Bringing Student Voices to Guided Pathways Inquiry and Design

Findings from Student Focus Groups at Two California Community Colleges

Between March and April 2017, Career Ladders Project (CLP) staff facilitated 16 focus groups with a total of 137 students from two mid-size urban California Community Colleges. The goal was to help the two colleges integrate student voices into the inquiry and design of their guided pathways framework. The summary of findings from each college’s focus groups were presented to that college’s faculty, staff, and administrators to inform their guided pathways inquiry and design process. This report highlights the main themes that emerged from the focus groups to help other colleges seeking to learn from student voices as they engage in inquiry, design, and implementation of the guided pathways framework. In addition, the Appendix includes the interview protocols we used, which can assist colleges in creating their own focus groups.