Guest Post: Retention Economics

As we said on Tuesday, developmental education is an essential rung on the ladder of educational and economic opportunity for many American students. Students who are placed in dev ed travel a difficult educational road, and they also face significant non-academic barriers to college success. While these barriers may seem outside the realm of college responsibility, addressing them can have dramatic effects on student success outcomes. Today’s guest post about a program that integrates academic and financial stability comes from Colin Austin, senior program director at MDC.

It’s a simple idea, really. Help students with their finances and they will be more likely to stay in school. Lower-income students in particular are often just a car break-down or hospital bill away from dropping out. How can educators and campus systems respond to these non-academic issues? What role should community colleges play in organizing supports that address the economic challenges that students and their families face?

The Annie E. Casey Foundation developed an approach called Center for Working Families that bundles services across what are usually three distinct platforms: education and training, income supports, and financial services. For colleges, bundling means building on existing training and financial aid and adding additional supports such as matched savings programs, financial literacy instruction, screening for public benefits, and one-on-one achievement coaching.

Sound expensive? Community colleges participating in MDC’s Center for Working Families Network find that small amounts of early investment can spark new connections on campus and stronger relationships with community agencies. And results indicate that students who receive an integrated set of supports are 3 to 4 times more likely to reach a major economic goal such as finishing a degree or credential and landing a job.

At Guilford Technical Community College in North Carolina, students tap into tax credits and human services benefits such as food stamps and health insurance, all from one on-campus location.  Skyline College in Northern California partners with the United Way of the Bay Area to operate a SparkPoint Center – a place where students work with a coach to improve their credit, increase income, and create a step-by-step plan to meet personal financial goals. Other colleges adopting the Center for Working Families approach are engaged in similar activities, all focused on addressing economic barriers to student success.

Colin Austin is a senior program director at MDC. Colin directs several initiatives for MDC including the Center for Working Families network of community colleges and a U.S. Department of Labor Pathways Out of Poverty grant for green job training.