Transitions to College

High school students from across East Los Angeles convened at the first annual, student-led Dual Enrollment Summit on March 1 at East Los Angeles College (ELAC). Current dual enrollment students [...]

Working in collaboration with the Los Angeles Regional Consortium, CLP’s March 7 webinar focused on opportunities to align current and future funding opportunities for greater impact in the L.A. region. [...]

Melisa Osuna had her first experience with college classes in a Chicano Studies dual enrollment class offered at her high school. Now this first-generation college student is a new graduate [...]

Last week’s CLP webinar, Equitable Dual Enrollment: Applying for the New State Grants, featured Arvin High School’s award-winning dual enrollment partnership with Bakersfield College. Presenters from Arvin High School and [...]

“California has all the elements to help put together a successful Ability to Benefit strategy,” said Judy Mortrude of World Education, Inc., in the February 14 webinar, New Regulations for [...]

Ability to Benefit (ATB) is a path to eligibility for federal aid for students who don’t have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent. Adult dual enrollment is designed [...]

The good news is that students in California can attend a community college without a high school diploma or its equivalency. In California, unlike most other states, the door to [...]

High-quality dual enrollment – is designed along pathways that lead to certificates and degrees of value, includes embedded student supports, and where students who are underrepresented in higher education or [...]

Dual enrollment holds the promise of successfully transitioning high school students into college with more degree completions in a shorter time. When implemented with quality, it has been shown to [...]

The Begining
In 2014, Riverside City College (RCC) used Student Equity funds and a grant from the Anthony & Jeanne Pritzker Family Foundation (AJPFF) to develop the Guardian Scholars [...]

Five college-high school partnership sites in the San Francisco Bay Area will be working to expand dual enrollment opportunities for students who are low-income or are from Black, Latinx, or [...]

To support dual enrollment practitioners across California as instruction and student services moved online, CLP hosted a series of problem-solving webinars from March through December 2020. Topics included implementing emergency [...]

Students who participate in high-quality dual enrollment during high school are more likely to graduate, enter college, and persist in college to completion than their peers who don’t. Some studies [...]

Career pathways maps increase career and college access, success, and equity for students.

Maps clarify and align programs and services; they link increasing levels of certification, education, and [...]

Following the passage of Proposition 49, California made a major commitment to after-school programming; and the availability of After School Education and Safety (ASES) funds led to a surge in [...]

CLP supported the creation of Gateway Programs to connect disadvantaged youth and adults to postsecondary education and high-wage, high-growth career pathways. Partnerships created in this work included Workforce Investment Boards, [...]

Community College Pathways for Foster Youth (CCP) was a statewide initiative designed to improve college and career outcomes for former foster youth at 11 California community colleges. It linked community [...]

When Adult Education Block Grants were created in 2013, Career Ladders Project began working with a number of regional consortia across California, supporting their research and  strategic planning and then assisting [...]

Career Ladders Project convened a small group of dual enrollment practitioners in a “think tank” in fall 2019, funded by the College Futures Foundation, focused on improving the paper-based enrollment [...]

An overview of three essential components of transition strategies
Connection
What connection means: K-12 schools and districts, community colleges, four-year institutions, employers, and community organizations connect through collective [...]

Speaking at a legislative forum hosted by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon in Sacramento about overcoming challenges to California’s continued growth and economic prosperity, Linda Collins, founder and executive director of [...]

Thousands more California residents might qualify for financial aid to attend college and earn credentials — and higher wages — if the state added its own option for students without [...]

More than 300 practitioners from community colleges across California gathered in Bakersfield on Nov. 15 to learn about and explore intentional, supported pathways as a strategy for equity.

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Career Ladders Project promotes dual enrollment as a strategy for equity — measured by course and degree completion, achievement in high school and college, and other indicators — for subgroups [...]

update – Oct. 14, 2019
We were glad to see Gov. Gavin Newsom veto AB 751 over the weekend, saying that allowing use of the SAT and ACT in [...]

As part of its Guided Pathways inquiry, Fresno City College sent teams to three other California community colleges and three campuses of CUNY, the City University of New York.
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California State University’s Board of Trustees is considering a proposal to require high school students to complete a fourth year of math to qualify for admission.

Career Ladders [...]

Two leaders from Georgia State University came to Long Beach on Nov. 15 to talk about reforms that are credited with raising graduation rates campuswide above 75%. In fact, Latinx [...]

Challenges and promising approaches across California
Students who participate in high-quality dual enrollment during high school are more likely to graduate, enter college, and persist in college to completion [...]

A CLP Working Paper
Multiple studies have shown that students who participate in high-quality dual enrollment programs during high school are more likely to graduate, enter college, and persist [...]

Students who participate in dual enrollment at a community college during high school are more likely to graduate and enter college, and they’re more likely to complete a certificate, degree, or transfer. And the students who are most underrepresented in community colleges [...]

Work-based learning is a key strategy for increasing student success, particularly for historically underserved student groups. But it can be hard for educators and employers to find each other and [...]

A new report from JUST Equations and WestEd, Multiple Paths Forward: Diversifying Mathematics as a Strategy for Student Success, shows that diversified math pathways have the potential to ease the [...]

Students who successfully navigate California community colleges to earn a degree or cer­tificate nearly double their earnings within three years, but less than 50 percent of community college students who [...]

Clear pathways to college and career provide critical support for students in their transition into successful careers. Early access and exposure to sector-based pathways supports students in setting goals and [...]

Presentations from the 2017 Strengthening Student Success conference are now available.
SSSC – CLP Breakout Sessions
Wednesday, October 11
Guided Pathways: A Framework for Integrating College Plans
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Career Ladders Project (CLP) works closely with the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) and the three SMCCCD colleges, Cañada College, College of San Mateo, and Skyline College, to [...]

Quantitative Leap: Webinar 4
Seizing Twelfth Grade to Improve Math Readiness: Senior-Year Transition Courses
Faced with high proportions of students needing remedial math courses in college, education systems [...]

A resource for secondary school and community college partners, the Dual Enrollment Toolkit highlights promising practices for smoothing the transition to college for historically underrepresented students.

Dual enrollment [...]

Career Ladders Project created tools and guides to help K-12 and community college leaders, faculty, and staff collaborate to improve students’ transitions to college. These online tools aid in diagnosing [...]

What is it?
There need to be benchmark indicators for a community to know if they are improving their transition for students.  These measures need to be clear and [...]

What is it?
The research is clear; early exposure to college and career options is good for students.  When students have access to early programs they are more likely [...]

What is it?
When K-12, community college, and municipal leadership is committed and engaged in improving K-12 to college transition, students benefit.  Without their guidance and focus, systems tend [...]

What is it?
System-wide data sharing is a critical component to building a strong K-12 and community college partnership.  Without good information, organizations cannot understand their transition challenges or [...]