| ||||||
Early Results from the Opening Doors Demonstration in Ohio |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
MDRC: Community colleges enroll nearly half of all higher education students nationwide; with relatively low tuition and open admissions policies, they are a vital pathway to better jobs and higher earnings for many individuals. In 2003, MDRC and a consortium of funders launched the Opening Doors demonstration to test reforms in six community colleges aimed at helping students stay in school and earn credentials. Two MDRC reports present early results from two similar Opening Doors programs in Ohio, at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, outside Cleveland, and Owens Community College in Toledo. Students were assigned in a lottery-like process either to a program group that received Opening Doors services or to a control group that received the college's standard services. The Opening Doors program at Lorain, which operated from 2003 to 2006, and at Owens, which operated from 2004 to 2006, provided enhanced student services and a modest scholarship to participating students for two semesters. Students were assigned to one of a team of advisers, with whom they were expected to meet frequently to discuss academic progress and issues that might affect their schooling. Students in the Opening Doors program received a $150 scholarship each semester (for a total of $300), which was paid after required advising sessions. The program at both schools served students whose family income was below 250 percent of the federal poverty level and who were either incoming freshmen or returning students who had completed fewer than 13 credits and had a history of academic difficulties.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
