5million
degreesin2020,accordingto2015researchbyGeorgetownUniversitysCenteron
EducationandtheWorkforce.Collegesanduniversitiescantmeetthedemandby
simplyrecruitingmoretraditionalstudentsfulltime,recenthighschoolgraduates
asthatdemographichasleveledoff.Instead,academicinstitutionsmustworkmore
effectivelywiththestudentstheyalreadyhavebutstruggletoretain:firstgeneration,
lowincome,Pellgrant,minority,and/orworkingadultstudents.

Accessaloneisnotenoughfortodaysstudents.Thatbecameabundantlyclearwhen
nationwidejobcreationresumedastheeffectsoftheGreatRecessionfaded,says
RahimRajan,seniorprogramofficerforpostsecondarysuccessattheBill&Melinda
GatesFoundation.Thecandidateswholandedthosejobswerentthestudentswhohad
somecollegeeducation.Thestudentswhojoinedthepostrecessioneconomywerethe
oneswhohadcompletedtheirdegrees.

Collegesanduniversitieshavemadelocaleffortstoimprovecompletion,andlarge
organizationstheLuminaFoundation,CompleteCollegeAmerica,andtheBill&
MelindaGatesFoundationhaveturnedtheirattentiontothedegreeattainmentgap
byeducatingcolleges,reportingonwhatworks,andhelpingtoscalenewstrategies.
Suchinitiativesareshiningalightonthecausesoftheattainmentgap,butmoreeffort,
investment,andresearchareneededtofullymakeameasurableimpact.

Addressing the learning needs of students from disadvantaged backgrounds

Thecompletiongapbetweenlowandhighincomestudentsisoftenviewedthrougha
narrowlens:Somemaybelievethatstudentswhofaillackthenecessarygrit,
determination,andintellectualrigor.Butexpectingstudentstocompletedegreesbased
onoutmodedoroutdatedinstructionalmodelssuchasthecredithoursystemthat
rewardsstudentsnotforwhattheyknow,butforhowlongtheyspendinclassisnot
aviablepolicypositionifthegoalistograduatestudentsandfurtherclosethe
attainmentgap.

DeborahSantiago,chiefoperatingofficerandvicepresidentforpolicyatExcelenciain
Education,anorganizationdedicatedtoraisinggraduationratesamongLatinostudents,
sayslowincome,firstgeneration,andminoritystudentsareessentiallybeingaskedto
bootstraptheireducationwhilestrugglingwithspecialchallengestheiracademically
privilegedpeersdonthave.Studentsfromlowincomebackgroundsoftenattend

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underfundedK12systemsandmaybeunpreparedforcollege.Theyareoftenolder Back to LinkedIn.com

studentswhoaresupportingfamilies.

Theseissuesaffecttheabilityoffirstgeneration,lowincomestudentstofinishschool
accordingtoa2015reportbyTheEducationTrust,51percentofPellGrantrecipients
(whoarelowincomestudents)completetheirdegreemeanwhile,alongitudinalstudy
bythePellInstituteshowsthatonly11percentofstudentswhoarebothlowincome
andfirstgenerationarelikelytograduatewithinsixyears.

Studentsarefacingandmaybeparalyzedbysomeoftheseconflicts.Organizing
studentsintogroupsthatprogressthroughacourseofstudytogethercanmitigatethis.
Thecohortmodelintegratesstudentsintoasmall,engagedcommunitytheycanget
theirinformationfrompeersandaccesssupportservicesasagroup.

Theuniquechallengesoffirstgenerationandlowincomestudentsmaybeacutefor
minoritystudentsaswell.ArecentreportbytheNationalStudentClearinghouse
ResearchCenterlookedatstudentswhoenteredfouryearcollegesin2010.Thesix
yeargraduationrateforthatcohortwas45.9percentforblackstudents,55percentfor
Hispanicstudents,67.2percentforwhitestudents,and71.7percentforAsianstudents.

Similarly,ExcelenciainEducationreportsthat41percentofcollegestudentsofLatin
Americandescentgraduatefromcollege.Whileminoritystudentsoftenfacethesame
challengesaslowincomestudents,theyalsoexperienceculturalchallenges:Students
frommarginalizedgroupsoftenfeelalienatedoncampusandtendtonotspeakupin
class.

CommunitiesthatarehistoricallydisenfranchisedlikeAfricanAmericans,Latinos,
andwomenincertainfieldsarenotastrustingofinstitutionalrepresentatives,says
Santiago.Theyrenotcomfortableaskingquestionstothoseinpositionsofauthority
thattheydontrelateto.

Collegesthatwanttoimproveretentionforallstudentsmustalsounderstandthe
conflictsstudentsfaceathome.Forexample,whileabout70percentofcollegestudents
work,Latinostudentstendtoexperiencemorepressurefromtheirjobsorfamily
responsibilities.WehavedatathatshowsLatinosaremorelikelytoliveathome,more
likelytobeworking35hoursplusthanotherstudents,saysSantiago.

Latinoparentswhohaventattendedschoolmaynotunderstandthataclassthatmeets
threehourseachweekcangenerateatleastasmanyhoursworthofhomeworkthey
maybelievethatwhenthestudentisoutofclass,theyarefreefromacademic
responsibilitiesandavailabletoworkorcareforfamilymembers.

WevefoundLatinoparentsneedtobeeducatedabouttheeducationprocessalong
withstudents,saysSantiago.Sometimes,thatsassimpleasmakingsureparentsor
familymembersknowthatastudentneedsadeskinaquietplaceinthehome.

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Poverty is still one of the biggest barriers to completion Back to LinkedIn.com

Whilecollegeshavebeenmakingplentyofprogrammaticchangestoimprove
completion,thebiggestchallengeforlowincomestudentsisstilljustthat:alow
income.Withoutsomedegreeoffinancialfreedom,studentssimplycantattendcollege
and,accordingtoSantiago,thefundsawardedbythePellprogramarentenoughto
keepstudentsinschool.

Issuesofaffordabilityremain,shesays.Studentsneedmoreaccesstoinstitutional
aidandotherscholarshipsorgrantsinordertostayinschoollongenoughtoearntheir
degrees.Insomecases,shefeels,theanswermaybesimplyprovidingstudentswith
betterworkstudyopportunities.

Weknowthatstudentswhoworkoncampusaremorelikelytoavailthemselvesof
servicesonthatcampus,saysSantiago.Ifyoureworking[offcampus]youregoing
tocomein,takeyourclassandleavebecauseyouvegottodootherthings.Yourenot
takingadvantageoftheservicesavailable.

Someschoolsareofferingfinancialhelptotheirstudentsininnovativeways.Martin
Kurzweil,directoroftheEducationalTransformationProgramatIthakaS+R,pointsto
theGeorgiaStateUniversityFoundationemergencyloanprogram,whichmaintainsan
emergencyfundforstrugglingstudentsandusesstudentdatatoidentifytimeswhen
studentsmightbestrugglingfinancially.

CityUniversityofNewYorks(CUNY)ASAP(AcceleratedStudyinAssociate
Programs)programprovidesfinancialsupport,givingstudentstuitionwaivers,free
MTAMetroCards,andfundsfortextbooks,whilealsosupportingthemwithadvisors
andsupportwhenitcomestimetotransfertoafouryearschool.

ASAPhasbeenevaluatedwitharandomizedcontrolledtrial,saysMonicaHerk,vice
presidentofeducationresearchfortheCommitteeforEconomicDevelopment,and
theyveshownactualresults.

HerkisreferringtoaCUNYstudywherestudentswhoneededremediationwere
randomlyassignedtoeithertheASAPprogramortoCUNYspreviousremedial
program.ShesaystheASAPstudentsshowedsignificantlyincreasedgraduationrates
andbettertransferratestofouryearcolleges.

ButdespitetheworkofprogramslikeASAP,nationalprogressinmeetingtheneedsof
lowincome,firstgenerationstudentshasbeenslow.

Ingeneral,changingoutcomesthathaveverydeeprootsisveryhard,saysHerk.I
thinkwecanmakeslowincrementalprogress.Idontthinkwearegoingtoclosethe
gapinthenextfiveyears.

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Rajan,oftheGatesFoundation,ismoreoptimisticaboutclosingthatgapthanhewas Back to LinkedIn.com

justafewyearsago.

Thereismomentuminthefieldnowaconcertedactionbasedonevidenceandon
betterpracticesaroundparticularprocessinnovations,hesays.Thatsaninteresting
thingweseewholeinstitutiontransformations,butwealsoseepocketsininstitutions
thathavemaderemarkableprogress.

Using technology to meet low-income students where they are

Investmentsindigitallearningmayalsoprovetobeakeyinnovationthatallowsboth
institutionsandindividualinstructorstobetterservestudentswhomaybeunprepared
forcollegelevelwork.TheGatesFoundationhasmadeitpartoftheirmissionto
supportdigitallearningandinparticularcoursewarethatpersonalizesstudent
learning.

Suchcoursewarehashelpedprofessorstransformclasseswithhighdropoutrates,such
aslargeintroductorycoursesinmathandsciencefields.Byredesigningthesecoursesin
waysthatdeemphasizethetraditionallecturemodelinfavorofactivelearning
strategies,studentsaremoreengaged,whichparticularlyimprovespersistencetowarda
degree.

GeorgiaState,forexample,increaseditsgraduationratefrom32percentin2003to53
percentin2013byredesigningitsintroductorymathcourses.Theschoolhad
determinedthatitsintroductorymathsequencewasamajorstumblingblockfor
studentsparticularlythosewhowantedtoproceedinSTEMfields,accordingto
Kurzweil.ThepercentageofstudentsearningDs,Fs,orwithdrawingfromthethree
introductorymathcourseswashuge,hesays.

Sotheprogramflippeditsmodelstudentsnowviewvideolecturesoutsideofclass,
thenattendclassinacomputerlabequippedwithadaptivecourseware.Ratherthan
lecturing,facultyactascoaches,roamingthelabandofferinghelpandimpromptu
lecturestargetedatwhateverspecificsubjectsstudentsarestrugglingwith.Accordingto
Kurzweil,thissolutionhasbroughttheD,F,andwithdrawalratedownby80percent.

Thatwas10yearsago.Asdigitallearningtoolshavebecomemoresophisticatedand
effective,morecollegesareredesigninggeneraleducationandintroductorylevel
coursestobetterservetheneedsofstudentsfromtraditionallyunderservedpopulations.

RajangivestheexampleofthelargeintroductoryscienceclassesatUniversityof
California,Davis.Ifyouwalkintothoseauditoriums,theprofessorisactually
interactingwiththosestudents,saysRajan.Heorsheisnotstandingonthestage
lecturing.Studentsareworkingwiththeirneighbors,theyaredoingproblemand
projectbasedactivities.

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Rajandescribestheclassesashighlyinteractivelearningexperiencesinwhichthe Back to LinkedIn.com

professorismuchmoreengagedwithstudents.Theadditionofdigitallearningtools
givesprofessorsmeaningfullearningdataabouteachstudentsprogressbeforethey
evenwalkintotheclassroom.

Inthesamewayinformationanddataisenablingahealthcarepractitionertobetter
diagnoseachallengethepatientmighthave,saysRajan,thesetechnologiesenable
instructorsandteachingassistantstohaveamuchclearersenseofwherestudentsare
andwhattheystrugglewith.TheinstructorsandTAscanthenuseclasstimetoaddress
thoseissues.

Nontraditional tools for nontraditional students

Nontraditionalmodelsofeducationmaybethetooleducatorsneedtoclosethe
attainmentgapbecausethestudentswhoareindangerofnotcompletingtheirdegrees
arethemselvesnontraditional.

Olderstudents,forexample,areoftenreturningtoschoolbecausecareergrowth
demandsit.Theymayhavebeencollegestudentsinthepastandaretryingtofinisha
degreewhileworkingandcaringforfamilymembers.

Thetraditionalmodelofeducationisunlikelytoworkforsuchstudents,saysHerk.If
mostpeoplearegoingtocollegetoimprovetheirjobprospects,shesays,thenwhyis
itthatittakesexactlytwoyearsorexactlyfouryearstoprepareforeveryjob?

Thetwoyearandfouryeardegreepathisanartifactofthewaytheuniversitysystem
developedinthelate19thandearly20thcenturies,butitdoesntalwaysreflectthe
needsoftodaysstudents.Thosewhoalreadyhavesomeeducationmayjustneedto
skillupquickly.Manyofthosestudentshaveneitherthetimenorthemoneytospend
fouryearsinschool.

Newmodelsofeducation,likecompetencybasedlearning,andnewtools,like
coursewareoradaptivelearning,canhelpthosestudentslearnwhattheyneedquickly
andmoveon.

Weneedtobeexploringothermodelsthataretiedtohowlongittakesstudentsto
actuallymastertherelevantskills,saysHerk.Thiswilltakelongerforsomestudents
thanothers.Itsgoingtodependonwhatskillstheybringfromotherexperiences,
whetherthatsmilitaryorworkinginotherplacesbeforetheycamebacktoschool.

Traditionalprogramsmayraiseaneyebrowatsuchconcepts,whichareoftenusedby
forprofitschools.Buttherealityisthatstudentsarevotingwiththeirfeet.

Formanycolleges,overallenrollmentsaregoingdown,butenrollmentsindigital,
blendedandonlinearegoingup,saysRajan.Thedemandisthere.Thedemandis
growing.
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Firstgenerationstudents,underrepresentedstudents,andlowincomestudentsleadthe Back to LinkedIn.com

busiestlives,saysRajan,and,asstudents,theyrequirethemostflexibility.Thereisa
reasonwhynontraditionalstudentsflocktoforprofitschoolsthoseschoolsareserving
theirneeds.

Theygetoneshotatthis,sotheinstitutionshavetobuildajourneyforthosestudents
thatmeetsthemwheretheyare,saysRajan.Ithinkdigitalispartofthat.

Researchshowsthatonlinecoursesareimprovingstudentoutcomesandcompletion
rates.In2014,ScottFreeman,abiologyprofessorattheUniversityofWashington,
publishedametaanalysisof225studiesofactivelearning.Hefoundthat,for
underrepresentedminoritiesandwomen,activelearningonlinelearning,blended
learning,oranyothermodelthatcentersaroundthestudentwasagamechanger.
Studentswhoengagedinactivelearningratherthanalectureformatweremorelikelyto
besuccessfulinclassandwerelesslikelytodropoutorwithdraw.

Theconventionalwisdomwasthatonlineissubpar,andwewouldneverwantour
mostvulnerablestudentstobetakingonlinecourses,saysRajan.Ifyouthinkabout
whereonlinelearninghasgone,especiallythemoresophisticatedonlinelearninglike
adaptive,thathaschangedsignificantly.

Providing student support outside of the classroom

Active,studentcenteredstrategieshaveraisedsuccesslevelsforstrugglingstudents,
notjustintheclassroom,butoutsideofitaswell.In2013,EDUCAUSEandtheGates
FoundationpartneredtofundIntegratedPlanningandAdvisingforStudentSuccess
(iPASS)grantssocollegescanusetechnologytomonitorandcoachstudentswhomay
beindangeroffailingoutofschool.

iPASSprogramsaretoolsoftenmobileorwebbasedappsthatallowstudentsand
facultytoseehowastudentschoicesandperformanceareaffectingtheiracademic
careers.Thisdatainformedproactiveadvisinglooksdifferentonallparticipating
campuses,butthebasicsarethesame.

ThegoalofiPASS,saysRajan,istoenableadvisorsandadministrators,counselors,
andcoachesonthecampustoreallyknowhowtheirstudentsaredoingandtoprovide
theguidancethosestudentsneedinrealtime.

TheiPASStechnologiesactasanearlyalertforstudentsaswell.Itsaresourcethats
nota200pagestudenthandbookstudentscanchecktheirapptoseehowmanycredits
theyneedtograduatewithacertainmajor,whatcoursestheyneedtotake,andinwhat
sequence.

Havingthisinformationondemandinrealtimeisapowerfullevertohelpthese
studentstakecontroloftheiracademicjourneyandtobeempowered,saysRajan.

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Milestones on the way to closing the degree attainment gap Back to LinkedIn.com

Institutionswillhavetorelyonacombinationoffactorstohelpallstudentssucceed.By
applyingevidencebasedbestpracticesandstrategiescombinedwithdigitallearning
tools,theycanproducehighqualityandflexibleonlineexperiencesthatimprove
learningoutcomes,persistence,completion,anddegreeattainment.

Thefieldoflearningscienceisgrowing,andweknowmorethanwedid10yearsago
aboutthevalueandbenefitoflearningdesignanddata.Wecandesigninteractive,
adaptive,andaccessiblelessonsforcoursesdeliveredonlineinablendedmodelorface
toface.Wehavenewtechnologyenabledtoolsandservicesthatcaptureandanalyze
studentbehavioralandlearningdata.Thesecanproviderichanalyticstoeducatorsand
learningdesignteamstohelpfacultyunderstandwhereandwhystudentsarestruggling.

Perhapsmorecompelling,theresbroadrecognitionthatwehavetodobettertohelp
moretraditionallyunderservedstudentsreachtheirbestpossibleoutcomes.Santiago
saysthatrecognizinghowtheattainmentgapaffectsspecificgroupsofstudentshas
allowedgroupslikeExcelenciainEducationtotargetspecificpolicies.This,shesays,
hasbeensignificantinhelpingtoclosesomeofthesegaps.

Rajansaysthatrecognizingtheproblemwasanimportantmilestone.Wehavea
nationalimperative,heexplains.Thestakesjustkeepgettinghigherandhigherin
termsofundereducatingourpeople.Becausetheworldisoperatingasaglobal
economy,withlabormovingacrossbordersandtechnologyadvancingthroughartificial
intelligenceandrobotics,theurgencytoimproveoutcomesisonlygoingtoincrease.

A.J.OConnellisafreelancejournalistspecializingineducationreportingandaformer
collegejournalismteacher.

AlisonPendergastisChiefMarketingandStrategyOfficeratAcrobatiq.

About Acrobatiq

Acrobatiqisaplatform,services,andcontentcompanybackedbyCarnegieMellon
UniversityandTheBillandMelindaGatesFoundation.Wehelpcollegesand
universitiesdesignanddeliverexemplaryonlinelearningexperiencesthatproduce
meaningfuldatatoguideinstruction,targetlearninginterventionsandoptimize
curriculasothateverystudentcanreachtheirbestpossibleoutcome.

acrobatiq.com

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Alison M. Pendergast
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