Transitions to College

Recent state investments support colleges and high schools to work together in preparing students for college and career. Taking stock of potential partners in your area can help plan a [...]

Register now for CLP virtual workshops and office hours on design and implementation issues in dual enrollment. These are intended for partnerships that received 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 state grants to [...]

What happens when nonprofits and funders come together to share insights, strengthen connections, and spur action?

Along with more than a dozen nonprofits, CLP participated in the Policy [...]

The Governor’s Office and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) today announced that they submitted an Ability to Benefit (ATB) State-Defined Plan for approval by the U.S. Department of [...]

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 [...]